EEC1 Reference Number Waiting Time

daphne · Post by **daphne** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:24 pm

[quote="Kayalami"]It is likely that resource allocation is biased towards those applicants paying a fee = those applying under UK immigration rules. At 500 GBP or GBP 355 a pop as appropriate it is only right that such is the case. EEA/EU enlargement has not helped either with an increasing demand for WRS and residence permits. Sorry all you can do is wait. If funds (travel purposes) are not an issue then it might be best to apply overseas for a family permit.[/quote]

Actually going home to get an EEA family permit is not an ideal solution. I am a non-visa national, and I know that I can get an EEA family permit in the same day that I apply for it at the British Consulate at home. However, I have been told that EEA family permits will only be issued for a period of six months. So towards the end of the six months the person needs to apply for an EEC1 residence permit with the IND anyway. So the question is whether you wait for it now or later.

It may be a good idea for someone who needs to start working immediately. So by paying for an air ticket to go home to apply for an EEA family permit, one can start working immediately while waiting for his/her EEC1 residence permit.

Post by **John** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:31 pm

Sunil_kumar, just read the message you posted on 2nd July ..... how did you get on when you went back to Croydon? Residence Permit now in your passport? A few red faces at Croydon?

sunil_kumar · Post by **sunil_kumar** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 4:49 pm

Hi John,
Well I called them up last week and I was told to post the Passport immediately with a covering letter explaining the reason behind me sending the passport back.
They did recieve it and when I called them up a few days later they said to me that it was under the status "Awaiting to be Considered". I was stunned by their response.
Even when I said that it was an error not an application and they need to rectify the problem soon rather than putting my request in the same basket where they accept applications, the person on the phone told me that they cannot comment.
So I guess I have to wait AGAIN. Such things make life so horrible here ...eventhough it is their mistake.
Also I cant go to Croydon office as European applications are not handled there.

Cheers,
Sunil

pedro_soto · Post by **pedro_soto** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:36 pm

Sunil,
But you do have a letter saying you've been granted residence and I would move with that of you need to. It must be really anoying, but unless you have to travel it shouldn't be a big deal.

I am still waiting 4 month already...

sunil_kumar · Post by **sunil_kumar** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:07 am

Hi Pedro,
Well you are right. I can move on. Its just the fact that if you dont have your passport you cannot travel or even apply for a Driving Licence.
Its just a pain when you think you are there, but still almost there...
All the best with yours mate

You will get it...
Cheers,
Sunil

sunil_kumar · Post by **sunil_kumar** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:29 am

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your support. I have received my Passport today (endorsed) and with a small apology letter. I was impressed by the way they dealt this.
So now I can apply for my Driving Licence and hopefully life will be a bit more smooth now.

Thanks to one and all and I wish all of them get their applications approved.

Cheers,
Sunil

Post by **John** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:27 am

That's great ... glad it all worked out in the end.

Thanks to that sticker you now have all the same rights, in the UK, as an EEA national, and that of course includes the right to live and work in the UK, and no Work Permit required to work.

karlita77 · Post by **karlita77** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:54 am

Hello everyone! Does anyone know if it's faster to apply for a UK unmarried partner visa as the partner of an EU citizen in my own country or within the UK? I've read from all of you how long it takes to get an EEC1 resident permit, but I will be applying in Mexico, with the VAF2 application form so I don't know if that would be faster.

Post by **John** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:14 am

karlita77, I think a little confusion here. What exactly are you going to apply for? Unmarried partner's visa? In which case use form VAF2, or alternatively an EEA Family Permit for which you would use the VAF1 form?

karlita77 · Post by **karlita77** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:04 pm

Yes, I want to apply for the unmarried partners visa with my French boyfriend. We were in the UK but I had already planned to go to Mexico in August and my student visa for the UK had expired anyway so that's why I plan to apply from there. I wrote to UK Visas and they told me this:

"An unmarried partner or fiancé(e) is not included in the definition of a 'family member' in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2000. Unlike a spouse, such a person cannot therefore qualify for an EEA/Swiss Family Permit as a 'close family member' of a national of a state within the EEA or of Switzerland.

