EEA family permit to residence card - time issue

[botvot]

Hi all

I am non-EEA married to EU citizen. I am currently in the UK on the EEA family permit and am now looking to apply for the EEA2 residence card.

Now, my EEA family permit is valid for 6 months, until March next year. I believe the EEA2 application takes much longer, maybe 8-10 months.

What happens come March and my EEA family permit expires but I haven't received my residence card yet?

Also, we are returning from a long planned holiday 5 days before the EEA family permit expires in March. They have to let me into the UK if I'm still 5 days within my permit, don't they?

Thanks in advance.

[Rozen]

Hi all

I am non-EEA married to EU citizen. I am currently in the UK on the EEA family permit and am now looking to apply for the EEA2 residence card.

Now, my EEA family permit is valid for 6 months, until March next year. I believe the EEA2 application takes much longer, maybe 8-10 months.

What happens come March and my EEA family permit expires but I haven't received my residence card yet?

Also, we are returning from a long planned holiday 5 days before the EEA family permit expires in March. They have to let me into the UK if I'm still 5 days within my permit, don't they?

Thanks in advance.

If you return to the UK before your EEAFP expires, even if it only has five days left, they WILL let you in. I went back home and came back on mine with one week before it was to expire. The IO at Heathrow just asked me when I was intending to apply for a Residence Card. But that was it.

Best to hold off applying for the EEA2 RC until you come back from your holiday in March next year, as it is quite difficult to travel out of the country and back while your EEA2 application is pending.

Even if your EEAFP expires before you apply for your Residence Card, you are still here legally. It's just that a Residence Card makes life a whole lot simpler if you wish to travel, or proving that you are entitled to work.

By the way, I sent off my EEA2 application three months after it had expired, and everything was okay. Good Luck!

[botvot]

Thanks Rozen.

[thsths]

Now, my EEA family permit is valid for 6 months, until March next year. I believe the EEA2 application takes much longer, maybe 8-10 months.

My advise would be to apply as soon as possible, but to keep your passport. Although the application form says that you have to include the passport, that does not seem to be true. You will probably be asked to supply recent documents anyway once the application gets processed.

[Gerkema]

My situation:
I am Dutch, living and working in London. My wife is Russian and has joined me here in London 2 weeks ago on an EEA Family Permit. I have just posted the application for the EEA2 Residence Card today and expect it to be issued approximately 9 months from now, i.e. September 2009 (which breaks European law which states that it should be issued within 6 months after application).

Her EEA Family Permit will expire in early April 2009, but we are planning on going on a 2 week vacation to Egypt in April 2009 after her EEA FP expiry date. Also, she wishes to visit her best friend's wedding in Russia in May 2009. Due to work limitations, I will then be unable to accompany her to Russia,.

My advise would be to apply as soon as possible, but to keep your passport. Although the application form says that you have to include the passport, that does not seem to be true. You will probably be asked to supply recent documents anyway once the application gets processed.

That's what I did. We sent a covering letter explaining that we both need our passports regularly, so that until the actual processing of the application we can only send them photocopies of the passports, which is what we did. Also, my Dutch passport expires in May next year, so I am applying for a new one (with new number) at the Dutch embassy in December 2008, it will be issued somewhere in January 2009 I think. After that I will go in person to Croydon for the same day service to get my EEA1 card.

My questions are
1. will the confirmation of application for EEA2 allow her to enter the UK after our vacation in April 2009 (after her EEA FP expiry date?)
2. will my wife need to apply for a new EEA Family Permit in Moscow in May 2009? She will then return to the UK alone, i.e. without me the EEA national.
3. Will the airlines in Egypt and Russia let her board based on us showing our passports, wedding certificate (in English but from Fiji where we got married) and a copy of the Mrax judgement of the European court?

[86ti]

My questions are
1. will the confirmation of application for EEA2 allow her to enter the UK after our vacation in April 2009 (after her EEA FP expiry date?)
2. will my wife need to apply for a new EEA Family Permit in Moscow in May 2009? She will then return to the UK alone, i.e. without me the EEA national.
3. Will the airlines in Egypt and Russia let her board based on us showing our passports, wedding certificate (in English but from Fiji where we got married) and a copy of the Mrax judgement of the European court?

Your problem will be the airlines as they most likely want to see a valid visa of some form. They won't be able to check or accept any other documents. In principle she can apply for another EEA FP. But in Russia?

[Gerkema]

Your problem will be the airlines as they most likely want to see a valid visa of some form. They won't be able to check or accept any other documents. In principle she can apply for another EEA FP. But in Russia?

That's what I'm afraid of. We had the same problem in Fiji when my silly employer in Sydney Australia had revoked my visa too soon. The airline would not let me board, so I don't want my wife to have the same problem in Egypt or Russia. Do you know whether we can extend this EEAFP in the UK? Or does she need to leave the country just to apply for a new Permit? And if she does, will this not be complicated i.e. not issued because she already has a pending EEA2 application?

[shIne]

hi botvot,
i would suggest to follow wat thsths says.I regret for not applying earlier
as soon as i entered UK. So the best option is to keep the passport and apply for EEA2.
shine

[86ti]

Do you know whether we can extend this EEAFP in the UK? Or does she need to leave the country just to apply for a new Permit?

I think you can apply for a EEA FP only at a foreign embassy or high comission.

[katdema]

My husband's EEA familly permit was going to expire and we sent the passport off to apply for a residence card. We had a holiday booked in Egypt and they had taken over 6 months to do the residency card. Anyway we requested the passport back and came back into the UK with his expired EEA family permit. The official just smiled at him and asked if he had a nice holiday. Maybe he was just lucky. We sent the passport back and got the residency 2 weeks later.