EEA1/EEA2 Delays - April 08 Applications

[Plum70]

How did you convince the airline carrier to allow you board to and fro without a valid visa?

[mrlookforward]

Hello! I just wanted to let people know that I managed to re enter the UK without the family permit, but with the Home Office letter. I found it very helpful that people came back to the forum to let everyone know what had happened, as reading people experiences gave me the courage to actually leave the country and come back without the family permit (I did go to the British consulate in Mexico, but they said I wouldn’t have the family permit on time and I decided not to apply for it). As someone else had mentioned, I just got my passport stamped for two months. The immigration officer told me to sort my situation before the two months expired, but it is not me who has to sort it out, I have already been waiting for almost 8 months! It's just ridiculous.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the advice and hope this helps to other people.
elena

what kind of a home office letter it was? what did it say on it, and how did you manage to get that letter?

[eborras]

How did you convince the airline carrier to allow you board to and fro without a valid visa?

I'm a non-visa natonal and therefore was allowed to board both planes (came to London via Amsterdam)

[eborras]

what kind of a home office letter it was? what did it say on it, and how did you manage to get that letter?

I got the letter two months after applying for my family permit. It acknowledges that my residence card is under consideration. If you check the posts above, many people have got it, but those who haven't got it yet, have tried to contact HO to get it. It's quite important because it also says that you hve the right to work.

[gracec]

Hi,

shane2008, do you know what the conditions are of your stamp? Have you travelled in & out of the UK since being given this stamp? If yes, what happened?

I am an Australian citizen married to an EU national, I was given the Code 1a stamp when I arrived at Heathrow after a trip overseas, my EEA family permit had expired in Oct 08.
I'm having difficulty understanding what the Code 1a stamp is all about as there's not much info on the internet and everytime I call the Home Office they give me contradicting statements.

Finally, can an IO put on your passport record that I cannot travel? He didn't actually give me a notice/formal letter, just verbally warned me. So I'm having doubts as to whether his warning stands because under EU laws, I have right of residence and right to free movement in the EEA.

Any comments or previous experience would be really helpful.

Thanks

Hi,

We applied for the residence card in March 08 and it still hasn't been granted. My family permit expired in August.

I had booked a return trip to go back to Australia (my home country) in September, I got back into the country after a few questions from the immigration officer. I had the relevant docs with me, my spouse was not with me at the time. They stamped a right to enter stamp in my passport that expired 2 months after issue.

So if you're with your husband, have the relevant docs on hand I don't think you should have a problem.

[eborras]

shane2008, do you know what the conditions are of your stamp? Have you travelled in & out of the UK since being given this stamp? If yes, what happened?

I am an Australian citizen married to an EU national, I was given the Code 1a stamp when I arrived at Heathrow after a trip overseas, my EEA family permit had expired in Oct 08.
I'm having difficulty understanding what the Code 1a stamp is all about as there's not much info on the internet and everytime I call the Home Office they give me contradicting statements.

Finally, can an IO put on your passport record that I cannot travel? He didn't actually give me a notice/formal letter, just verbally warned me. So I'm having doubts as to whether his warning stands because under EU laws, I have right of residence and right to free movement in the EEA.

Hi,

gracec, did the IO tell you that you weren´t supposed to travel in and out the UK? Are you applying for the residence card?

The same happened to me. I applied for my residence card in May 2008 and still haven't heard from HO. I went to Mexico over Christmas and got a stamp for two months when I re-entered the UK with my expired family permit. No one is capable of giving an estimate in terms of how much longer they need to process my application and I need to travel. I was thinking of re-entering with the HO letter again, but if you have been warned that this is not posiible, maybe it is not such a good idea.

Has anyone actually received their immigration card? What happens once the two months expire? The IO told me to "sort my situation out" before it expired, but it didn't occur to her that HO has to sort it out. I don't seemto have any saying in the processin time and I am very annoyed about it.