However, it is open to such an unmarried partner/fiancé(e) to apply for entry clearance under the normal settlement provisions of the Immigration Rules. Such an application will be treated no less favourably than if the EEA sponsor were a UK citizen (i.e. the guidance that follows should be read as if the EEA national were a British Citizen settled, or about to become settled, in the UK).

It is not a requirement in the case of an unmarried partner that the EEA Sponsor should first obtain a UK Residence Permit."

They also told me to apply with the form VAF2 in Mexico. So I just wanted to know if this process would take as long as the EEA residence permits applied for in the UK. I hope not!

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 9:44 pm

Just to tell about my situation:
in my previous post I told I got my visa but with a spelling mistake in my name. Right.

Then before sending it back to the Home Office, I decided to look for a job, register with NHS, open bank account, get a job and get the National Insurance Number, and only then send it back to the Home Office. Only send the passport when I dont need it anymore at all!
So I did it TODAY. Let´s see how long it will take for them to amend my visa.
I sent with Special Delivery and with a prepaid addressed envelope inside for them to send it back to me.

FYI - in my new job they sent me twiceto Madrid for the training, and the Home Office advised me to not travel because of the spelling mistake in the visa. But if I couldnt travel then I couldnt accept the nice job. So what I did? I took the risk. And there was no problem at all!! I passed the immigration twice and they didnt even make many question.
The second time I passed immigration the officer just asked: "Do you work in Scotland?" (she saw my immigration card i filled in the plane). And that´s it. It´s strange they didnt ask anything about my partner (that´s the reason I got the visa and live here, etc). It was quite straight forward.
So, I will keep you guys updated on how long it takes again.

Sunil: yours took very less time. What did you do? Did you send any other letter complaining? Or any fax? Or just the phone call?
I sent a nice and straight forward cover letter explaining the situation. I hope it doesn´t take long, even that I am not in a hurry to get the passport back this time.
See ya guys,
Glauco

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 9:47 pm

Karlita, if you apply from Mexico with VAF2, you should get your visa in a matter of days! No worries!!!
It takes a long time mostly when people apply to the European Applications at Home Office (in country applications). So don´t worry, it will be fast!

sunil_kumar · Post by **sunil_kumar** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:12 pm

Hey Glauco,
Well whenever there is a genuine case I presume they deal with it soon...very soon .
So I think yours too must be a straight forward thing.

I have a question for you too.
So you say that we dont need your partner to travel with you ?
Coz I thought that your wife needs to travel with you too...

I know it sounds stupid but I thought that that was the case

Cheers,
Sunny

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:51 pm

Hi Sunil,
we can travel without the partner with no problem! My partner is the European citizen and I just got the dependent visa. And I already traveled abroad twice by myself and I had no problem at all to come back!

When someone gets the EEA Family Permit abroad, then this person needs to come for the first time with the partner. The first time they must enter the country together, but after that they can travel independently, as long both are living together in a relationship!

Thank you for your nice words! I hope I get the passport back soon again!

karlita77 · Post by **karlita77** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 3:00 pm

Hi Glauco, I am now in Mexico and I already went to the British Consulate yesterday to apply for my unmarried partner's visa. Unfortunately, they told me I needed my partner's birth certificate, which I didn't have, I only had a certified copy of his passport. I didn't know I needed the birth certificate and the woman there told me I could make the application like that and that I could take the risk, but that they could deny me the visa. The people there are not very helpful anyway, but I didn't take the risk and I'm waiting for my partner to send me his birth certificate... I will try again in a few days. The good thing is that they told me in the consulate that the visa should take at the most two days so I'm happy for that!

