Urgent advice needed in regards to traveling!

[tobieoud89]

Hi All,

In the past I have been helped a lot by this forum and I need your advise again. We have the following situation;

Wife: Thai National (EEA2 - Residence card)
Me: Dutch National
Kids: Thai Paspoort and both entered the UK on EEA FP that has expired since.

We have been living in the UK for almost three years now and have never gotten around to do my kids Dutch Passports. My oldest one has obtained the Dutch nationality but never gotten a pasport. The youngest one needs to obtain the Dutch nationality and passport.

I have called the Futch embassy and they told me to get the relevant paperwork done and book an appointment. However the first available appointment now was in October. However we don't even have the paperwork sorted (Translation, Legalasation of the paperwork etc), so we won't be able to do anything for quite some time.

The health of my Wife's mother is in decline and we are trying to go for a trip in Thailand ASAP (Before it's to late). Getting Dutch pasports for the kids in England seems to be taking to long.

Both my kids have expired EEA PM in their Thai Pasports. Obviously, flying to Thailand is no issue, but going back to the UK is going to be an issue.

My question:

Can my kids fly back from Thailand to the UK without a valid EEU permit?


My wife ( their mother) has a residence card and I will be traveling with them.

Thank you in advance for the advice!!!

[Richard W]

Can my kids fly back from Thailand to the UK without a valid EEU permit?

My wife ( their mother) has a residence card and I will be traveling with them.

'No' is the short answer. A Thai passport will not get them onto a plane for travel to the UK without a visa or EEA document.

The problem is not re-entering Britain, but flying to a British airport. I've seen a report on this forum of a couple flying to Brussels rather than London because of the lack of a residence card, and continuing the journey on the surface, where proofs of EEA rights can be used to cross borders. I can't see any sane and plausible method of returning by air without a family permit. (Buying an airline would work, but it's not plausible.)

I assume that getting Dutch passports in Thailand would be impractical, and British settlement visas from Thailand should be slower than getting a family permit, as well as very expensive. (It's also been claimed that the Dutch child would be ineligible, but I don't believe that.) A visitor's visa would be inappropriate, and should be refused.

The best I can come up with is getting visas for the children to visit Belgium or France (which may actually be too difficult, though they can return from Belgium or France to the UK), flying back from Bangkok via Heathrow, but instead breaking the journey at Heathrow. Once at Heathrow, rather than claiming asylum, you assert the children's rights as family members of an EEA national, namely you. This method probably counts as insane.

In theory, a route with surface border crossings is possible, though a bit of an adventure, and probably not cheap. Fly from Bangkok to Istanbul (you will need an e-visa, Thais are visa-free). Cross land-border between Turkey and Greece, using your EEA rights to enter Greece. You are now in the Schengen area, and can travel unrestrainedly to a channel port. At the juxtaposed British immigration in Belgium or France, use your EEA rights to enter the UK.

[VIETY]

Why don't you fly back to Bangkok and get another EEA family permit there for the kids?

As I understand, the processing time for EEA family permit in Bangkok is fairly quickly, normally around 2 weeks. I think that would be the best and cheapest way.

[ElizabethApricot]

Yeah, I'm not an expert, but I agree it's probably cheapest and easiest to bring all necessary documents (including evidence that you're a qualified person or permanent resident) with you and apply for new Family Permits for your children.