NEW EEA Immigration Regulations

tensailee · Post by **tensailee** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:49 am

The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/uksi_20061003_en.pdf

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/em2006/uksiem_20061003_en.pdf

tt · Post by tt » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:43 am

Thanks for those references. Here are some comments that have crossed my mind on reading them.

These Regulations implement the EU Directive 2004/38/EC http://www.ecas.org/file_uploads/1008.pdf which had to be done by 30 April this year right across the EU. It covers rights of EEA (including EU) and Swiss citizens.

Generally speaking, it allows them and their family members (and in some cases extended family members) to reside freely in the UK, and eventually for all of them to get Permanent Residence after 5 years.

As far as I read it, there are no formalities to enter the UK, except that a non-EEA national family member will initially need a UK entry clearance in the form of a EEA Family Permit (which is free) which
- must be issued if they are residing in a EEA State or would otherwise meet the existing Immig Rules relating to EEA Family (if were the EEA national or spouse/civil partner present and settled in the UK), and
- may also be issued to an extended family member.

The EEA national must be residing in the UK with the family member.

Family member includes spouse, civil partner, and the extended family member definition goes further in including the partner of a EEA national (other than a civil partner) who can prove to the IO/entry clearance officer that they are in a durable relationship with the EEA national.

Holding any form of documentation once in the UK is not required, but there are documents that you can get from the UK auths if you wish, to prove residence.

Schedule 4 makes clear that earlier documents such as residence documents and EEA Family Permits can be used as if it was the new documentation, as well as that residence already accumulated before these Regulations come into force will be counted.

Query:-

The Regulations use the term United Kingdom national (following the EU "speak"). Can anyone please explain:-

- in what ways the family member (including spouse/civil partner) of a UK national is treated differently?
(eg is it possible that a partner in a durable relationship can have rights with a EEA national, but NOT with a UK national?- sound odd?),

- the purpose of Regulation 9 of these new Regulations?

Many thanks.

smalldog · Post by **smalldog** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:14 pm

tt wrote:Query:-

The Regulations use the term United Kingdom national (following the EU "speak"). Can anyone please explain:-

- in what ways the family member (including spouse/civil partner) of a UK national is treated differently?
(eg is it possible that a partner in a durable relationship can have rights with a EEA national, but NOT with a UK national?- sound odd?),

Family members of UK nationals are treated under UK immigration rules, not the EEA regulations. Applications under the UK rules have tougher requirements for demonstrating that the relationship is genuine, that the couple is financially secure and that the applicant intends to settle in the UK. And, of course, there is a fee for such applications

- the purpose of Regulation 9 of these new Regulations?

Family members of UK nationals who have worked in other EEA countries can be treated under the EEA regulations. Known as the "Surinder Singh" ruling.

It's interesting to note that from 30 April non-EEA citizens can travel anywhere in the EEA without a visa as long as they have a family-member residence card in one EEA country. And in the UK the "residence card" will just be a stamp in the passport. I wonder if airlines and immigration points will be ready for this.

aboudi · Post by **aboudi** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:17 pm

do you mean to say that a visa national on an EEA family permit in the uk can travel to any schenegen country without a visa or entery clearance? furthermore does this apply to the new EU countries as well? it sounds too good to be true....

smalldog · Post by **smalldog** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:44 pm

aboudi wrote:do you mean to say that a visa national on an EEA family permit in the uk can travel to any schenegen country without a visa or entery clearance? furthermore does this apply to the new EU countries as well? it sounds too good to be true....

Not on an EEA family permit, but with a residence card as an EEA family member. The difference being that family permits are issued abroad, residence cards are issued in-country. It does sound too good to be true, but it is clear enough in Directive 2004/38/EC which these regulations are based on.

User · Post by **User** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:59 pm

Hi,

If my wife has a UK spouse/marriage visa (2 year visa), and I am a British citizen, can my wife travel with me to EEA countries without a visa?

smalldog · Post by **smalldog** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:12 pm

User wrote:Hi,

If my wife has a UK spouse/marriage visa (2 year visa), and I am a British citizen, can my wife travel with me to EEA countries without a visa?

Not if she is a visa national for those countries. As I understand it she'll need a separate EEA family permit for each country outside Schengen, or an EEA family permit issued by a Schengen country to visit Schengen countries. Of course these should be issued free of charge.

tt · Post by tt » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:05 am

smalldog. Also the advantages of the Spouse Visa under the UK system is that Permanent Residence (ILR) can be achieved in 2 years (and British citzenship 1 more year after that) - BUT you have to pay for it! - , whereas under the EU EEA Family Permit system, it will take FIVE years for Permanent Residence (ILR) (but it is FREE!), and, WHO KNOWS(?), one more year after that you may get British Citizenship.

aboudi. A visa national on an EEA family permit in the UK will be able to apply for the so-called "residence card" inside the UK under these new Regulations mentioned in this topic here, and after that, therefore be eligible for the visa-free travel mentioned by smalldog, if it is really true!

