Unmarried partner EEA family permit

[visatouk]

I read on the visas4uk website that applications for an EEA family permit can be submitted up to 3 months before my intended date of travel.

Our two years of being in a durable relationship is 15th August 2009. Can I apply 15th June 2009, and by the time the embassy processes my application, we would have been together for over two years?

[86ti]

Why don't you ask the embassy to be sure?

[visatouk]

Thanks 86ti.

I would ask the embassy, but from my experience with dealing with the Australian Immigration department you ask the same question to three different staff members and you get three different answers.

I will just try my luck and see what the outcome is. It's free to apply, so I'm not really losing out on anything.

[Rozen]

I read on the visas4uk website that applications for an EEA family permit can be submitted up to 3 months before my intended date of travel.

Our two years of being in a durable relationship is 15th August 2009. Can I apply 15th June 2009, and by the time the embassy processes my application, we would have been together for over two years?

Or why not apply in August itself? EEA applications are treated as priority anyway, unlike the applications submitted under UK rules. You should be able to pick up your EEA FP within a matter of days. Mine was issued on the same day!

[86ti]

I would ask the embassy, but from my experience with dealing with the Australian Immigration department you ask the same question to three different staff members and you get three different answers.

Yeah, I know. Embassy staff...

I will just try my luck and see what the outcome is. It's free to apply, so I'm not really losing out on anything.

I wanted to suggest that but you'll have to go to the embassy and if it is not really close where you live it may get expensive.

[visatouk]

Hi Rozen,

Thank you for your reply. I would wait till August but I am afraid that my application could be refused because my partner has been back in the UK since 29 March and I am stuck in Australia due to my small business and studies. I read that periods of separation are ok, for periods up to 6 months. My biggest fear is that the British Embassy will take ages to process the application, and then our separation will be longer than 6 months and they refuse it on that basis.

I have sponsored my partner as my de facto spouse to remain in Australia. Does anyone know if the British embassy will take that into account?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

I read on the visas4uk website that applications for an EEA family permit can be submitted up to 3 months before my intended date of travel.

Our two years of being in a durable relationship is 15th August 2009. Can I apply 15th June 2009, and by the time the embassy processes my application, we would have been together for over two years?

I do not think there is any hard requirement that you must have been together two years.

It must just be a durable relationship and you need substantial evidence that the relationship exists.

e.g. if you have only been together a year but you now have a child and are buying a house and have done a will together....

[aussiegirl]

Hi visatouk, don't worry too much about the separation period of 6 months. My partner had been living in the UK as his main address for over a year by the time I applied for my family permit in Canberra. It didn't matter as we first moved in together years before that and had managed 'long distance' for a while. I explained everything in a cover letter, and there didn't seem to be a problem with it. As the last poster said, you need to prove a 'durable relationship'. For objectivity purposes, that is usually deemed as two years living together, proved by 18-20 pieces of mail that have both your names on it.

Be aware that your family permit will take two months to process through Canberra if you are not married. Under no circumstances will it be processed within 24 or 48 hours. You will need to be patient.

[visatouk]

Thanks aussiegirl! Your post has put me at ease.

I have LOADS of evidence. I have been collecting things since May 2006, although we didn't start "living" together until August 2007. And DIAC granted my partner a de facto spouse visa so if the Australian Immigration department have given us a visa, then hopefully the Home Office will too.

So two months you think to process the EEA family permit? Yikes!

[visatouk]

Thanks Guru.

We don't have a child and we haven't purchased a house together. We did spend $5000 - $7000 furnishing our two bedroom rented apartment. I have enough evidence to prove our 'durable' marriage-like relationship for the last two years. I just hope our temporary separation will be ok.

[aussiegirl]

Hi visatouk - take my word for it, processing times are two months - I sent mine through in August last year and received it back in October.

They tell you not to apply until three months before you are due to leave, and also tell you not to make travel arrangements until you get your visa; but of course flights to the UK aren't cheap, so you need to book them well in advance.

I made the mistake of thinking it would take six weeks MAXIMUM and was left in tears many times calling and calling and calling the Canberra office asking where my passport and FP was. I had to reschedule my flight three times, costing hundreds of dollars in extra charges now that Qantas is so stingy, and because my flight changes put me into a different season/fare class. On the plus side, i had three farewells at work because I kept having to postpone my departure date.

Moral of the story - make sure you give yourself enough time, buy a flexible ticket, and be prepared to WAAAAIIIITTTTT (it's good practice for living in the UK anyway!).

Of course, the icing on the stupidity cake is that your FP is valid for six months from the date of issue, so you really want to travel as soon as possible after you get it so that you can lodge a Residence Card application as soon as you get to the UK (which will take another 6-12 months to process; current processing times are 10-12 months).

