Applying for PR after divorce from an EEA

[sasim]

hi
Please advice me as I am confused about what to do
what do you advice under following circumstances
1-married in july 2004 to an eea national
2-got one year visa from 12/2004 to 12/ 2005
3-and then 5 year visa from 01/2006 to 01/ 2011
4-divorce in oct 2010(start in july,end in oct)

what I have documented

1-marriage certificate
2-certicate of registration of my wife(12/2004)
3-P60's(few pay slips of each year) from april 2005 to april 2010
4-all my P60's as I worked full time
5-decri absolute

what I dont have is no payslips from july 2010 to date but I have her bank statements of june july which shows her salary.(which was coming to my address)
I've been told that I need payslips until decree absolute awarded.

can I apply for PR now?
what other documents I need?
do I need her passport?(which I cannot get because she refused).I still have a copy.does it help?
what are the chances that I can get PR(if I am eligible to apply)
Your professional advice in this matter will be highly appreciated.
Many Thanks

[bobobo]

The documents you have seem ample. You were eligible for PR in July 2009. Since you have already been issued an RC the HO might not want to see your spouse's passport. But you will clearly need to show that the spouse was exercising treaty rights since initiation until grant of divorce (decree absolute), this can be done by Pay slips, letter from employer. Since you ahve her bank statements you can highlight the salary coming to her account and this may do the job for you. I would add this to the Covering Letter so the HO know what to check.

I would NOT send the photocopy of her passport as then they would ask to see her passport, also if you dont send her passport the HO would know from your file that you have furnished this earlier and can get away with this.

Apply for your PR know send as much relevant information as you can and I reckon you will get the PR. Also include some extra proof of co-habitation as well

hi
Please advice me as I am confused about what to do
what do you advice under following circumstances
1-married in july 2004 to an eea national
2-got one year visa until dec 2005
3-and then 5 year visa until jan 2011(jan 2005 to jan 2011)
4-divorce in oct 2010

what I have documented

1-marriage certificate
2-certicate of registration of my wife
3-P60's(few pay slips of each year) from april 2006 to april 2010
4-all my P60's as I worked full time
5-decri absolute

what I dont have is no payslips from july 2010 to date but I have her bank statements of june july which shows her salary.(which was coming to my address)
I've been told that I need payslips until decree absolute awarded.

can I apply for PR now?
what other documents I need?
do I need her passport?(which I cannot get because she refused).I still have a copy.does it help?
what are the chances that I can get PR(if I am eligible to apply)
Your professional advice in this matter will be highly appreciated.
Many Thanks

[sasim]

thankyou very much for ur reply,i felt much releif after ur reply
As proof of co habitation I have some utility bills dated in 2005,2006 and some 2009.And we still have a joint account which I am still using(b/c could not change it on my name yet but will do it)
will those help?
secondly I dont have any other bank account so I am still using that joint account for my self(but she doesn't have the card now).will this be ok as only my salary goes into this account since it was open?

her bank statements which i received they were after the divorce process begin and then she changed her address but she knows that I have those statements.one of them is copy other is original.is that ok?

[sasim]

and pls tell me that how long that will take approximately?
thanks again

[bobobo]

Hard to say how long this takes - upto 6-7 months, please read the other posts to get an idea on timeliness.
Joint Bank account is not a problem as long as Her salary goes in this account as well. Ho does not like Copies, everything should be original. You should make sure that you have origianl record of all salary payments for ex spouse from initiation until grant of decree absolute. If this is not the case then HO can create problems. they have done so previously and have refused applications on this ground.

and pls tell me that how wil that can take approximately?

[sasim]

hello again bobobo
thats what i am worried about as well that i dont have the payslips from starting divorce to decree absolute.
I have every thing in original for the past 5-6 years.I asked her to provide but she refused what can I do now?
divorce process took 3 months if I have only last month payslip will that be ok?

[bobobo]

HO Clearly ask for proof from initiation of divorce to decree absolute, I am not sure if that would suffice. if her salary was coming in the same bank accout as yours, I would go to the bank ask them to print the statements out on the Banks Letterhead and ask them to stamp these as well. This might do the trick. But be careful if the Letterhead and Stamp are not there HO will nopt accept those bank statements. Also these should show your and her name on them.

hello again bobobo
thats what i am worried about as well that i dont have the payslips from starting divorce to decree absolute.
I have every thing in original for the past 5-6 years.I asked her to provide but she refused what can I do now?
divorce process took 3 months if I have only last month payslip will that be ok?

[sasim]

@bobobo
her salary comes to her own account not the joint one.
my salary comes into joint account.
and I have her own bank statement but that was june july(original) but only this month of oct(which is the month of decree absolute) is missing.

Cant they ignore this 3 month as I have every thing in original for the past 6 years?

[bobobo]

The HO Specifically ask for proof of eea national exercising treaty rights in the UK during Divorce initiation and grant of divorce (decree absolute). if you fail to provide this, they may refuse your PR as they have done this before in the past to quite a few applicants, so there is a chance that your PR may be refused. Unless you have a cordial relationship with your ex and she is willing to help (I know it sounds outrageous) but thats how the EU directive has been implemented in the UK.

@bobobo
her salary comes to her own account not the joint one.
my salary comes into joint account.
and I have her own bank statement but that was june july(original) but only this month of oct(which is the month of decree absolute) is missing.

Cant they ignore this 3 month as I have every thing in original for the past 6 years?

[vinny]

See also OA (EEA - retained right of residence) Nigeria [2010] UKAIT 00003

[sasim]

@vinny : can u pls explain this inlight of my case & circumstances b/c what I understand from this is my marriage last 6 and i have all the documented evidence then it should be enough?