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:06 am

tt: Spouses of British citizens need only to have ILR on the day of application for naturalisation; they don't need to hold it for a year.
It would take primary legislation to change it, and although one should never say never (!) I doubt that IND would see any benefit in doing this, when they could achieve much the same result - should they wish to do so - by simply amending the Rules so as to lengthen the time it takes to get ILR.

stuckinaust · Post by **stuckinaust** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:07 am

Hi

I am trying to determine what the definiation of "durable relationship" will be and how the UK immigration department will view it.

From what I have read so far, and please correct me if I have not read this correctly, but once the new regulations come into effect, any spouse who is in a durable relationship with an EU citizen (mine has ILR status) will be able to enter the UK and live and work so long as they continue to be in a relationship with that person. And this permit to reside will be issued by the immigration officer at the point of entry.

It just seems all too simple to do especially when the UK regulations for spouses are quite strict. I guess it will depend on what defines a "durable relationship" and what you need to prove this to the officer at point of entry.

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

aboudi · Post by **aboudi** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:25 am

aboudi. A visa national on an EEA family permit in the UK will be able to apply for the so-called "residence card" inside the UK under these new Regulations mentioned in this topic here, and after that, therefore be eligible for the visa-free travel mentioned by smalldog, if it is really true!

tt, has the home office introduced any application forms for these "residence cards" since its a new directive, does anyone have any information about these residence cards? there is nothing on the IND website to mention them, 30th of April is only two weeks away... this is really big for no-EU nationals, as it wont feel like were living in a secluded island anymore!

tt · Post by tt » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:11 pm

aboudi. I have to say, I don't know. But, for sure, they (according to the new Regulations mentioned above) will have to.

ppron747. Thanks for the clarification. I'm no expert on UK Rules, but I thought there was some 4 year rule (together) with the Spouse visa before you could go down the "get UK/ (sorry) British Citizenship immediately after getting Permanent Residence (ILR)" route.

stuckinaust. I think what you say might be correct, except that it is not correct to use the word "spouse" in your example. Rather, just replace the word "spouse" with person (even same-sex, depending on the EU country).

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:11 pm

Can anyone advise how our situation is affected by this?

Me: British by birth, her: Russian, here on student visa till oct 2008. We are planning for UPV, been living together since Aug 2005. Or we just might marry!

Does this new rule give us another option or more importantly for the short term, can it aid us in taking short trips to mainland EU Europe with visa hassle for her?

She has a 'Residence Permit' sticker in her passport until Oct 2008.

Steve

tt · Post by tt » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:22 pm

According to smalldog's advice (which I myself have NOT verified), then, yes, she gets the Residence Card (under the new Regulations discussed above), and with that, she may travel across EU/EEA Europe without the visa hassles.

But you will have to show the "durable relationship" (to get that card). That, at the moment, it seems, is a matter of proof to the IO. Unless her status, independent of you, allows her certain privileges in travel, then her status is irrelevant to these Rules, as far as I can work out.

smalldog · Post by **smalldog** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:30 pm

tt wrote:According to smalldog's advice (which I myself have NOT verified), then, yes, she gets the Residence Card (under the new Regulations discussed above), and with that, she may travel across EU/EEA Europe without the visa hassles.

No, the EEA regulations don't apply to British citizens unless they have worked/lived in another EEA country. If you are a British citizen who has worked in another EEA country, or if you are also a citizen of another EEA country (grandparent born in Ireland?), then you can choose between the UK immigration rules and the EEA regulations. Each has its pros and cons.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 12:37 pm

smalldog wrote:
tt wrote:According to smalldog's advice (which I myself have NOT verified), then, yes, she gets the Residence Card (under the new Regulations discussed above), and with that, she may travel across EU/EEA Europe without the visa hassles.
No, the EEA regulations don't apply to British citizens unless they have worked/lived in another EEA country. If you are a British citizen who has worked in another EEA country, or if you are also a citizen of another EEA country (grandparent born in Ireland?), then you can choose between the UK immigration rules and the EEA regulations. Each has its pros and cons.

Bugger, up then down in two minutes!!

Actually I have an Irish Grandparent but I've not investigated it fully. I did have a feeling it might come in useful though!

Actually the regs are a bit discrimatory as they stand aren't they? Why benefit only those who have lived/worked in another EU country?

Steve

tt · Post by tt » Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:00 pm

Yes.. I don't understand the "Surinder Singh" ruling yet either (?), but I am looking at it.

Post by **JAJ** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:37 pm

Wanderer wrote: Bugger, up then down in two minutes!!

Actually I have an Irish Grandparent but I've not investigated it fully. I did have a feeling it might come in useful though!

Actually the regs are a bit discrimatory as they stand aren't they? Why benefit only those who have lived/worked in another EU country?

If you have an Irish born grandparent then you will likely be eligible for Irish citizenship, but you'll need to make a formal application for registration which will take time.