Thanks

[benbmxer]

Hi dear friends,

I am so happy to have found this forum cause now I am aware of all what I am about to go through this coming year. My situation is as follows:

I am a Bolivian citizen studying in UK in an erasmus exchange programme and finishing Univ this year (I've been studying in France for the last 4 years). I have a student visa in UK valid until October 2009 which doesn't allow me to work (not even 20 hours per week).
My fiancée is Italian and she is working in UK full time since sept 2008. We are getting married in August 2009 in Italy but after that we want to live in UK.
I understand I have to apply for a residence card (using EEA2 app form) and we will do it in August but, can I stay in UK if my student VISA expires in Oct 09 and I have no COA yet? I could see in the forum that it takes an average time of 2 to 3 months to get this COA (my future wife will be in UK). If yes, will I be entitled to work before receiving it?. And after receiving it?.

Could anyone tell me in which precise situation should I get a family permit? is it only when I am entering for the first time to UK with my wife?

In February 2010, we are planning to go on holidays in Bolivia, I know I won't have my RC in February, do I need a family permit for this travel o just the COA will be enough in order to enter to UK without problems?

Finally could anyone share which extra documents do they ask usually after several months have passed? probably I can send them the first time eveything they want including the extra things commonly asked after the app is submitted. Maybe this speed a bit the process.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience here, for your precious information and help and I wish the best of luck to those who are waiting for their RC's....I'll be soon in your shoes .

Congrats to those who have theirs already!
Cheers

[darlinfe]

Hello BMXer,

This thread from start to finish includes EEA2 Residence Card information and it sidelines a little about EEA Family Permits, but mostly from my perspective as I started the thread a year ago. First comes the EEA Family Permit, then after your arrival into the UK you can apply for your EEA 2 UK Residence Card.

When you apply for your EEA Family Permit, you have to do it well in advance before your return to the UK if your other permit is going to expire. But I'm not sure how long it will take from Bolivia to even approve your EEA Family Permit, as each country is different. In the US it only took 2-3 business days by mail after I went to a pre-booked appointment to have my fingerprints scanned, pictures taken, and sending in all the requested documentation to the UK Embassy in Los Angeles. It could possibly take alot longer to get your EEA Family Permit from Bolivia. But you'll need to investigate that on your own, unless you happen to find something or someone on another forum that has direct experience. You can also call the UK Embassy located in La Paz, Bolivia. Or rather speak to the customer service group that handles the calls for them in relation to UK Visas. Sometimes email works, but usually not the exact answer you want.
http://ukinbolivia.fco.gov.uk/

But you can also look at these:
http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/travellin ... ntryclear/

http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizen ... ropeanlaw/

I'm not an expert, but would think you would have to be in Bolivia during the EEA Family Permit process, and can travel on your own into the UK to live with your wife (which she will be at that time). On this UKBA Home Office website you'll also find what documents are required by downloading the .pdf forms. You can also find out how long it will take by just googling Bolivia's British Embassy. As they normally put an approximate time of application processing.

But perhaps one of the more senior members of this website have a little more insight when it comes to your status as a student in the UK already. Maybe there is a loophole that will allow you to apply now (although you're not married yet). But once you have your EEA Family Permit, then you can apply for your EEA2 UK Residence Card which will take at least 6 months, but more than likely 8-9 months plus depending on your situation. And also how fast (but really slow) the Home Office wants to process it. Your spouse will need to apply for an EEA1 in tandem with your EEA2 since she'll have to prove her employment and status as an EU citizen as well. Just be prepared for a wait. Also because when you apply, you'll be newly married, the UK will look at your relationship and could want you to prove that it's not a marriage of convenience. So, you should have some kind of proof of your relationship. Something like utility bills in your both your names or proof of living together.

My husband and I have left the UK. We are now back in the US. And I can tell you, we are both glad to be back and be done with the UK Home Office mess. It was a headache, and we even had our stuff organized and all together! It's quite unbelievable though the excuses Home Office will give you when processing your paperwork in the UK. At times it'll make you wonder if they take their work seriously or not, some are quite helpful, but alot are just plain confused!