[sasim]

i asked my ex to provide the last 3 months payslips (start to end divorce) but she refused.

we've married nearly 6 years and I've got all her P60's and mine for the last 5 years.
but do not have the payslips when i initiate the divorce until decree absolute.
am i in trouble?
pls help me out here

[Guerro]

I see two points in your case:
1. Your ex seems to have pr as she has been exercising treaty rights for 5 years.
Will that strengthen your case?
2. An affidavit is sworn in case you can't provide a vital document which you don't possess.
Will it be acceptable in your case?
A senior member can answer these two questions

[Guerro]

A third point which can be useful:
Can you ask for a court order requesting hmrc or your ex's employer to confirm her employment under freedom of information act as serious harm will happen to you in case such information is not declared?
Waiting for a reply from a senior member

[bobobo]

THe option available is to prove that the Ex spouse was exercising treaty rights. If HO wanted to make it simple they would just ask for NI and do checks themselves. They ask for Payslips and other documents for a reason. I dont want to be negative but this is a vital document and if this is not provided the HO will / can refuse the application and they have the blessing of AIT on this one as well. Many People have had their applications refused due to the absence of this proof.

A third point which can be useful:
Can you ask for a court order requesting hmrc or your ex's employer to confirm her employment under freedom of information act as serious harm will happen to you in case such information is not declared?
Waiting for a reply from a senior member

[Guerro]

I know for a fact the HO will refuse the application if the OP can't show evidence of ex eea exercising treaty rights up to decree absolute, this is out of question. What I'm saying is that rejection will give him the right to appeal and take HO to court and he can swear an affidavit or ask the judge to issue a court order requesting hmrc or ex's employer to confirm employment under freedom of information act, without revealing personal details such as address or salary in accordance with data protection act.
There is a very interesting point which is that the eea had an automatic pr which will not be lost except by two years continuous absence from the uk. So, showing payslips up to 3 months ago should cover 2 years to come. In all cases you need genius solicitor to sort you out and more members here to comment on these points and share ideas.
Difficult situation and non eea has always to live under the mercy and blessings of the eea, this is how the HO interpret the directive. It should come to an end now!

[bobobo]

It will not be that easy to achieve this. OP should have applied for PR earlier whilst still married as he qualified in 2009. There are cases that have gone to the AIT and AIT have backed the HO. This whole process would be very expensive and time consuming for the OP as what you are saying is that he would need to go for a Judicial Review. It would be easier if the EEA national would help.

I know for a fact the HO will refuse the application if the OP can't show evidence of ex eea exercising treaty rights up to decree absolute, this is out of question. What I'm saying is that rejection will give him the right to appeal and take HO to court and he can swear an affidavit or ask the judge to issue a court order requesting hmrc or ex's employer to confirm employment under freedom of information act, without revealing personal details such as address or salary in accordance with data protection act.
There is a very interesting point which is that the eea had an automatic pr which will not be lost except by two years continuous absence from the uk. So, showing payslips up to 3 months ago should cover 2 years to come. In all cases you need genius solicitor to sort you out and more members here to comment on these points and share ideas.
Difficult situation and non eea has always to live under the mercy and blessings of the eea, this is how the HO interpret the directive. It should come to an end now!

[sasim]

thanks bobobo & other guys
well my question is after 6 year of marriage & proof of evidence that ex spouse exercising treaty rights for the last 5 and a half years I still need for this proof(payslips until divorce) ?

well i search my stuff & i got ex bank statement of july in which salary shown from her employer(and in the end of june I applied for divorce)
but I dont have any thing when decree absolute issued which is this month.

so what would u guyz suggest under this circumstances.?

[bobobo]

As explained several times your options are:
1. Apply and take the chance of getting refused by the HO.
2. Go for a judicial review, and be willing to spend £££££££
3. See if your ex can help you.

Nothing more that I can think of apart from these options, Its upto you what you want.

thanks bobobo & other guys
well my question is after 6 year of marriage & proof of evidence that ex spouse exercising treaty rights for the last 5 and a half years I still need for this proof(payslips until divorce) ?

well i search my stuff & i got ex bank statement of july in which salary shown from her employer(and in the end of june I applied for divorce)
but I dont have any thing when decree absolute issued which is this month.

so what would u guyz suggest under this circumstances.?

[sasim]

thanx bobobo for ur advice

[Guerro]

Do you have any idea how much a judicial review will cost? Is it that guaranteed?

[avjones]

Do you have any idea how much a judicial review will cost? Is it that guaranteed?

It completely depends on the subject of the judicial review, and how complicated the law and facts of the case are. I don't know what you mean by the second question - is what guaranteed?

I did a full judicial review today, having been granted permission earlier this month. Total costs so far about £10,000, between barrister and solicitors. But it was a very complicated legal issue indeed, involving lots of different statutes. And the Home Office will be paying our costs, because we won (-:

I did a fresh claim asylum JR recently, where the costs were about £2,500, but in that case the Home Office settled it after permission for JR was granted.

[sasim]

well i've been to 3 different lawyers and explain my situation & show what i've got and they said its up to HO(secreteray of estate) discretion and now adays they r not refusing on those grounds if some one compeleted 5 years and he/she can proove that.
one of them was confident that i dont need ,the 2nd & 3rd has similar advice that its best to have payslips during divorce but if you dont have then file the case before ur visa expire.
So i will file the case and then just wait.because i have no other option.

[avjones]

You're getting a bit ahead of yourself, to be honest. You need to wait for a decision first, then only if it's not positive, worry about JR.

[Guerro]

@ amanda, i mean is it guaranteed to win the judicial review, but as you answered earlier; it depends on the case.
@ sasim, keep us updated about your case and best of luck