EEA FM APPLICATION FOR MY MOTHER

[shaktoo]

Dear Board Admin & All
Hi
I wish to ask guidance & advice from you .
My widowed 84 yr old mother with Pakistan Nationality and holder of 5 yr Multiple UK Visit Visa is Currently residing with us in UK.
I am a married with family of 2+3 , Irish Citizen exercising treaty rights since Jan 2013.
As my mother is now having difficulties living alone in Pakistan where there is no one to look after her and she is now in no state to look after herself , hence I wish to apply EEA FM for her.
From what I have read, I have the right to apply for her as a direct FM and application for Residence Card / permit directly as she is already here with us.
I have been gathering documents in support of this application including
Applicant Documents :
1- EEA Form Filled
2- 2 x Passport Photos Applicant
3- 1 x passport photo Sponsor
4- Applicant Passport
5- Proof of relationship : BIRTH CERT / B-FORM ENGLISH Translations / Photos Together / Skype texts / emails/ money transfers /

SPONSOR’s DOCUMENTS
Re : Permanent Right Of Residence
• SPONSORS PASSPORT
• EMPLOYMENT LETTER
• P 60’S FOR LAST 5 YEARS
• PAYSLIPS X 3 MONTHS
• BANK STATEMENTS X 3 MONTHS
• COUNCIL LETTERS
• UTILITIES BILL
• TV LICENCES
• MORTGAGE LETTER
• EEA FORM 12 / 12b especially
• Sponsor’s EHIC Card

I am drafting a cover letter which is going to cover my mother's circumstances in Pakistan featuring
1- the physical difficulties including numerous falls & injuries, her mobility getting progressively worse ( supplemented with letters from her Orthopaedic doctor / various Hospital A&E trips )
2- her Age & some memory related deficits causing her not to have any confidence in handling her day to day activities including shopping etc.
3-Letters from my only sister in Karachi stating the facts & that she is unable to look after her.
4- letters from my siblings in UK stating that we would be able to attend to her needs in whatever way possible as there are three of us ( I have brother & sister who are UK nationals).

I wish to do this myself as I believe I have everything covered.
Solicitors are charging excess of 2000£ for making the same applications and majority of work will be done by me as in providing all these letters / details / form filling yet Solicitors claimthat they will be doing quite a lot of work in this application hence 2000£ ????
This fee does not even cover any appeals against any rejections ?
Please if you guys who have experience in this consider the circumstances & my intented documentation & support documents & give me advice in this regards.
Any advice will be highly appreciated.

Also I hope my post could help guide anyone else in the future as I believe i have concisely put all relevant facts ( at least for my case ) together.

Thanks

[obormot]

Did you (not your brother and sister) send money to her regularly in last 1-2 years? Do you have record of that?
You need to show that she is finantially depndent on you :
************
For dependent direct family members (direct descendants age 21 or over and dependent relatives in the ascending line) the following evidence must be provided:
• proof that they are dependent on the EEA national sponsor or their spouse or civil partner, such as:
o bank or building society statements
o evidence of money transfers
o evidence of living in the same household if applicable
o other evidence to show their EEA national sponsor has enough money to support them and the applicant is reliant on them for this
*************
If you can show finantial depenence, then you do not need a soliitor. If you cannot, then even with a solicitor it could be difficult.
There is a health elated provision (if there is no proofs of finantial dependence), here:
******
where the applicant is applying on the basis they strictly require the personal care of the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner, evidence must be provided to show what care is provided and that the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner must provide that care, for example, medical letters from a qualified practitioner
*******
But my understanding is that along this path they demand much more in terms of proof.

[shaktoo]

Did you (not your brother and sister) send money to her regularly in last 1-2 years? Do you have record of that?
You need to show that she is finantially depndent on you :
************
For dependent direct family members (direct descendants age 21 or over and dependent relatives in the ascending line) the following evidence must be provided:
• proof that they are dependent on the EEA national sponsor or their spouse or civil partner, such as:
o bank or building society statements
o evidence of money transfers
o evidence of living in the same household if applicable
o other evidence to show their EEA national sponsor has enough money to support them and the applicant is reliant on them for this
*************
If you can show finantial depenence, then you do not need a soliitor. If you cannot, then even with a solicitor it could be difficult.
There is a health elated provision (if there is no proofs of finantial dependence), here:
******
where the applicant is applying on the basis they strictly require the personal care of the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner, evidence must be provided to show what care is provided and that the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner must provide that care, for example, medical letters from a qualified practitioner
*******
But my understanding is that along this path they demand much more in terms of proof.

Dear obormot , thank you for the reply. I shall try & answer what you have brought up.

1- Although my family & I HAVE been providing financial assistance to my Mother over the years however this has all been cash in hand rather then bank transfers. So bar once when I did send using a official money transfer there is no proper paper trail. Of Course I can try & get the Airline Tickets showing when we traveled and bank details around the time showing withdrawal of money for use during the travel time period but will this be enough ?

2- I can show that the only money coming in to my mother is via my father's pension which is not sufficient. We as a family had hired help at home to do her shopping & general work @ home which she could not afford herself. ALAS things were stolen from her home and she had 2 falls and was left for prolonged periods with no help and its these circumstances that I am extremely worried about .