I also believe the UK has a points system involved now for immigration, so you might want to read up on that via the UK Embassy link I gave you and how it could effect you. I also saw that on one of the links I gave you, (UKBA website) for the EEA2 Residence Card that they still have applications showing processing from FEB 2008! I sure hope that's not true. But I wouldn't be surprised...this is the Home Office we're talking about, and just get used to their sloooooooooow processes. And I'm not joking, wish I were, but yes my friend....it's all true!

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get some other responses soon!

Fe

[benbmxer]

Hello Darnlife,

Thank you very much for you answer and for all the links you provided in your post. They are a great help for sure.

In fact my student visa is valid until Oct 2009, we are getting married in August in Italy and straight away we are coming back to UK. If I understood well, the EEA Family Permit is to be taken only if I am living in my country of origin and want to join my family member right?. But since I will be already in UK, I wonder if I should take the EEA2 Residence Card straight away, being able in this way to stay in UK until I receive my COA. I hope they do not want me to come back to my country.

Concerning the documents to prove our relationship, we've been living together for the last 4 years in France, but we didn't have a common bank account and we do not have a common one here in UK either. In fact every time we had a contract of something (internet for example), it was just one name that appeared on it, we didn't think about making our names appear together for future issues. Is there any other way to show we are together 5 years already (under the same roof) and 7 years as a couple?.

Thanks again for your reply and have a great weekend!

[giruzz]

ARGHHH!!!

Application made in Apr08. Further docs sent in March 2009.

We've requested the docs back as we have to travel abroad in two weeks and all the home office can say is 'chill out..we don't recommend you to book until you get your docs'

I HATE THE HOME OFFICE! I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL!

(note the gf already had a residency card that wasn't endorsed in her passport so we did request to have it endorsed or we couldn't get a visa for the USA)

giruzz

[caseman]

Hi,

We applied for the residence card in March 08 and it still hasn't been granted. My family permit expired in August.

I had booked a return trip to go back to Australia (my home country) in September, I got back into the country after a few questions from the immigration officer. I had the relevant docs with me, my spouse was not with me at the time. They stamped a right to enter stamp in my passport that expired 2 months after issue.

So if you're with your husband, have the relevant docs on hand I don't think you should have a problem.

Shane - this is very useful for my situation:

- I am also Australian married to EEA national and currently have 6 month work permit expiring 12 June 09
- I applied for EEA2 Residence Card on 9 January 2009 and received CoA dated 16 April 2009 (> 3 months for those interested)
- Have trip abroad planned late June after Family Permit will have expired. I will be leaving UK with my wife but returning to the UK earlier.

Could you tell me what documents you had exactly? I assume you had original of CoA and marriage certificate but what evidence did you carry as evidence of your wife's EEA status and identity. Did you need certified or notarised copy of passport?

The reason I ask is that I am in the fortunate (?) situation of my work paying for an Immigration consultant in relation to my case and they have recommended that I get a full notarised copy of my wife's passport (i.e. by solicitor or Public Notary which will cost £50+). I am wondering whether this is overkill and what exactly you provided at Immigration as proof of your spouse's EEA identity. As we all know I already have the right to work in the UK (let alone be in the UK), it's just a case of providing proof of that right (and they require us to have these stupid residence cards/permits in our passports as evidence). The Immigration consultant is also planning to contact the UK airport Immigration Office I will be arriving at to forewarn them when I will be arriving (also seems unnecessary, no?).

I wonder whether a better alternative would be for me to take the original of my wife's EU ID card which would hopefully be sufficient on its own. From the other posts on here it appears Immigration Officers are more aware of the situation and it should be ok with the following docs:
- Passport with expired Family Permit
- CoA for Residence Card
- Marriage Certificate
- Wife's EU ID card

Any other peoples thoughts most welcome.

[SunBlue]

If the solicitors are so good, why they don't try to enforce the law and make Home Office play by the 6 month rules?

[caseman]

Could anyone tell me in which precise situation should I get a family permit? is it only when I am entering for the first time to UK with my wife?

