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I didn't know that. I was under the impression that one could not switch from the UK visa track to EU in-country. Limey, definitely look into that; if that's the case, it would be much easier than your wife having to travel back to China.Limey, I do not think that your wife has to even apply for the EEA family permit! She can straight away apply for the Residence Card issued to the non-EEA family member of an EEA national using your Irish Passport without having to go China.
You have made me very curious! What is a visa application centre? Is it in the embassy? Who is it run by? How much was the fee?smalldog wrote:I'm also a dual British/Irish citizen with a Chinese wife. We took the EEA route the first time and application was no problem. Absolutely no need for you to apply for residence permit. All we provided was our passports, marriage cert, some bank statements and a letter I wrote stating our intent to travel and live in the UK together. In China you have to apply through a visa application centre and although the application is free they wouldn't waive the application centre admin fee. But it's cheap and they provide a good service.
They are private companies that accept applications and forward them to the embassy for processing. They are not in the embassy and in fact there are 12 around the country making it convenient for people who don't live near a consulate. It is compulsory to apply through an application centre -- I think the idea is to keep visa applicants away from the embassy so the staff don't get overwhelmed by having to communicate with them. The UK also has them in several other countries (Malaysia? Iran?).Directive/2004/38/EC wrote:You have made me very curious! What is a visa application centre? Is it in the embassy? Who is it run by? How much was the fee?
Edited to add: more info here: http://www.uk.cn/bj/visa_index.asp?Lang ... artid=1833There is no fee for applications for Family Permits from family members of EEA nationals. However, some consulates offer the services of application centres for the lodging of applications for which there is an administrative charge. These centres are conveniently located, offer informed advice for visa applicants and longer opening hours than diplomatic posts.
A UK-specific "EEA family permit", is only an entrance visa (valid for 6 months) to enter the UK. Once in the UK, the spouse (likely) needs to then wait for 3 months and apply for a UK issued Residence Card (I think it is form EEA2). I would consider applying (without travelling) directly for a Residence Card, saving the money, the 3 month wait and the extra border crossings.JAJ wrote:A UK-issued EEA family permit does not allow these things. As far as I know, she would need to become a British citizen first.limey wrote:Though there is one advantage in having it as it allows you both to live, work and have health-care in any EU/EEA country.
yes and no.yankeegirl wrote:Let's say your wife gets the UK issued EEA Family Permt and next year you want to move to France (for example). Then I think the process would be the same. [...] You can live/work with your wife in other EU countries, but still would need to apply for Family Permit for any country you wish to move to. The UK-issued one is only good for the UK.
Did you tell them you have both citizenships and that you were considering the two paths? Did they express any issue with you applying one way or another?limey wrote:The IND told me yesterday that if I use my Irish citizenship to get the Family Permit then it is free. If I use my British citizenship then it will cost £500. I'm not sure that advice is correct either?
With our experience, my partner (Irish) and I (Canadian) applied for EEA1 & 2 in Jan 2007. We got our passports back 1 March 2007.I have read others who have mentioned that they had their EU spouse apply for residence card using EEA1 at the same time, and the apps were processed withing a month or so. I'll see if i can find that thread and post the link.