3- Yes I am getting Doctor letter stating this and her level of dependency

4- yes I am getting A&E records showing her visits there after the incidents to corroborate

5-yes I am getting letters from rest of my siblings stating that as they are not there & hence cannot provide any support to her hence she is a vulnerable adult.

6-I have video & photographic evidence of her being able to play a little tennis with my children about 2 years ago & now she is barely able to even walk with a stick.

7- If needed I can get her assessed by a private occupational Physio regarding her disability & needs and add that as evidence of her disabilities which are of concern to us.

To summarize , I cannot for factual evidence show significant Financial transactions ( however I can show that she has no income & without someone supporting her she could Not have been living there on her pension ). I CAN SHOW PHYSICAL DEPENDENCY & what we are able to provide for her here.

As you can understand I want to have a really tight case when applying for my mother as we do not want to lose her to even be able to get visit visa if she is unsuccessful in this application. Please guide me in this and Whether going with Solicitor would really be the ideal way ?

[obormot]

My personal experience is that wast majority of “paid legal help” is an impediment rather then advantage, if you are educated and organised enough to read carefully and follow general instructions. A really good solicitor can help, as they might know some nuances you are not aware from publicly available info. So you might try to look for one, but for an advise, not for actually hundling your application. If a solicitor only collects what you give them and puts it together in an envelope, then I do not see the point.
In your position I would try to find similar cases.
UK citizens only can bring parents based on every day help required (and impossible to provide in home countries), which is significantly stricter requirement, yet some people manage to do it - those cases can serve as a good reference too.

[shaktoo]

Thankx for the reply.
May I ask in the cover letter do I have to mention any Regulations / case law references etc etc .
also the letter is that written from the applicant's perspective i.e is it written as if its my mother who is writing this OR is that written from Me the sponsor directly ?

Thanks for all your support

[shaktoo]

Do I need to use this in the cover letter at all ?

"As the direct Family member of an European citizen, I wish to exercise my right of free movement and residency as stated in the Free Movement Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004."

[obormot]

I am not sure about mentioning formal regulations - personally I would stick to “general narrative” for my first application, and only start mentioning laws formally if I am refused and try to object to it.
Also, we foreigners tend to write too much - to make sure we mention every small detail - and it seems to often produce the effect contrary to the desired one.
I sucsessfully applied for FP and then EEA2 for my retired mother in 2013 (but we had an easy case - we lived together and then moved to UK together), and recently we submitted EEA PR application for me and her (I did not apply for 5 years residency in 2013). I wrote all cover letters from myself only, nothing from my mother (who almost does not speak English). Like “my mother lives with me” or “my mother could not locate her previous passport, and she believes it was retained by the embassy when she got the new one”, etc.
I am not a lawyer, but a university person (“hard sciences”), though so far I sucsessfully dealt with immigration issues for family and friends in four different countries, without lawyers

[shaktoo]

This is just an update.
My Application in this regards has been successful.
Please for ANYONE in exactly my position, My advice would be to follow all the steps I have included in this post and it might be of some help.Of Course there is a disclaimer that what has worked for me MIGHT NOT work for you. so you have to weight your own options , this is just meant as a help .

[shaktoo]

This is my Edited Cover Letter ;


To the attention of:
Home Office
EEA Applications
PO Box 590
Durham
DH 99 1AD

Application for Permanent Residency: Covering letter supporting the EEA FM application
Dear Sir/Madam,
My Mother ***** was a homemaker and supported us throughout her life in any possible way she could have. As a mother it is testament that her children have become successful people / professionals spread across the globe. At this stage in her life when she is old and unable to look after herself, I as her eldest son wish to care for her & hence am applying for Residency under EEA FM.
Brief Background:
***** was born in **** & after partition moved to*****with her Husband, our late father Mr. %%%%%%. Father was a dedicated husband, father and provider. Our Mother gave up everything in her life for rearing her 6 children & maintaining family home.
Family Details:
Child No 1=
Child No 2 =
Child No 3=
Child No 4 =
Child No 5 =
Child No 6 =