You can apply for the Family Permit at UK embassys outside of the UK. I'm not sure if you have to do it from your country of citizenship (Bolivia?) but don't see why you couldn't do it from another country eg. Ireland or France would be much closer to travel to. The primary intention of the Family Permit (as I understand it) is for first entry to the UK, to provide evidence of right to work in the UK for 6 months and to give time to apply for the 5 year EEA2 Residence Card but there is no reason why you can't use the Family Permit for UK entry multiple times or to even get a second Family Permit if the Family Permit expires (see below though because if you have applied for EEA2 RC you should be able to enter again anyway).

I could see in the forum that it takes an average time of 2 to 3 months to get this COA (my future wife will be in UK). If yes, will I be entitled to work before receiving it?. And after receiving it?.

Assuming you already had a Family Permit you would have the right to work before receiving the CoA but if you did not get the Family Permit you would be subject to whatever work rights you had on your student visa. Either way, after you receive the CoA you would be eligible to work in the UK (employer guidance from the Home Office states that a CoA should be taken as sufficient evidence of the right to work in the UK until the application for an EEA2 Residence Card is decided).

In February 2010, we are planning to go on holidays in Bolivia, I know I won't have my RC in February, do I need a family permit for this travel or just the COA will be enough in order to enter to UK without problems?

There is evidence from people on this website and from an immigration consultant I have been involved with that the following documentation "should" be sufficient to re-enter the UK:
- CoA
- Family member's EEA status (eg. their passport if travelling with your EU family member or notarised copy of passport if not travelling with them)
- Evidence that you are a family member (eg. marriage certificate)

With this evidence and probably after a few questions, the Immigration Officer (at the airport) should stamp your passport with a temporary 2 month permit and encourage you get your EEA2 Residence Card application finished (difficult because this is the Home Office's responsibility).

[86ti]

You can apply for the Family Permit at UK embassys outside of the UK. I'm not sure if you have to do it from your country of citizenship (Bolivia?) but don't see why you couldn't do it from another country eg. Ireland or France would be much closer to travel to.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/eunati ... t#13627112

There is evidence from people on this website and from an immigration consultant I have been involved with that the following documentation "should" be sufficient to re-enter the UK

Just keep in mind that visa nationals may find it very difficult to board an airplane if the check-in staff cannot see a "visa".

[caseman]

If the solicitors are so good, why they don't try to enforce the law and make Home Office play by the 6 month rules?

Who said the solicitors are good? My understanding is that to take this up legally with the Home Office would require some kind of European legal action (via European courts?). There appears to be little incentive for a client to spend money on a solicitor to do this unless they have incurred sufficient financial damages by not having the Residence Card in time (eg. by not being able to travel for work or something). Generally people are probably working in the UK and because the CoA alone allows work there is limited reason (damages) to go to the effort (and cost) of any legal undertaking (cost may be neutral if win and get awarded costs although I'm not even sure this could happen in practice and if it did, it's still a hassle). It might start to get interesting if processing times are dragging out to 12 months because this is (potentially) restricting travel for 6 months which may be of significant consequence for many people (even if just for fact that they may not be able to go on holiday abroad) and may bring about some legal proceedings (which would be welcome from my point of view).

The Home Office are probably aware of this general barrier to legal action although I'm sure they don't intend to be delaying the process unnecessarily (i.e. their resourcing issues are likely to be legitimate).

By the way, I have virtually no legal background so the above can be taken with a grain of salt.

[caseman]

There is evidence from people on this website and from an immigration consultant I have been involved with that the following documentation "should" be sufficient to re-enter the UK

Just keep in mind that visa nationals may find it very difficult to board an airplane if the check-in staff cannot see a "visa".

Very good point - I meant to mention this, forgot to because it doesn't apply in my case.

[86ti]

Generally people are probably working in the UK and because the CoA alone allows work there is limited reason (damages) to go to the effort (and cost) of any legal undertaking...

