Help needed asap with UK visa issues please!

[angjax]

Appeal for help!!

Current situation
I am a New Zealand born citizen who married an Irishman in NZ last month. We have relocated to the UK as he has a permanent job offer here. I will be applying for an EEA2 residence card this week and have been advised by the UKBA that I can work in the UK once I receive my COA.

Issues
We flew out of NZ via Sydney and Abu Dhabi to Dublin where we spent a week on holiday before flying into the UK via London-Luton Airport. When we arrived in Dublin my passport was stamped with a 3 month holiday visa for Ireland, however when we arrived in Luton there was no border control so I did not get a holiday visa stamp for the UK. I was concerned that not having this stamp might affect my EEA2 application and my ability to travel so I did some research on the net which suggested I return to Luton airport to get my passport stamped with a visa. I did this today but was advised by Border Control that they will not do this and I will have to leave after 3 months, not 6 months as I had flown in via Ireland.
(Before flying out I was advised by both Immigration and our travel agent that I could spend 3 months in Ireland and 6 months in the UK on holiday)

My main concerns are;
1/ Will not having this visa stamp affect my EEA2 application as after 3 months I will effectively become an overstayer? (provided my EEA2 application is not processed in this timeframe –which seems unlikely after reading the boards here).

2/ Is it possible to be sent home once the three months expires even though I’m married to an EU citizen?

3/ Will this affect our travel plans? We had hoped to travel back to Ireland at least twice in the next 6 months (we are aware we will need to get our passports back from UKBA to do this) but without a visa stamp will this be possible for me?

I have read through a whole heap of information and spoken to many people but can’t seem to find any answers…any help would be greatly appreciated – thanks!!

[Kitty]

When you enter the UK with your Irish husband, or in order to join him here, you may do so under European rules.

If there had been any kind of immigration control at Luton, then you would (hopefully) have been cleared to enter as the spouse of an EEA national, and not as a visitor.

Now that you are in the UK you are entitled to be here as the family member of an EEA national. For the first 3 months of his stay your husband does not have to be doing anything in particular: thereafter he will need to be exercising treaty rights (as a worker, jobseeker, student etc.). Your EEA2 application is not affected by the fact you do not have an entry stamp.

You are not an overstayer. You cannot be sent home, except in extremely limited circumstances. Your rights derive entirely from your relationship to your husband and his exercise of European rights in the UK. Your rights exist independently of any visa or residence card that you might apply for, even though it is often useful to have these pieces of paper as proof of your status.

The only difficulty I foresee in travelling to and from Ireland is that although you can request your passport from UKBA while the EEA2 application is being processed, you will not have your marriage certificate, which you will need in order to prove your family relationship to an EEA national.

What you could do is wait until you are in Ireland next and apply for a Family Permit before you return: it should be issued very quickly, and is valid for 6 months, meaning you can travel during that time. When you are back in the UK, apply for your Residence Card on form EEA2.

[fysicus]

What is the problem with the marriage certificat? With a New Zealand passport you can visit Ireland without visa, or not? It seems to me OP refers to short visits, while getting settled in UK. And for this trips to Ireland there is then no need to prove you are a family member of an EEA national.
I think she can just apply for a Residence Card straightaway, and ask the passports back from UKBA as quickly as possible.

[Jambo]

Apply for EEA2 this week and once you get the Certificate of Application (takes about a month) ask for the passports back. Armed with the CoA, you should not have any problems travelling to/from Ireland with your partner.

You can't become over-stayer as long as your husband exercises treaty rights (in his case - working).

[Kitty]

I was thinking more about the return to the UK than the trips to Ireland: I had forgotten about the COA, but will it be enough to verify that the OP is related as claimed to her EEA husband? It should be, IMO, but persuading an IO might be a different matter.

[fysicus]

Well, I would think: if a CoA allows you to work in the UK, it should even more so allow you to be in the UK.

And of course, I would also make sure to have a copy of the marriage certificate (you can even get a certified copy just by walking into the nearest police station, for example).

[Kitty]

Oh, I agree that it should be acceptable evidence of family member status (and your point about the marriage certificate is a good one). It's just a question of whether things go smoothly if there's anyone at the desk when the OP comes back.

Considering a Family Permit is free and should be processed quickly, it seems a bit 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

[angjax]

Thanks for all the great advice, it's much appreciated. I have posted off the EEA2 application today, after getting notarised copies of everything as well.

FYI, as a New Zealander, I have a 3 month holiday visa for Ireland and 3 months for the UK (as I entered through Ireland - although if I had entered through England I would have got 6 months instead).

I presume armed with all relevant documents I will be ok travelling to Ireland with my husband and back during the next 3 months. I imagine I might run into difficulties between the holiday visa expiring and receiving my EEA2 application though...depending on the staff on at the time.

I'm really keen to start work asap, am I better off to wait to receive my COA or can I start the process now? And do I have to wait to get the COA to apply for an NHI number? According to their website it's best to have a job offer before applying...seems a strange way to do things..

Thanks again everyone

[Jambo]

I presume armed with all relevant documents I will be ok travelling to Ireland with my husband and back during the next 3 months. I imagine I might run into difficulties between the holiday visa expiring and receiving my EEA2 application though...depending on the staff on at the time.

The 3/6 months stamp on entry is a single entry not a multiple entries one so essentially every entry resets the clock (but I would not count solely on getting a new 3 months visa. They might refuse entry if they suspect you are not coming for holiday. Not your case of course).
Just spoke with a friend who came yesterday with a CoA and expired FP. Took him 4 minutes to pass the border control. The only difficulty was that the IO had to go to the backoffice to get the 6 months stamp (code 1A) as he did not have it with him. So I don't suspect a lot of difficulties although worth having your marriage certificate with you (as my friend had an expired Family Permit so his case is a bit stronger than yours).

I'm really keen to start work asap, am I better off to wait to receive my COA or can I start the process now?

You can start now. The only tricky bit is whether an employer would be willing to employ you without a proof but you can start now by sending CV and going to interview and then show the CoA when you get it (one month approx).

do I have to wait to get the COA to apply for an NHI number? According to their website it's best to have a job offer before applying...seems a strange way to do things..

You don't need a CoA to apply for NI number. The reason they ask for a job offer is that they don't want to bother with the process if you will not start working..... But you can apply for NI if you are actively looking for a job (sending CV, having interviews). The only issue might be that they will ask for a passport or a proof of ID (benefit fraud..) although a certified copy might be enough.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

angjax,

For the time being, until you get your Residence Card, you should always travel with your Irish spouse and always carry your marriage certificate.

Should you need to work immediately, you could always go for a same day return trip to France (or anywhere EU other than Ireland). On your return you should immediately identify yourself to UK immigration as the spouse of an EU citizen and request a Code 1A stamp (see http://eumovement.wordpress.com/2010/08 ... to-travel/ ). You can work on that. Remember that you must be traveling with your spouse and must carry your marriage certificate. And if you have been in the UK for more than 3 months, you need to carry proof that your Irish spouse is working in the UK.

And relax about being illegal in the UK. As long as your Irish spouse is legally here, then so are you!

[angjax]

Thanks everyone for all the information, advice and wisdom!

My residence card arrived today, I couldn't believe it
Applied on the 21 June 2011
COA 8 July 2011
Residence Card 4 August 2011

Let's hope it's the same for others, thanks again:)

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

UKBA is getting faster!

[Qman]

I really really really hope that's the case cos i sent my application in a week after you