EEA FAMILY PERMIT for Canadian Born Citizen (my wife)

[soul.biz]

Hey There,

APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG POST, PLEASE BEAR WITH ME


I'm a Spanish born Citizen and my wife is a Canadian born Citizen. We met in Mar 07, and started living together in Apr 07. All of this in a tiny village in the South of India (both were on a vacation). Then we left India in Jan 08 and she had to go back to Canada and I went back to Spain (ran out of savings and had to see my family back home in Barcelona).

I joined her again with some more savings in Apr 08 in Vancouver, Canada, with intentions of settling down here! We were ready to get married so, on the 11th of July 2008 we got married. My family came from Spain and it was the first time they were meeting each other, and they loved each other (my wife and my family). So plans have changed and we want to be close to my parents, so we intend to move to the UK.

We intend to travel to Spain first (stopover at Gatwick, 2 DIFFERENT airlines) around the Mid-August. I will be in Spain for about 10 days and fly back to London and my wife will remain back with my parents for an extra month - about the time I'll need to secure a job and accommodation for us.

We are going to apply for the EEA Family Permit from here (Canada) as I understand we cannot do it from anywhere else as confirmed by The Commercial VISA partner of British Embassy in Canada through a call that cost me $12.

Here come the questions:

1) Is it going to be a problem that we've just been married for such a short time? Should I include all the info about our relationship prior to our wedding?

2) Which date of arrival into the UK should my wife fill in: the on our stopover at Gatwick (we know it for sure) or the aproximate date she will join me in the UK (we are NOT sure about this one)?

3)We can probably give proof of funds of about $4000 after purchase of tickets. Should that be enough considering I haven't got a job yet and should I tell them about my plan of going first?

4)How should we fill in about my working status, as we are applying from within Canada and I'm here as a visitor (been here for the last 3 months)?

5)Should my wife fill in her current employment details even if she's giving her 2-week notice anytime soon?

6)Could anyone with a similar experience, or anyone applying in Canada tell me about their timelines?


Thanking everyone in advance for your support and for having created this website!

[thsths]

We are going to apply for the EEA Family Permit from here (Canada) as I understand we cannot do it from anywhere else as confirmed by The Commercial VISA partner of British Embassy in Canada through a call that cost me $12.

Wow, talk about 12 dollars wasted. The answer is wrong: she can apply from any country where she is staying legally. A tourist visa is sufficient according to a precedent case, and the instructions have recently be updated accordingly. So she can apply in Spain, and I would even recommend to do it from there.

1) Is it going to be a problem that we've just been married for such a short time? Should I include all the info about our relationship prior to our wedding?

No, that is not a problem, but it is worth submitting some evidence of the relationship.

2) Which date of arrival into the UK should my wife fill in: the on our stopover at Gatwick (we know it for sure) or the aproximate date she will join me in the UK (we are NOT sure about this one)?

That is a tricky one. In theory it should be the later (because she is applying for settlement), but it may be easier to just go with the former (it looks bad to get to the UK with a visa not valid yet). But either one should be fine really.

3)We can probably give proof of funds of about $4000 after purchase of tickets. Should that be enough considering I haven't got a job yet and should I tell them about my plan of going first?

You should show that you are likely to find a job in the UK, so you will have sufficient funds. Going separately may be more complicated then necessary, I would rather travel together, but that is your choice.

4)How should we fill in about my working status, as we are applying from within Canada and I'm here as a visitor (been here for the last 3 months)?

Then you are looking for work. If you print a few UK job offers in the field, that should be sufficient.

5)Should my wife fill in her current employment details even if she's giving her 2-week notice anytime soon?

Well, obviously she is going to quit her job, so that is not a problem. You can always mention in the cover letter that she will look for employment in the UK.

Tom

[soul.biz]

Thanks for your prompt reply! Really appreciate it! Still have a couple of concerns....

Wow, talk about 12 dollars wasted. The answer is wrong: she can apply from any country where she is staying legally. A tourist visa is sufficient according to a precedent case, and the instructions have recently be updated accordingly. So she can apply in Spain, and I would even recommend to do it from there.

I really hope you're right with this, cuz it would make life so much simpler for us! You see, on the following link http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... ionals#Q16 , they talk about being lawfully resident in a Member State.

***I would really appreciate it if you could guide me about that precedent case and where to find the updated instructions you mention about!

Thing is that I've even looked at WorldBridge's Spain Website (Uk's Commercial partner in some countries for Visa Apps - the charged me the $12) and it keeps talking about being a resident of Spain. I even downloaded this Family Permit Declaration form and it asks to submit a Spanish resident Card (for my wife).

PLZ HELP, cuz this could mean that we could go to Spain earlier and spend summer there!!!! Thanks a ton!!!!!

[thsths]

I really hope you're right with this, cuz it would make life so much simpler for us! You see, on the following link http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... ionals#Q16 , they talk about being lawfully resident in a Member State.

Unfortunately, the only thing consistent about these pages is the inconsistency, with always some pages being out of date. Just look at http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... f2visitors , and it mentions that a visitor visa is sufficient for an EEA family permit.

Anyway, the decisive text is http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/chapter21 , section 21.4.1. It is fun to read, because you can feel how it was rewritten a few times. However, there is no doubt that a visitor visa is sufficient to satisfy the requirements.

The relevant precedent is "Jia v Migrationsverket" [2007] EUECJ C-1/05, and the best discussion I found is http://www.gherson.com/articles/jia-in- ... e-analysis .

PLZ HELP, cuz this could mean that we could go to Spain earlier and spend summer there!!!! Thanks a ton!!!!!

Enjoy your holiday then, and remember to be persistent if necessary.

Tom

[soul.biz]

You guyz do a great job here!!!!



Tell ya what, the world is run by governments.....but they don't really care about the ppl!!!!!

U guyz actually help all of us without expecting anything in return!!!!!


A BIG "THANK YOU" ma friend!

[irishkin]

Today European Court of Justice gave the judgement on Metock and others, it was about being lawfully resident in an EU state prior to application for EEA Family Permit. ECJ ruled such a requirement was inconsistent with EU directive, so that's the precedent. Just google on "Metock judgement C-127/08"