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

They tell you not to apply until three months before you are due to leave, and also tell you not to make travel arrangements until you get your visa; but of course flights to the UK aren't cheap, so you need to book them well in advance.

If I were doing this, I would:
(1) Not buy a ticket.
(2) Apply as soon as I have the material together, whether or not it is within their 3 month window, but no more than 6 months + estimated processing time before the target travel date. (Said another way: ignore their unhelpful advice about waiting until 3 months before)
(3) When it is approved, purchase the ticket with peace of mind.
(4) Worst case, and I will miss the 6 month travel window, I can always apply for another EEA family permit, even before the old one expires.

[visatouk]

Thanks aussiegirl. It's so helpful getting advice from someone who has been through the process. Did you post your application to Canberra?

I was hoping it would be quicker than two months, but I will take your advice and look at booking a flexible ticket.

I can't believe all the red tape and 10 months to process a residence card!! Why do Governments make things so complicated?

[visatouk]

They tell you not to apply until three months before you are due to leave, and also tell you not to make travel arrangements until you get your visa; but of course flights to the UK aren't cheap, so you need to book them well in advance.

If I were doing this, I would:
(1) Not buy a ticket.
(2) Apply as soon as I have the material together, whether or not it is within their 3 month window, but no more than 6 months + estimated processing time before the target travel date. (Said another way: ignore their unhelpful advice)
(3) When it is approved, purchase the ticket with peace of mind.
(4) Worst case, and I will miss the 6 month travel window, I can always apply for another EEA family permit, even before the old one expires.

Hi Guru,

What do you mean by your point 2? I'm confused by what you are saying?

I have an A4 lever arch binder full of documents dating back to May 2006. My partner and I maintained a long distance relationship for 12 months, with a month holiday at the five month mark. Then we were apart again for 7 months. So, I am wondering, by your advice, should I apply June or July 2009 and because it takes two months to process, by the time the Home Office/Embassy are ready to approve it, my two years "living" in a relationship akin to marriage will be up?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

What I mean is that their advice, "to apply no more than 3 months before you plan to travelâ€

[aussiegirl]

Hi visatouk,

I did indeed send my visa application to Canberra. Don't forget that you also need to have your biometrics data taken before you send off your visa application. Usually it's possible to get an appointment for this at short notice.

Keep a record of absolutely everything that you send them, and make the information as easy to understand as possible. I prefaced my application with three letters: one from me, explaining why I wanted the FP, one from my partner, explaining why he wanted me to join him in the UK, and one from both of us outlining how we met, when we moved in together, our relationship etc.

If your partner already got a de facto visa this should help enormously - make sure you put a certified copy of that in there somewhere. We also heard that having photos of each of you with your in-laws also helps - I include a complete photographic record of our relationship from when we first met to the present day. Perhaps this is over the top, but our case was slightly unusual in that we had lived apart from extended periods, but with good reason.

Good luck!

PS If you think getting the FP is complicated and overly bureaucratic - wait till you arrive in the UK and apply for the RC. I would advise not sending in your passports with the original RC application, but rather a certified copy. This will at least allow you to travel and prove your identity for the first few months. Apply for the RC as soon as possible so that you get the letter from the Home Office that allows you to work.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

If your partner already got a de facto visa this should help enormously - make sure you put a certified copy of that in there somewhere.

What do you mean by a de facto visa?

[visatouk]

Thanks aussiegal and guru,

Much appreciated!

my partner's mother visited us Christmas 2007 and we have photos. (She lives in Holland). Plus she emails me from time to time. So that's good. I will include all that in my application.

I have a copy of my partner's Oz visa and passport certified by a notary public.

It seems all I need to do now is wait until I can apply!

[visatouk]

A de facto visa is the Australian Immigration Department's version of an unmarried partner visa. But here we only have to prove living together in a relationship akin to marriage for ONE year.

[aussiegirl]

Also a good idea to include details about how you keep in touch when you are apart.

Now that I remember there is some extremely long form with 100 questions that you have to fill out as part of the application - I think you do this online first, and then get the biometrics appointment, and then submit the visa application. I have to say putting together my application took a whole month (of course working full time there wasn't much time to do it).

I digress. The point is that on the online form, they ask you how you keep in touch when you are apart, how often you contact each other etc. Some people submit phone bills to support this, others submit screenshots of email headers, skype transcripts etc.

[visatouk]

Thanks again aussiegirl,

I am keeping all our emails and when my partner gets his computer all up and running we will talk on skype and then I can show our talk history or call log.

Did you show evidence of savings? I'm wondering if $10k is going to be enough?