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:14 pm

Hi Karlita!!!!!! I hate the consulate!!!!
When I went to apply for the UP visa in the british consulate in Germany the woman told I could not apply, bla bla bla... and she told: "well, if you want to take the risk you can apply, but we can deny your visa".
Of course I didnt take the risk too!
Then what I did? I came to the country as a tourist and applied from inside the country and got the visa!
As your partner is sending his birth certificate, so you better wait and then go and apply. It will be all fine. You see? Only 2 working days. Very fast!
Good luck to you,
Glauco

karlita77 · Post by **karlita77** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:31 pm

Hi again Glauco... I wanted to ask you something else... When I went to the British Consulate here in Mexico, I took all my papers very well organised in a file, with divisions, with indexes saying what there was in each section, etc. However, now with new security measures, they have put a big glass in between the employees and us, so my file didn't fit in the small space they have under the glass. This means that I have to take out all the papers from my file and give them to the woman there in the order that she asked me, which is not the way we put them... But well, I'm a bit upset about that, after all the time my boyfriend and me took to put everything together... Was it like that with you? Or how did you present your papers? Thanks for your help!

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 8:58 am

Hi Karlita,
me too, I had made a nice folder with index, all organized, etc... and then I went there and it was such a mess!
And I was applying for unmarried partner visa, so I even had to prove the 2 year cohabitation. I had all organized in chronological order, and then with this small space we have, I had to remove all documents from folder. And the woman was not in a good mood, but I was like: "you want to see all documents, here they are" And gave EVERYTHING!!!!
Just leave all these papers in plastic folders, and just keep it organized for yourself, I mean, when she asks proof of funds, then you know where you have all the bank statements, etc to give. Then they ask proof of relationship, then you have your marriage certificate and maybe photos of the marriage, etc... Just organize it to yourself, and then in the rush it's easier to give it to them.
But other than that, it is still a mess, I agree

karlita77 · Post by **karlita77** » Thu Aug 18, 2005 3:33 pm

Well, in fact my visa is also for unmarried partners... So I will have to make a big mess with my papers as well, I am still waiting for my partner's birth certificate, so I will go again to the Consulate when I recieve it... I hope everything will go well!

SunBlue · Post by **SunBlue** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:17 am

Just to let you guys know: Saturday I got my passport with a new vignette stamp (residence permit) with my name corrected. That was quite fast!!!! But I have to say that I was sending them faxes twice a day, or at least once a day. Calling often, complaining, complained to the Home Office Complaining Unit too, etc...
And then I already got my visa corrected.
They nearly made a new mispelling. My second name is Manoel, then they wrote Manpel, then later they wrote Mandel, and only after one more time they wrote Manoel - which is correct.
So now all details are correct!!!
The validity of the visa is still the same, it was not affected.

It's interesting to notice that the letter they send together is with the date of 19/08 telling "you're visa has been corrected" and the date of issue in the visa is the 24/08. I *think* that they approved on the 19/08, and i think they printed the letter on the 24/08 as well. As the letter has my name correct.

I think they would not update my name in the system and then make twice wrong again and then once again correct.

i have now 4 british visa stamps in the passport. And the ones wrong are written: "endorsement in error". But now it's all fine!

If anyone has a mistake in the visa, I would advise to correct as soon as possible to avoid problems in the future.
I think they have the name in the system, and they don't type it all the time. The first time I had my visa wrong, but visa and letter had the same mispelling mistake.
I know people who had the birth date wrong in the visa and when renewed it continued wrong. I think that they don't type the details all the time.

+nairam+ · Post by **+nairam+** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 9:46 pm

Has anybody applied recently and heard back yet? I sent off my application on 29 June (mine was actually EEC1+2 for ILR - I'm EU myself). Are the dates on this page to be trusted at all do you recon?

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en ... ation.html?

I've tried calling them a couple of times but it's always busy

.

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EEC1 Reference Number Waiting Time

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