Visa for UK while on Temporary Stamp 4/Stamp 4 EUFAM

[NiallPP]

Another question for the Immigration Boards hive mind:

Firstly, our situation is as follows. I'm a UK passport holder living and exercising my EU Treaty Rights with my non-EEA husband in Ireland. We arrived in Ireland in July 2017, sent off EU1 application at the end of Sept 2017, and my husband just got given a temporary stamp 4 today (Oct 2017), expiring end of March 2018.

We are hoping to visit my family together in England at Christmas for just a few days, and i'm confused about what we need to do. I'm presuming that the final residency decision won't arrive before then.

Am I right in thinking that my husband needs to apply for a Irish re-entry visa and then a standard UK visitor visa?

If so does this make any difference once the full Stamp 4 EUFAM is granted? Will he always need visas to visit UK during his 5 years residency, even when travelling together with me?

Thanks

[dupalsky]

Hey Niallpp,

As long as you are married, the eu treaty status covers your husband, whether he has a temporary stamp 4 or not. All you need to do, since he doesn't have his stamp 4eufam yet, is carry your marriage certificate with you and make sure that either he goes with you through the Irish/eu/eea citizen side at the immigration at Dublin airport on your way back or you go with him through the non eu side(to be honest, I think the immigration prefer this option as the immigration officers on the non eu side are trained to examin non eu documents and since you eu citizen, they won't even look at yours.

You should also do the same when you get to the UK immigration, but I doubt, you will even meet immigration at the UK, unless you are traveling through Heathrow airport.

Meanwhile, if you still have time on your side before your intended travel date, just take they visas!

Dupalsky

[NiallPP]

Thanks for the response. So we are covered even travelling to my home country under the freedom of movement law? Is this something you usually have to put up a fight about? Will the carriers (be it flight or ferry) make a problem? I've read mixed responses about this on this forum and others, though usually a little out of date now (which is why I ask this question afresh). If its going to be a huge hassle i'd rather just get the visa. But UK visit visas (we have had them before) are a hassle, cost money and take time.

The re-entry visa seems fairly straightforward, and if I understand correctly completely free... so worth getting perhaps if only to make life easier.

[Wifeofaking]

Another question for the Immigration Boards hive mind:

Firstly, our situation is as follows. I'm a UK passport holder living and exercising my EU Treaty Rights with my non-EEA husband in Ireland. We arrived in Ireland in July 2017, sent off EU1 application at the end of Sept 2017, and my husband just got given a temporary stamp 4 today (Oct 2017), expiring end of March 2018.

We are hoping to visit my family together in England at Christmas for just a few days, and i'm confused about what we need to do. I'm presuming that the final residency decision won't arrive before then.

Am I right in thinking that my husband needs to apply for a Irish re-entry visa and then a standard UK visitor visa?

If so does this make any difference once the full Stamp 4 EUFAM is granted? Will he always need visas to visit UK during his 5 years residency, even when travelling together with me?

Thanks

Hi @niallpp
Please if you don't mind me asking did your husband have any status in the state before Applying? Please

[NiallPP]

Hi @niallpp
Please if you don't mind me asking did your husband have any status in the state before Applying? Please

Hi Wifeofaking, before July we lived together in his home country in Asia. We travelled to Ireland together, he on a C-visit visa (based on EU treaty rights), then submitted the EU1 form after a couple of months here. Why do you ask?

[Wifeofaking]

Hi @niallpp
Please if you don't mind me asking did your husband have any status in the state before Applying? Please

Hi Wifeofaking, before July we lived together in his home country in Asia. We travelled to Ireland together, he on a C-visit visa (based on EU treaty rights), then submitted the EU1 form after a couple of months here. Why do you ask?

@NiallPP
I see, thank you. My sister applied in august and nothing from the inis not even an acknowledgement letter.

[NiallPP]

@NiallPP
I see, thank you. My sister applied in august and nothing from the inis not even an acknowledgement letter.

Sorry to hear that, what is her situation? Is it an EU treaty rights case? Have you tried contacting INIS?

[NiallPP]

@NiallPP
I see, thank you. My sister applied in august and nothing from the inis not even an acknowledgement letter.

Sorry to hear that, what is her situation? Is it an EU treaty rights case? Have you tried contacting INIS?

[NiallPP]

I'm still so confused about what best to do. I have just realised that I neglected to mention in my first post that I am a dual UK/Irish citizen.. and though we have entered Ireland and applied for EU1 on the basis of my UK citizenship, I do also hold an Irish passport. So far no problems in terms of residence here in Ireland, but looking through the rules for EEA Family Permits and EU Free Movement this might preclude me from using free movement to travel to UK, right?

If it is an issue it sounds like the only option is a UK Visa.. which seems to be a very time consuming application process.. given we are now going to have to wait til the end of the month before getting the re-entry visa I am starting to think that we might need to change our Christmas plans.

