Residence card for non EEA spouse refused

[J&Jmama]

Hello I need an advice.... my non EEA husband request for the residence card has been refused because I, the EEA wife, apparently did not provide enough evidence of me being qualified for staying in th UK exercising treaty rights and that my pregnancy was not a reason sufficient for me not to work/look for work. To make a long story short I came to the UK pregnant, on early maternity leave from the employer back in Italy -my country, due to health problems and as we sent the request to the Home Office I was 7 months pregnant and in and out the UK hospital, still due to complications related to the pregnancy. We actually failed to provide evidence that I could not look/get work because of my health status. Now I have had the baby and I can finally register with the jobcentre and look for work, my husband is full time empolyed on a permanent basis. My husband has been given the chance to make appeal. We have also understood that if the appeal is also refused, we can make another application.

Questions are:
-can we skip the appeal and make another application straight away, saving 140 quids?
- if I am register myself as jobseeker and attend the oral hearing for the appeal do you think we will have good chances to win it?
- how long will it take to the court to decide on the appeal and is my husband allowed to work in that time frame?

Thanks in adance for any response you could give us

[el patron]

Yes you can make another application, may well be wise.. At present you may struggle to win an appeal if you are a job seeker for more than six months, if at the time of the appeal you are a job seeker for less than six months that should be sufficient to succeed as the judge should be looking at the circumstances at the date of the hearing and not solely the circumstances at date of application and/or refusal decision.

[J&Jmama]

thanks for your reply. so you suggest making the appeal instead of a new application from scratch?

[el patron]

I'd consider doing both, as you may get a positive outcome from the fresh application before you get a hearing date thus having a chance to avoid the stress of an appeal hearing.