Renew PR - is a biometric visa available?

[MAETRA]

Hello,

I have a Permanent Residency visa and recently submitted a NTL (No Time Limit) form to get a biometric visa to save me having to transfer the visa over every time I get a new passport but the Home Office sent the application back saying I had filled in an incorrect form. I have 3 questions related to this:

1) Is there a way of getting a biometric visa with PR so I don't have to keep renewing it or is it only just the stamp in the passport through the EEA route?

2) From looking at previous posts I see most people travel with the old passport with the visa in it until it needs to be renewed in 10 years' time - is that right?

3) Is the EEA(PR) form the correct form to fill out when transferring the visa to a new passport and/or renewing the visa when it has expired after 10 years?

Thanks,
Amy

[ohara]

What exactly do you have? If you are on EEA migration route, you do not have a visa.

[MAETRA]

Hello,

Can anyone help with a couple of queries please -

I hold permanent residency that I got through the EEA route and want to know whether the stamp on my visa can be transferred to a biometric card so I don't need to get the visa moved to a new passport when that expires? If so can you please let me know what form I would need to fill out.

If there isn't an option for this what is the correct form to fill out to transfer my visa to a new passport - is it the EEA(PR) form? Is it commonplace to travel with two passports (the new passport and old one with a visa) up until it needs to be renewed after 10 years?

Many thanks

[MAETRA]

What exactly do you have? If you are on EEA migration route, you do not have a visa.

I have a 'permanent residence card'
I was previously married to an EEA national and we since got divorced.

[CR001]

No need to start a new topic with each question you have on the same thing.

I have a 'permanent residence card'

Is it a card (paper) or a vignette stuck in your passport?

Do you plan on applying for British Citizenship at any point?

[MAETRA]

Sorry I couldn't find the original thread at first so posted another one.

It is stuck in my passport. I have since got a new passport as the one with the PR card in it has now expired so I wanted to check what the options were.

I probably will apply for citizenship at some point but wondered if there was an option to get a biometric card I could apply for with no time limit or will I just need to get my new passport res-tamped for now?

[ohara]

Are you the EEA national or the non-EEA family member of an EEA national?

The EEA residence documentation is no longer a vignette in your passport; if you are an EEA national the vignette is just stuck on a piece of card (and it's called a Document Certifying Permanent Residence), if you are a a non-EEA family member it's a biometric Permanent Residence Card.

I believe the PR vignette in your passport continues to be valid even after the passport expires, you will just need to carry both old and new passport if you rely on the PR vignette to re-enter the country.

You could 'lose' your old passport and then submit an EEA(PR) application for a replacement PR card, presumably they will then give you the new biometric type. You will be required to enrol biometric information at a post office but be aware that it will almost certainly take 6 months to process your application. If you intend to apply for British citizenship in the future and you need your previous passports to show your legal residence by virtue of entry/exit stamps etc, having 'lost' one may cause problems. It's up to you.

The NTL application is only for people on the UK immigration route (which you are not) who want to get an ILR vignette changed to a biometric residence permit (which you also can not get).