Any members who have more expertise or experiences on this or similar scenarios I would welcome your comments and advice.

[narsilionh]

Same here... I'm non eea family member of UK citizen I'm from Asia too.
We want to go UK spend christmas time with my wife's family but I'm not sure If I need re entry visa
I have registration appointment december 14. and I'm not sure if the temporary visa works for re entry
I might ask when I get registration office. If you get some information could you share with me please?
thanks.

[jul1]

until ur on the temporary stamp 4 u need visa everywhere, my wife got now the stamp 4 eufam, we travelled toeu mainland while she was on the 9 months stamp 4 and she needed schengen visa and re-entry irish visa, so u are not treated as eu family member until u are accepted.

[NiallPP]

I have registration appointment december 14. and I'm not sure if the temporary visa works for re entry
I might ask when I get registration office. If you get some information could you share with me please?
thanks.

Well, we decided to get a re-entry visa and apply for a UK visa to be on the safe side. Re-entry visa appointments very hard to get at the moment but after turning up in person they gave me a tip that new appointments are released from 8am-9am every day. The re-entry part of the office is separate from the registration part so you will need to make a different appointment.

Bare in mind if you need a visa for the UK you need to allow for at least 3 weeks for the decision to be made. We are submitting our application tomorrow, and even that is cutting it fine.

Good luck with it anyway

[eirelover]

You need a re-entry visa, and a UK visa or FP.
Good luck.

[basicblue2k]

I have registration appointment december 14. and I'm not sure if the temporary visa works for re entry
I might ask when I get registration office. If you get some information could you share with me please?
thanks.

Well, we decided to get a re-entry visa and apply for a UK visa to be on the safe side. Re-entry visa appointments very hard to get at the moment but after turning up in person they gave me a tip that new appointments are released from 8am-9am every day. The re-entry part of the office is separate from the registration part so you will need to make a different appointment.

Bare in mind if you need a visa for the UK you need to allow for at least 3 weeks for the decision to be made. We are submitting our application tomorrow, and even that is cutting it fine.

Good luck with it anyway

@NiallPP how did your trip go? any feedback. I had taken my parents to Asia transiting through UK and didn't have any problems as they both had re-entry visa and I accompanied them and used the non EEA queues.

I also saw a couple of people applied for EU1 around August/September. Any news from INIS yet? I applied for my dependent parents in mid-August and awaiting decision.

[AndyEU]

I am in a similar position in that I arrived in Ireland in Dec 2016 with my Thai wife, we applied for the EU1 in Feb 2017 and within a month or so we got the temp Stamp 4, then it was about 7 months till my wife got her Stamp 4 EUFAM which is good for about 5 years.

We did wait till we got the Stamp 4 EUFAM before we went travelling, because prior to that you need a re-entry permit and its expected that you apply for free visas, though technically not required.

When we started to travel around Europe we experienced no problems at all, but we have travelled by car/ferry not airlines. Ferry companies usually do not seem to care, they ask for the passport and do not even ask for the EUFAM card, but going into France we were once asked for the card, and as soon as they saw it they waved us on without really looking.

We always travel with our marriage cert and a translation (it's in Thai) but have never been asked for it except when we first arrived in Ireland before doing the EU1.

We have found entering the UK to be no issue, but to be fair we have never been challenged. My advice is that if you must fly then fly from Belfast as then there is no immigration to speak of, when flying into the UK avoid Ryanair as they have their own rules that are nothing to do with immigration rules, and avoid Heathrow and fly into a smaller airport and then nobody will even ask.

If you have been living in Ireland and you still live in Ireland and you have no intention of settling or working in the UK then my experience and understanding is that you can travel with the EUFAM but not the temp Stamp 4, however if you have proof that you live in Ireland, will return to Ireland and you have your marriage cert then if you are unlucky enough to be challenged you will be OK, you may just have to wait till a more experienced immigration officer deals with you, just remain calm, keep smiling, be polite but firm and you will be OK.

[NiallPP]

@NiallPP how did your trip go? any feedback. I had taken my parents to Asia transiting through UK and didn't have any problems as they both had re-entry visa and I accompanied them and used the non EEA queues.

I also saw a couple of people applied for EU1 around August/September. Any news from INIS yet? I applied for my dependent parents in mid-August and awaiting decision.
[/quote]

Trip was good, only for a few days and then we went again for a few more days and the beginning of January. To be honest getting the UK visa was a bit of a hassle but just wanted to be on the safe side, it came through just in the nick of time (remember to allow time for application to be returned and to get to their little office in the middle of nowhere).

Flying into Bristol airport there was no passport/visa check on that side, but on returning to Dublin you do go through the passport/immigration checks.

Fortunately my husband just got his 5 year approval letter through at the beginning of the week, so should make things easier for the future. We were given a March expected decision and that was only 6 months so i'm impressed with the speed of things for us (have friends who applied before, given a 9 month period and still haven't heard anything)