EEA Family visa (Spouse), Can you help :)

[FranceUK]

Dear all,

I have read the process for the EEA Family visa (Spouse) but there are few questions I could not find a clear answer for, so can you please help.

I am french, I have been living in the UK since 2013, i did my undergraduate here in the UK, i have finished in 2016 and i have been working in a permanent job since 2017. I have applied for the EU Settlement Scheme (Public test phase running), I am waiting for few docs to confirm my residency in the past few years (Bank statements and approve of study).

I am getting married, my wedding is in December, the wedding will be overseas and my wife is not EU nor UK.
I want to apply for EEA Family Permit for her, we will be in Turkey for our honey moon:

1. Can i apply for her EEA Family Permit visa from Turkey or it has to be from her country of residency?
2. If we are allowed to apply from Turkey, how long will it take to get her visa from the day of the appointment to the date we receive the approval? (Note: i will apply online and complete everything and book the appointment prior to our arrival to Turkey so we can go to the appointment as soon we arrive to Turkey).
3. To my understanding, the appointment will be to get her biometric details and some general information about us, but i have seen people talking about interviews, is there any special interviews we need to prepare for in my case?
4. Some website says that my wife has to collect her card 10 days from her entry to the UK, other websites says she has 30 days to enter the UK once she got the visa otherwise she could loss her visa and finally some websites stating that she can enter anytime within the 6 months period. which is correct?
5. Is it recommended to change her visa to settle visa immediately once she arrived to UK or should i wait for few months before i do so?

Notes:
1. I met all the financial requirements.
2. I will be moving to a new apartment couple of months prior to our honey moon, the new apartment will meet the accommodation requirements.
3. I can get a certificate from my employer to support to show my job role, my job type (permanent) and salary.

Thanks a lot in advance for the help.

[zafran1]

1) country where she is resident
2) There is a thread here on forum for EEA FP timelines. 3-4 weeks post submission of documents
3) Where they want to ascertain whether relationship is genuine they can call for interview. They also arrange phone interviews form what I know. At the time of EEA FP application best to give a long record of your relationship. Check the EEA FP thread
4) 6 months
5) Depends on Brexit but best to do it well before expiration of EEA FP.

Now Brexit can change a lot of things. I am assuming she will enter post March 29 and since you will have a settled status EU protections will continue to apply....why not do a legal marriage in UK... a lot earlier. Will make a lot of things easier for future...just a document to sign.

[kamoe]

1) country where she is resident

This is incorrect. Except for North Koreans living in North Korea, you can apply for a Family Permit online and attend an appointment anywhere in the world, except the UK. It does not have to be your country of residence.

Applying for a Family Permit is the recommended procedure to gain re-entry into the UK if a family member finds themselves stranded abroad for any reason (e.g. if traveling while their RC is in process, or if document lost or stolen), so there is no restriction on where you can apply.

2) There is a thread here on forum for EEA FP timelines. 3-4 weeks post submission of documents

Depends on the country. In Colombia family applications have priority over any other immigration application. My FP took 3 days.

3) Where they want to ascertain whether relationship is genuine they can call for interview. They also arrange phone interviews form what I know. At the time of EEA FP application best to give a long record of your relationship. Check the EEA FP thread

Correct. Adding that they probably won't call for interview if it is crystal clear from your submitted documents that your relationship is genuine (not marriage of convenience, e.g. you have a long documented relationship, you have visited each other countries, met each other families, have common friends who can vouch for you, etc.).

4) 6 months

She can use it to enter the UK one or multiple times as long as the document is not expired.

5) Depends on Brexit but best to do it well before expiration of EEA FP.

As soon as possible after she enters the UK. There is absolutely no need to wait until close to the expiration deadline.

Notes:
1. I met all the financial requirements.

If you are in the UK as a full-time worker, there are no financial requirements.

2. I will be moving to a new apartment couple of months prior to our honey moon, the new apartment will meet the accommodation requirements.

Not sure what requirements you refer here?

3. I can get a certificate from my employer to support to show my job role, my job type (permanent) and salary.

Yes, you will need this to prove you are exercising treaty rights, but it is not the only thing. You need your last 3 payslips as well.

[FranceUK]

Thanks a lot for the help.
one last thing please
as per the picture on the link below, are these the correct selections for EEA FP (Spouse)?

https://ibb.co/nPSvnPH

Thanks a lot in advance.