Dutch National with Non-EU Fiancé - how to come back to UK?

[clairey]

Hi Guys,

Back for some more info please! My Dutch friend is living here with her Albanian fiancé, and he has been told he will not get ILR (he originally applied for asylum), but merely a 3 year visa. They would now like to go back to Albania and get married - what do they then need to do to come back to the UK? Would she first have to go to the Dutch embassy in Tirana, and then to the British embassy? I know she has the right as an EU citizen to bring her spouse to the UK, but what is the procedure? Very grateful for any help.

Thanks

[clairey]

Basically, as far as I see it, she (the Dutch national) is exercising treaty rights by working in the UK. So she should apply for a residents permit with form EEA1. But as far as bringing her (soon to be) husband back from Albania, would he need to get a visitor's visa to come here and apply via form EEA2? Sorry, sure these questions have been asked a million times before, but I've only just got my head round what I need to do for my husband, never mind throwing in British and EU law for someone else's husband!!

[John]

As from 30.04.06 when new EU/EEA regulations came in, it is not necessary for the EEA Citizen exercising their Treaty Rights in the UK to apply for a Residence Permit using form EEA1. They can if they want, but even if they don't it is still possible to provide evidence that they are indeed exercising their Treaty Rights.

Also if they have exercised their Treaty Rights in the UK for at least 5 years, they are deemed to automatically have Permanent Residence in the UK. In a similar way they can complete a form EEA3 to get a Permanent Residence sticker in the passport, but it is not compulsory to do so.

How long has the Dutch Citizen been exercising their Treaty Rights, such as working, in the UK?

The Albanian soon-to-be-husband! The marriage is planned to happen in Albania? If so, following that marriage, no it would not be correct to apply for a visitor's visa. Instead an EEA Family Permit should be applied for. Form VAF1 should be used to apply for that ... at the British Embassy. The Dutch Embassy? Only if he wants to move to the Netherlands.

[clairey]

Thanks John,

The Dutch citizen has been working here approx. a year and a half, so she still has a way to go for the 5 years.

Once they've applied at the nightmare that is the British Embassy in Tirana (as that is where they planned to get married), and they get the EEA Family permit, how long would the Albanian citizen be allowed to reside in the UK? I'm presuming that it follows the same lines as the spousal visa and requires a kind of "renewal" process?

[yankeegirl]

Clairey,

I think the initial EEA family permit is good for 6 months. He would then apply for a residence permit from within the UK within that 6 month period and that residence permit is good for 5 years. After the 5 years, he then applies for permanent residence (akin to ILR) and 1 year after that is when he would be able to apply for citizenship.

[clairey]

Thanks Yankeegirl, I'll let my Dutch friend know what they'll need to do in the future!