Some people claim that they cannot find a job because employers basically do not trust the CoA (and if you are not even invited for an interview you probably won't find out about that). I remember at least one report stating that they may lose their job if they wouldn't be able to show the PR card in time. There is one case over at ukresident.com trying to claim money from them, see http://www.ukresident.com/forums/index. ... t&p=262163 (registration required!)

[thsths]

My understanding is that to take this up legally with the Home Office would require some kind of European legal action (via European courts?).

Not necessarily. Because the 6 months are codified in British law, you can use the British administrative court to challenge the long processing times. Of course this takes time, and even though you may get a verdict requiring the UKBA to issue a residence card, it will hardly speed up the process in normal cases.

The Home Office are probably aware of this general barrier to legal action although I'm sure they don't intend to be delaying the process unnecessarily (i.e. their resourcing issues are likely to be legitimate).

I fail to see why creating resource issues by removing case workers from European application should be legitimate. I even question that it is legal. Of course it is politically wise to do so, because the case workers are now free to remove foreign prisoners. Which is of course a very important and urgent issue, as you can see in the fact that Labour did not pursue it since they came to power until 2008.

So questions should be asked, and heads will roll (one way or another). But it is a political issue first, and a legal issue second.

[Eric-Poole]

May I suggest that you sign the petition on the Prime Minister website to speed-up EEA residency application. If we can get 200 signature the UK government will be force to make a formal response on the subject:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EEA4-Residency/

Thanks in advance for your support. Cheers.

Eric

[caseman]

May I suggest that you sign the petition on the Prime Minister website to speed-up EEA residency application. If we can get 200 signature the UK government will be force to make a formal response on the subject:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EEA4-Residency/

Thanks in advance for your support. Cheers.

Eric

I have done this now but it is not for EEA2 applications (maybe a petition has been done previously for this).

[caseman]

The Home Office are probably aware of this general barrier to legal action although I'm sure they don't intend to be delaying the process unnecessarily (i.e. their resourcing issues are likely to be legitimate).

I fail to see why creating resource issues by removing case workers from European application should be legitimate. I even question that it is legal. Of course it is politically wise to do so, because the case workers are now free to remove foreign prisoners. Which is of course a very important and urgent issue, as you can see in the fact that Labour did not pursue it since they came to power until 2008.

So questions should be asked, and heads will roll (one way or another). But it is a political issue first, and a legal issue second.

Fair points although I note that I did not mean to suggest that the reasons for the resourcing issues were legitimate, only that the resourcing issues were real (rather than just an excuse). I have no idea of the reasons.

I agree from a British citizen's point of view (majority of voters so political effectively) it is likely that the allocation of available resources in the Home Office with regard to these applications is appropriate. If I were a British citizen I wouldn't be particularly concerned that non-EEA citizens (the real me) with EEA family were being inconvenienced in order to divert resources to more urgent matters, with the consequence of contravening a relatively toothless European law. Doesn't make it right but this is the real world afterall. As you say, there may however be further consequences soon for Home Office/government though.

[Eric-Poole]

Let's not forget that by not processing EEA applications within the 6 months legal framework, the UK government is restricting people's freedom to travel which is one of the fundamental principle of the European Union.

What gives the right to the UK government to simply disregard EU directives? If they were receiving a fine every time they break the directive, they would quickly find the resources to process applications on-time. The issue is that everybody seems to be closing a blind eye and individuals have little options to act.

Cheers. Eric
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EEA4-Residency/

[caseman]

Let's not forget that by not processing EEA applications within the 6 months legal framework, the UK government is restricting people's freedom to travel which is one of the fundamental principle of the European Union.

What gives the right to the UK government to simply disregard EU directives? If they were receiving a fine every time they break the directive, they would quickly find the resources to process applications on-time. The issue is that everybody seems to be closing a blind eye and individuals have little options to act.

Cheers. Eric
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EEA4-Residency/

I agree totally but there are no fines or other consequences at the moment for them breaking the directive.

Does anyone have any updates or new experiences on re-entry to UK without an EEA Family Permit (particularly when 1st Family Permit has expired and still waiting for EEA2 Residence Card)?