Can we have the valid from date changed on our EEA?

[Irishinamerica]

Myself and my non EU husband (and our children) are returning to Ireland (Northern) through the EEA process this Summer and have received our visa and passports from the U.K. Embassy however when we filled out our application we selected the end of June as our most likely travel date but it looks like we may need to move that forward by a few weeks.
Does any one know if it is possible to have the visa re printed with a date of the end of May?

[vinny]

Have you tried to contact the Embassy and ask them?

[norniron]

Hi,
Could you please tell me how you did the EEA route for your non-eu family?
We are in a similar situation - and I though that people from Northern Ireland couldn't use that route (as in 2012 they changed the rules about dual British/Irish citizenship, claiming that the 'British' side overrode the Irish EU claim & you had to do a marriage visa through the home office - far more expensive).
We are in Australia and looking into moving back to Northern Ireland with our two children.
Thanks for any help,

[Irishinamerica]

We haven't contacted the embassy yet; we're holding off to see if we absolutely needed to change it before we make contact. I was hoping perhaps someone had experience with it and knew if it's a simple process.

[Irishinamerica]

@norniron I was going to pm you but don't have access to the feature. I don't know if you can reach out to me and I can respond?

[norniron]

@norniron I was going to pm you but don't have access to the feature. I don't know if you can reach out to me and I can respond?

Thankyou - longtime browser, but just joined - not sure how long no pm lasts. Any help with EEA would be greatly appreciated

[secret.simon]

The Private Messaging facility only works after each side has had at least 30 posts.

In the meanwhile, please post your questions and answers in the public forums, so that (a) they can be corrected by others if incorrect and (b) for future people who have the same questions.

[Irishinamerica]

Thanks for clearing up the PM side.

We used the EEA about 12 years ago and then moved back to America and now that we are going home again I started looking into the EEA and figured with the 2012 rule change we would be ineligible but found so much conflicting information decided to just go ahead and apply to see what they said and amazingly we got a response in about 3 weeks that the permit had been issued and was being mailed back to us. I have not held a British passport in about 15 years when I used it so I could enter the US every 90 days alternating between that and my Irish and I also spent time living in the south so I don't know if my identifying as Irish over British had any impact. I do know that if we have issued converting to a settlement visa I will more than happily relenquish any claim to British citizenship.
Sorry I can't be of more help, we genuinely just applied on the off chance we may get it and amazingly did.

[Irishinamerica]

@norniron
I just had another thought. We moved home a couple of years ago also and just chose to move to the south as it was a super simple process. We just arrived in Ireland told the immigration officer of our plans and then headed to the immigration office and got my husband his stamp 4 and applied for our PPS numbers within a few days so we were fully authorized to live and work there immediately without any financial requirements. Unfortunately due to lack of work we came back to america and honestly I would go back to the south this time again but the job prospect is looking better up north.
I am sure the moderators on the board know way more about the legality of all the options I am just sharing our experience in hopes that it can help. Best of luck.

[manntodd]

Does your visa say "valid from">?
If it does not then you can freely travel until the validity of the visa

[Irishinamerica]

Does your visa say "valid from">?
If it does not then you can freely travel until the validity of the visa

It does say valid from 30/6/17 unfortunately.

I tried calling the local consulate and the processing embassy today but no one really could help they all just asked why we put that date down if it's wrong. Well obviously we hadn't planned for the change but things happen.

[vinny]

I have not held a British passport in about 15 years when I used it so I could enter the US every 90 days alternating between that and my Irish and I also spent time living in the south so I don't know if my identifying as Irish over British had any impact. I do know that if we have issued converting to a settlement visa I will more than happily relenquish any claim to British citizenship.
Sorry I can't be of more help, we genuinely just applied on the off chance we may get it and amazingly did.

See also Do dual EU-UK citizens have rights under EU law?

[norniron]

@vinny - thanks for the link

@irishinamerica - thankyou so much for the info!
Also, just checking - is your familys EEA valid for 6months? Then you will apply for the 5year EEA2 when you arrive?
Thanks again for your story.

PS - that's brave re-entering every 90 days!

[Irishinamerica]

@vinny - thanks for the link

@irishinamerica - thankyou so much for the info!
Also, just checking - is your familys EEA valid for 6months? Then you will apply for the 5year EEA2 when you arrive?
Thanks again for your story.

PS - that's brave re-entering every 90 days!

Yes that's the plan!