non-EU married to an EU in the UK....

[kevinois]

this is my story: hope someone can help

i arrived in the Uk in 2002 as a dependant of my brother who applied for asylum. one year later i got married to my wife who is a French citizen. the marriage was celebrated in the UK and has been registered at the French consulate. we got the marriage certificate from both UK and French registered office. and also copie of "Le Livret the famille" which is given to any french couple after the marriage.
two years after the marriage, my brother case was refused. my wife and i then got a house which she is paying the rent and all the bills. it is hard for her to carry all the responsabilities on her own. i dont have permission to work. my wife got a job in France which enable her to provide us food and to pay the bills.
we went to the french ambassy to apply for a french visa. the Visa has been granted but before the French ambassy to put the visa in my passport, i will need the UK resident first in my passport.
since i have been in this country, i have been doing lots voluntary jobs and studies which enable me to achieve an HND in computing technical Support.
now i would like to apply for residence and get permission to work so that my wife and i could live as any normal couple.
Please advise

[PeterKane]

If your wife finds a job in the UK, she'll be exercising her treaty rights and you could apply for an EEA family permit.

[kevinois]

my wife is working at the moment in france, and she is paying all our bills in the uk. i went to a lawyer who is helping to fill the form EEA2, i just dont know if the immigration will grant me the residence.

[OL7MAX]

If your wife finds a job in the UK, she'll be exercising her treaty rights and you could apply for an EEA family permit.

Interesting that. I had a read of the EEA family permit rules and there doesn't seem to be a requirement that you are in good visa standing to get an EEA family permit. If appears that if anyone happens to have violated a UK visa in the past they are better off marrying an EC national than a UK one! Strange!

Anyway, good luck, kevinois.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Was your wife living properly in the UK when you got married, and then she moved back to France?

Your rights as a partner of an EU citizen (initially) depend on you exercising them with her. You can get a british residence permit if she is living here with you. If the wife is no longer living in the UK, then an UK "EEA family permit" will almost certainly not fly.

Your EU rights as a spouse of an EU citizen mostly apply outside the country of the EU citizen. BUT if she is living in the EU outside of France, and then moves back to France (with you), then EU law is central because she has been exercising her EU treaty rights in living in the UK.

I suspect you have to be very careful in clarifying where she has been officially living at different points in time. Get professional advise about this!

[kevinois]

thanks all for your comments,
i just get a lawyer who is helping me to fill the EEA2 form, he advice that i should apply as spouse of a self sufficient EU member.
i will keep u inform of any update.
any suggestion will be fully appreciated.
Thanks
Merry Christmas to All!!!!!!!!

[antontony]

Hello,

With all the respect, your spouse MUST BE IN THE UK at the time of your application.

She MUST NOT be outside of the UK.

Under the EEA Directives (laws) you may NOT live "under the same roof" with your spouse, but you and your spouse MUST reside in the SAME country. In other words, the Home Office will CERTAINLY put your application on hold and request prood that our EEA wife is a self-sufficient person RESIDING in the UK. Otherwise why should they issue a permit to someone who's "main applicant" is NOT in the UK ?

I hope that "lawyer" mentioned to you that EEA2 is FREE ?

Also, it is true that you CAN apply for an EEA Residence Card even if your visa has expired (AND ONLY !), provided you initially entered the UK with a valid with AND as a spouse of an EEA national.

I am sorry to say but a failed asylum seeking dependant will be required to leave the UK and apply for an EEA Family Permit in the country of his former residence.

Regards,

Anton

[kevinois]

Hi all,
thanks Anton for your comment which i really appreciated.
why should my lawyer ask me to apply for a residence permit under the EU law if there is no chance for the application to go through?
as i said in my first message, i first applied for a french visa which has been accepted by the french consulate, but in order to hav it stamp in my passport, i need to hav residence in the uk.that s why im applying. " as i arrived in the UK as a dependant of my brother who apply for asylum but the case being refused."
how long do u think my wife should live in the Uk before me applying for the residence?
Thanks