The EEA Family Permit regulations vs the normal UK spouse visa rules are different rather than discriminatory. An EEA Family Permit is cheaper and quicker than a regular spouse visa, but the downside is the much longer period to permanent residence: 5 years on an EEA permit versus 2 years on a regular spouse visa (and in some cases, permanent residence is immediate under the domestic rules).

Your spouse doesn't have security in the UK until permanent residence is granted, it also increases the eligiblility period for British citizenship, so if you do end up eligible to make a choice between the normal spouse migration rules and the EEA Family Permit, think hard before taking the latter option.

smalldog · Post by **smalldog** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 11:47 pm

If you have a grandparent born in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) you can register as an Irish citizen. It is a relatively painless process once you have obtained all the required birth, marriage and death certificates. The link below has lots of information about the process. It says waiting times can be up to 15 months, but actually they processed my application in exactly one week last year. You'll then need to apply for an Irish passport -- this can be done at an embassy/consulate or at a small number of post offices in the UK.

http://oasis.gov.ie/moving_country/migr ... scent.html

Of course the major disadvantage to applying under the EEA regulations is that it takes much longer to qualify for ILR and citizenship, so it's not a decision to make quickly. Advantages include the right of your spouse's parents to come to the UK, free visa applications, not having to register with the police, and (once the new directive is implemented) visa-free travel in Europe. My wife wants to keep her citizenship of birth (her country doesn't allow dual citizenship) and we don't intend to stay in the UK permanently so we opted for the EEA route.

Your spouse doesn't have security in the UK until permanent residence is granted

Not so true any more. The new regulations provide for retaining the right of residence of the non-EEA national in event of divorce or death of the EEA national as long as the couple has been in the UK for at least one year (and in the case of divorce have been married for at least three years).

Post by **JAJ** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:34 am

smalldog wrote: Advantages include the right of your spouse's parents to come to the UK,

Only if dependent, I would have thought.

Post by **JAJ** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 2:12 pm

tt wrote:Thanks for those references. Here are some comments that have crossed my mind on reading them.

These Regulations implement the EU Directive 2004/38/EC http://www.ecas.org/file_uploads/1008.pdf which had to be done by 30 April this year right across the EU. It covers rights of EEA (including EU) and Swiss citizens.

Generally speaking, it allows them and their family members (and in some cases extended family members) to reside freely in the UK, and eventually for all of them to get Permanent Residence after 5 years.

Regarding permanent residence for EEA nationals, my understanding is that time spent studying in the UK does not count for ILR after 5 years under current rules, and can only count under the 10 year rule.

This suggests that in future, EEA nationals studying in the UK will be able to apply for permanent residence (ILR?) after 5 years. Is that correct?

tensailee · Post by **tensailee** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:27 pm

You are correct. (I think)

In the old rules, it stated that an EEA national had to be excercising a "Treaty Right" for 4 years before being granted an ILR. "Treaty Right" hereby excludes being a Student.

In the new rules (regulation 15), it simply says:
"an EEA national who has resided in the United Kingdom in accordance with these Regulations for a continuous period of five years".

Furthermore, regarding the "initial right of residence" in another EEA country: Civil Partners are defined as "family members" in the UK, but would a Civil Partner, who was granted a Residence Document as the family member of an EEA national working in the UK, be able to travel to other EEA countries Visa free?

colinm · Post by **colinm** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:31 am

Hi

I have just read this one on europa website
http://europa.eu.int/youreurope/nav/en/ ... ar/en.html

YOUR RIGHTS
You can work without the need for a work permit as soon as you arrive in the Member State of destination.

If you work in paid employment for more than three months, you must apply for a residence permit. If you fail to apply, you may be fined but you cannot however be sent to prison or deported from the country (Cases "Sagulo" 8/77 and "Pieck" 157/79).

You can start working before applying for a residence permit.

The residence permit must be valid for a minimum of five years and must be renewable. It cannot be withdrawn solely because you are no longer employed because of a temporary inability to work because of illness or accident or because of redundancy duly reported to the relevant employment exchange.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you plan to stay for more than three months in the Member State of destination, you are normally required to apply for a residence permit within three months after your arrival.

My question : Is home office following this as i am unable to find this info on their website www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk.

regards
colin

tensailee · Post by **tensailee** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:30 pm

Article 9

9(2)
Deadline for submitting a residence card application may not be less than three months from date of arrival.

No action required. The Secretary of State has not set a deadline. However, a person can only apply for such a card if he/she qualifies for an extended right of residence (under Regulation 14(2)).

Page 11 of
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/em2006/uksiem_20061003_en.pdf

VV · Post by VV » Tue Apr 25, 2006 3:24 pm

Hi every one. I've been following these postings and it isn't clear to me whether one can apply for the EEA family permit from within the UK when one's entered the country on a 6-month marriage visit visa, and got married. Is it possible?
If so, then, does one have to apply for a EEA family permit, or for a EEA family residence card?

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NEW EEA Immigration Regulations

NEW EEA Immigration Regulations

From marriage visit visa to EEA family permit? Possible?