Our Father passed away sadly after sustaining a stroke in 2006. Since then Mrs. ***** had been living independently at our family home with assistance from all her children.
However Mother suffers from osteoarthritis which had badly affected her knees and required both knee replacements in 2008. Her operation was successful but she has been battling with progressively worsening mobility & dependence financially & physically on her children.
Financial Dependence:
Our Mother has no other means of income except for the meagre Pension and rent income from a property. After the death of our father, her only child still living in the city ********* & their family moved in the vicinity to provide some support. However they are financially not that well off. They have 4 children to look after and were struggling to make ends meet. Hence it was a joint family decision for them to Move into the House near our Mother so as to provide some moral & physical support. Their family are not in a position to provide any financial support, hence it was us the rest of the children who provided financial aid to our mother. We as a family divided turns visiting ******* and during these visits would give cash for assistance to our mother which she used for daily shopping, & having access to a driver with a car to move around. Unfortunately as regular money transfers takes a good sum in fees hence we would mostly give the money in cash to our mother in person. As a family we arranged for Our Mother to visit us @ *****, **, *** & **** during summer months which worked quite well as she would spend the winter months back in ****** as the weather suited her. Evidence regarding her last passports & trips to ****& *** will be provided.
Physical & Psychological Dependence:
Unfortunately things have deteriorated over last 5 years. Mrs. ***** has physically been so restricted that she cannot even go up to her bedroom on first floor and has sustained a few falls where she had remained on the floor undiscovered for a while as there was no one there to support her. Furthermore she has developed Mild Cognitive Impairment which is early Alzheimer’s disease and has started to have memory related issues.
In ******there is unfortunately no state welfare scheme*(Please refer as reference article from daily newspaper attached).
********* Government does not provide any form of support in this regards. It is left for individuals to fend for themselves & provide assistance to their family members. There is no proper Senior citizen housing schemes. There are no official carer’s or any vetted Professional Institutions like here in United Kingdom. I as the eldest son took the rest of my siblings into confidence in trying our best to provide assistance & aid for our Mother to remain living in ****************** ******************. We had arranged for a part time cook, and later on an unofficial carer (there are No official / professional duly vetted Carer’s).During the early years from 2009 till 2015 this went on fairly well. However since the start of some memory deficits things started to become worse. This has been taken advantage of by some of the persons hired over the last 8 years. They have failed to provide adequate care for her, leaving her unattended for prolonged periods when she had sustained the falls AND committed robbery of her hearing aids which we had procured from one of her last visits to UK. Furthermore they kept abusing her financially by taking payments from her they found out that she kept forgetting whether she had paid them. Apart from many minor incidents, Mrs. ***** sustained 2 falls / incidents in 2017 & another one in 2018 when she remained on the toilet floor undiscovered for about 8 hours. Eventually upon being discovered she required trip to local Accident & Emergency department where after being monitored for a while it was discovered that she thankfully had not sustained any major injuries. However these incidents have left a permanent psychological trauma & fear of living alone. Since then she has been extremely distraught living alone. Our sister who lives nearby tries and gives her utmost support but that isn’t enough as she cannot financially & socially help Mrs. *****. It was then I had decided that My Mother should come & live with me here in UK as I can provide her the needs & assistance.

My Declaration:
I, Dr ***** live in our home at*************with my wife & **children. We have a bedroom with ensuite which my mother is using and my wife is able to keep her company during the day time and afterwards I & her grandchildren are happy to provide her with the love & care she deserves. I am financially & physically able to provide for all her needs for the foreseeable future.
Included are statements form her doctors and Physiotherapists/ professionals. I am including a most recent statement from a qualified physiotherapist stating her needs.


In support of my enclosed EEA FM application, please find the relevant documentation as follows:
1. Signed EEA FM application form;
2. Document Checklist, with proof of payment of £65 fee;
3. Valid Passport ( Applicant & Sponsor ).
4. Original P60 tax certificates as proof of continuous employment and proof of UK residency during my Qualifying Period (i.e. January 2013 to September 2018).
5. Payslips (last 6 months).
6. Passport photos (Applicant x 2 & Sponsor x 1 as on checklist).
7. Utility Bills
8. Employment Letter
9. Bank Statements X 3 Months
11. Mortgage Statement.
13. Birth certificate in English in support of Family Evidence
EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL & PHYSICAL DISABILITIES & NEEDS ASSESMENTS:
These should clearly indicate that Mrs. ***** has been financially & now physically dependent & I ***** will be providing all relevant support & needs assistance for my mother as a carer here in UK. There is some lack of official Bank transfers for a reason. As ***** was financially dependent with no income of her own requiring quite significant money on an ongoing basis. If we were to regularly send Money via official bank transfers or Money transfer agencies quite a lot of money is deducted as charges. To minimse this & to ensure mother gets 100% of our money we used to give her cash Lump sum in my case usually 1-2000 £. Similarly any other sibling when visiting her would impart some money to her for same regards. We had never even thought of in this regards that we would someday need paper trail as evidence. However as corroborative evidence I will be including Monies withdrawn from bank & the same time Ticket information indicating travel to ****************** ******************. One occasion when I HAD to send money urgently to my mother I did use a dedicated money transfer official agency which I am enclosing the proof of.
Documents submitting as evidence are;
1. Bank statements from Mrs. *****.
2. Pension Statement regards my mother.
3. Expenses records (as they were kept initially for my mother detailing monthly expenses).
4. Please find travel records & our bank statements depicting the money that we brought over for her assistance including an urgent Money transfer through official means in urgent need.
5. Letter of support from Mrs. *****’s Physician.
6. Letter of Needs Assessment from Physio re Mrs. ***** from ******************
7. Newspaper report on lack of social care / welfare in ****************** ****************** from Leading Daily Newspaper “The ***** “in support.
8. Letter of Needs Assessment from Physio here in UK.
I am hopeful that considering all the facts you will find the application of Mrs. ***** as an Adult Dependent Family Member to be valid & will approve of her permanent residency as direct family relative as soon as possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact me in any way possible if you have any further queries in this regards.
Sincerely
__________________________ _______________________
Name ***** Mrs. *****