EuFam delay - what's going to happen?

[GAWN]

Hello,

the following question is a bit tricky... but maybe somebody has experiences?

I am a German citizen and came to Ireland for a temporary job in early November 2010. Arranged everything found a place for us to stay and my wife, who is a Myanmar (Burmese) citizen joined me together with our three kids (all German citizens, aged 1, 2, and 3 yrs) around Christmas 2010.

She applied for a 4 EuFam Card in mid January 2011, but the process was delayed due to the fact that the house rent agreement was in my name only so the evidence of residence we provided was not considered sufficient at first. Coming both from countries with and organised registration system in place and your address stamped on your ID card we first had difficulties to figure out what 'the evidence of residence thing' was all about. Then the letting agent I had rent the house from ignored my requests to either add my wife's name to the agreement or to furnish us with a letter confirming the residence and update the PRTB registration as requested by INIS.
We kept sending them all kinds of official letters, utility bills, bank statements and the like in both our names (in the meantime my wife is even getting Irish child benefits for our kids) and in May 2011 finally received a final letter that did not request further evidence of residence (as all previous letters had done) but just stated that the office would contact us in due course. When is that going to be?

Now the German residence permit has expired (due to being longer than six months out of the country!), the provisional GNIB we were given is about to expire as well.
In October my work here is done and we plan to go back to Germany (after a short visit in Burma) in October - but that will of course only be possible with a 4 EUFam stamp! Madness!
BTW, a German join spouse visa takes about 8 months to process (at least it did last that long the last time we applied 6 years ago....

All other documents are perfectly alright, we've been married for 6 years and have three kids together; lived in Germany for five years and proven all that by solid documents. No doubts about that.

What's going to happen to us? How long can it possibly take until we finally get the card?

We're kind of caught here, I fear that my wife might be ordered to leave the country (or even be deported?) and the kids definitely need their mum around!

Any thoughts on our situation?

Kind regards,

Georg

[fatty patty]

Irish immigration cannot deport your wife merely as her case is pending and even after her temp EUFAM card expires. You are currently exercising your treaty rights (working) which means your dependents can stay with you until Oct. As far as the EUFAM card is concerned the decision will be made on your application in 6 months i believe. The 6 months timeframe is forced upon by writ of EU law and the Irish authorities have to make a decision in that timeframe (they sometimes go a week or two over but drop them a reminder stating her card is expiring and you require a decision). PRTB letters can become a stickler point sometimes as noticed on the boards here. Also since they stopped asking about proof of residence that means what you submitted is sufficient enough. But as soon as you get it send post them in to the treaty rights section no harm.

[GAWN]

Thanks for the answer.
Actually we're never going to get the PRTB letter because we haven't succeeded making the letting agent perform the registration - I kept calling, texting and emailing him, but in vain: 'Yes, yes, I'll do that for you...' but it never happened. A lawyer whom I consulted told me then that this particular agency ('No waffle, we get results'!) is well known for not caring about anything once you've signed the agreement - neither for their tennants', nor for their landlords' needs. So the lawyer has written a letter for us confirming again my wife's residence and that out efforts to get the PRTB letter have been fruitless over several months, suggesting that they should accept other evidence (utility bills, bank statements, official letters from various govt. offices etc... that we had already sent them). Apparently that letter helped a bit. (?)

When would the 6 months timespan begin? With the date when when our application was initially received (21 Jannuary 2011) or with the date when the last piece of additional evidence was received (end of May)?

The email they sent me today when I inquired about the status was

"Thank you for your query. Your application was received by this office on 21/01/2011. It can take up to six months for applications to be processed. When a decision is made on your application a letter will be issued to you by registered post."

Does this mean, where going to get a decision before the end of July?

Cheers,

Georg

[fatty patty]

Yes it is when you submit your application and its acknowledged so that means your six months are up on 21/7.

[GAWN]

Hi again,

sorry for asking all these questions, but as we trying to plan the remainder of this year, will the decision be likely to mean that my wife will actually get her GNIB Card with 4 EUFam stamp in July?
I mean, except the Evidence of Residence issues there haven't been any unclear things - all necessary documents to prove our mariage, the birth of our children, and my employment have been provided. And me being a German citizen working in Ireland we are clearly entitled to EU Treaty rights.

Still, is there a risk that the decision might be postponed or even negative? (Has this happened before? For what reasons?)
Is my wife likely to get a new GNIB card with EUFam instantly when the decision is made or will we have to face other bureaucratic delays?

This is importnat to know for us as we can't possibly travel abroad without the card, right?

Best Greetings,

Georg

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Georg,

They have a hard limit of 6 months. You can send any sort of proof of residence - a bank statement of hers, a copy of her library card transactions. It does not have to be a rental registration.

I would urge your to contact Solvit right now. http://eumovement.wordpress.com/help-eu-solvit/ They can be helpful.

I would also suggest that your remind DOJ that they have a legal obligation to process it in 6 months, and that you will complain to the European Commission if they do not quickly resolve the issue.

Also - your wife can not be deported so long as you are legally resident in Ireland. And all you need to do is be working. Totally relax about that and focus on getting them to move their disorganized buts.