EEA Residence card for Illegal - please help

[solutionfr]

Hi to all of you.
I'm a spanish citizen and my wife is NON-EU from Peru.

1- My wife illegaly enter UK in 2000, she NEVER had any type of visa and no stamp in her passport.
2- We are Legally maried in uk since 2002 and now have 2 childrens born here in UK
3- I never knew what to do until recently some friend told me about EEA Residence card
4- My question is: Can we apply for EEA Residence card for her now?
do we need a lawyer for that ? what form to use ?
Thank you in advance for for your help

[thsths]

4- My question is: Can we apply for EEA Residence card for her now?
do we need a lawyer for that ? what form to use ?

This is a difficult question. You can apply, and you will probably get the residence card. But this is not certain, because one of the conditions is that your spouse resides legally in the EU. So I would expect this to take a bit longer than usual.

The form is EEA2, and it may be processed faster if you also apply for EEA1 at the same time. I think you would be able to apply for permanent residence (from EEA3), and your wife may qualify, too (form EEA4), because you have been in the UK for more than 5 years. But that is a slightly more complicated process, so you may want to keep it simple for now. As for the lawyer, you can do this on your own. If you feel uncomfortable with it, or if there are difficulties, you should at least seek legal advice and have someone check your documents.

The good news is that your wife has quite a few rights under European law, so for example she cannot be deported just because she was an illegal immigrant. However, it is important that you do not commit any other violations, such as false statements, forgery, or tax evasion.
And if your application fails, another option is to get a visa to Spain for her, and then apply from Spain. This would get around the problem of having no visa.

PS: when did you meet your wife? I assume it was after she came to the UK.

[solutionfr]

4- My question is: Can we apply for EEA Residence card for her now?
do we need a lawyer for that ? what form to use ?

This is a difficult question. You can apply, and you will probably get the residence card. But this is not certain, because one of the conditions is that your spouse resides legally in the EU. So I would expect this to take a bit longer than usual.

The form is EEA2, and it may be processed faster if you also apply for EEA1 at the same time. I think you would be able to apply for permanent residence (from EEA3), and your wife may qualify, too (form EEA4), because you have been in the UK for more than 5 years. But that is a slightly more complicated process, so you may want to keep it simple for now. As for the lawyer, you can do this on your own. If you feel uncomfortable with it, or if there are difficulties, you should at least seek legal advice and have someone check your documents.

The good news is that your wife has quite a few rights under European law, so for example she cannot be deported just because she was an illegal immigrant. However, it is important that you do not commit any other violations, such as false statements, forgery, or tax evasion.
And if your application fails, another option is to get a visa to Spain for her, and then apply from Spain. This would get around the problem of having no visa.

PS: when did you meet your wife? I assume it was after she came to the UK.

thank you for your reply, i meet my wife when she came here

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Hi to all of you.
I'm a spanish citizen and my wife is NON-EU from Peru.

1- My wife illegaly enter UK in 2000, she NEVER had any type of visa and no stamp in her passport.
2- We are Legally maried in uk since 2002 and now have 2 childrens born here in UK
3- I never knew what to do until recently some friend told me about EEA Residence card
4- My question is: Can we apply for EEA Residence card for her now?
do we need a lawyer for that ? what form to use ?
Thank you in advance for for your help

Are you working in the UK, and have you been for most of the time since you married? How long have you been in the UK?

If you have been married for 5 years and have two children, then I personally think she is in a very solid position.

The Residence Card application would simply be a way of confirming her continuing right to stay and live here. Her right to stay is based solely on the fact that you are married to each other, and it seems you are quite married. I think she has the same right to stay in the UK that you, as a Spanish citizen, have.

Put another way, your application would not for permission. I think, though I may be wrong, that she already has a legal right to stay here (though not yet confirmed by the UK government). The Residence Card will simply make it a lot easier for her to come and go freely. And to work if desired.

If I were applying, I would not use a lawyer for the Residence Card application. It is a simple application that you can do yourself. Take your time. At the very least fill out the application form completely and read about Directive 2004/38/EC before talking with the lawyer.

Note that you might consider the possibility of just applying directly for a Permanent Residence Card since you have been married for over 5 years, and living for that time in the UK.

I would also suggest you send a query to http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights for free legal advice.

[solutionfr]

Hi to all of you.
I'm a spanish citizen and my wife is NON-EU from Peru.

1- My wife illegaly enter UK in 2000, she NEVER had any type of visa and no stamp in her passport.
2- We are Legally maried in uk since 2002 and now have 2 childrens born here in UK
3- I never knew what to do until recently some friend told me about EEA Residence card
4- My question is: Can we apply for EEA Residence card for her now?
do we need a lawyer for that ? what form to use ?
Thank you in advance for for your help

Are you working in the UK, and have you been for most of the time since you married? How long have you been in the UK?

If you have been married for 5 years and have two children, then I personally think she is in a very solid position.

The Residence Card application would simply be a way of confirming her continuing right to stay and live here. Her right to stay is based solely on the fact that you are married to each other, and it seems you are quite married. I think she has the same right to stay in the UK that you, as a Spanish citizen, have.

Put another way, your application would not for permission. I think, though I may be wrong, that she already has a legal right to stay here (though not yet confirmed by the UK government). The Residence Card will simply make it a lot easier for her to come and go freely. And to work if desired.

If I were applying, I would not use a lawyer for the Residence Card application. It is a simple application that you can do yourself. Take your time. At the very least fill out the application form completely and read about Directive 2004/38/EC before talking with the lawyer.

Note that you might consider the possibility of just applying directly for a Permanent Residence Card since you have been married for over 5 years, and living for that time in the UK.

I would also suggest you send a query to http://ec.europa.eu/citizensrights for free legal advice.

Thank you Sage, i have been working in UK all the time for since 2000, i have been here for 8 years. We both fell better now after reading this post. i will suggest to the owner(s) of this forum to allow users to give a donation to the forum, it help a lot of people. i wish i have a way to make a donation via paypal ... maybe in the future

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Just to be very clear --- your situation seems more complicated than most people’s.

But you have an established long term family relationship and you have a legal right to preserve that.

Both of you should read and understand Directive 2004/38/EC, available in English and Spanish. There are a number of different sections which apply to your situation.

[JA13I]

solutionfr, while I do agree that your wife can apply for the Residence Card, I think I will go a step further and recommend an idea that has already been put forth.

I would suggest that you totally bypass the EEA2 application and go straight for the EEA4 application for the Permanent Residence which will allow her to naturalise as a British citizen after another year.

[atenolol]

Hi!

I am the same situation. What difference does it make to the illegal spouse whether the EEA national has a registration certificate or a permanent residence card? Doesn't the non-EEA national just get a 5 year endorsement either way? Because in that case, it's certainly less hassle and quicker to just get a registration card (EEA national) because you can apparently even get it the same day.