Bringing old mother to UK with us?

[obormot]

I am a French citizen, I was living and working in USA for last 14 years. My husband, kids, and I are permanently relocating to UK (Scotland) this summer - we both have job offers.
My mother is Russian citizen only. She lives with us in USA for last several years (I am also US citizen, and I sponsored my mother for the residence permit in USA). My mother is 68, she does not work, she is a widow, I am her only child. She lives in our house as a family member from 2007, and is fully supported by us.

I am trying to collect documents to apply for EEA family permit for my mother and I am at loss on how to prove her dependency.
I have:
- tax returns, where she is declared as my dependent
- several documents (like mine and my mom's driving licenses, car insurance card with my, my husband's and my mom's names, or her social security card) showing we have same address (and proof I own that house). I cannot send the originals of those though, as we need them every day, only copies.
- My application for her to get Residence permit in USA from 2008, where I signed "affidavit of support"; approval notice for that application (for me and for my mom, same address)

She does not have bank account, so there are no papers showing that I "give" her any money. She is an authorized user on my credit card, but her name is not mentioned on my credit card statements (I could send copies of mine and her cards, showing same card number - ?).
Should I get some statements from friends?

Also, how important is it to send the originals? (For example, her Green Card is very difficult to replace, I would prefer not to send the original; some documents, like driving license, you need to have on you, so you cannot send them)

I will send a copy of my French passport, endorsed by French consulate, mine and my mom's birth certificate, marriage certificate of my parents, and death certificate for my father (all with translation from Russian to English). I will also send the salary letter from my current employer in USA and the offer letter from my future employer in UK. My UK employer is also writing a "support letter" for the embassy.

Does the translator need to be some "certified authorized official translator"?? The UK website only says translator has to state s/he is fluent in both languages and provide contact details..

Please help

[Lucapooka]

I think the fact that she has nothing in her name (bank accounts, etc) works in your favour. I don't see a problem with this application.

[fysicus]

As your mother has lived in your household for the last couple of years, is above state retirement age and has no income of her own (or perhaps a very small Russian pension, which is next to nothing in the UK or USA?) it should be obvious to anyone, including UKBA employees, that she is a dependent family member. Some time ago I convinced UKBA in a similar situation with the following paragraph (and no supporting documents at all!):

I believe it is only necessary to verify that my mother-in-law is presently financially dependent on me (according to ECI CHAPTER 2 ("RIGHTS OF NON-EEA NATIONAL FAMILY MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA) NATIONALS") section 2.3.2). Because she is over the age of 65 and does not speak English, I think it is obviously impossible for her to support herself in this country. I don’t know what sort of documentary evidence could make this point any clearer!

You need your own birth certificate to prove the family connection; your mothers birth certificate, her marriage certificate and your father's death certificate are not necessary. You can mention somewhere in the application that your mother is a widow now, but there is no need to prove it.
Only one (preferably recent) proof of address should be sufficient, and if you cannot afford to send the original, send a certified copy and an explanation why you did it.

I agree with Lucapooka: it should be a straightforward case.

[obormot]

Dear all:

Thank you for the support. Today I got my mother's passport back from NY consulate, with the EEA family permit stamped it it. It took them a bit more then two weeks.
I have a few more questions, and would very much appreciate any help.

1. I plan to apply for EEA 1 (for me) + EEA 2 (for my mom) as soon as we arrive (mid-July).
- Are there any ways to push the process to be completed in 3-4 months, rather then 6 and more? (Like help from my employer, who is a big Scottish university)?
- I understand that we can request passports back, and once we get them my mom can travel in and out UK until the end of her EEA FP (which is mid-January). Am I correct?

2. I could not get one thing: is EEA 2 a stamp in the passport, or are they now giving it as a separate card?
If it is still a stamp, once my mother changes passport later (her current one expires in fall 14), would she be able to simply travel in and out UK with expired passport with valid EEA 2 stamp + new passport?
Or will we need to re-do the whole application?

3. My mom will have to leave UK the end of November to go to USA and then to stay there for about 4-5 months, as she will be applying for US citizenship (I will still maintain her, and she will live with my friend).
I am trying to figure out what can I do to minimize the hassle with her returning to UK afterwords.
- Clearly, if she will get her EEA 2 before the end of November, there will be no problem.
- If she will get EEA 2 approval and stamp/card while she is in US (I could return her passport to UKBA, if needed, once she is in US - I assume they do not need her to appear in person?), will she have any trouble upon returning and crossing the border?
- If the process will not be finished, and her EEA FP will expire, would it be OK to border the plain on US passport (once she gets it), and once arrived to show all the documents about our relation + the paper that UKBA is considering her EEA 2 (CoA, I think?)
- I guess we could also apply for EEA FP again, but I would prefer to avoid this additional straggle..

Thank you!

[Jambo]

1. I plan to apply for EEA 1 (for me) + EEA 2 (for my mom) as soon as we arrive (mid-July).
- Are there any ways to push the process to be completed in 3-4 months, rather then 6 and more? (Like help from my employer, who is a big Scottish university)?

Not really. It's a bit of rolling the dice. Can take 2 months to 6 months.

- I understand that we can request passports back, and once we get them my mom can travel in and out UK until the end of her EEA FP (which is mid-January). Am I correct?

Correct.

2. I could not get one thing: is EEA 2 a stamp in the passport, or are they now giving it as a separate card?
If it is still a stamp, once my mother changes passport later (her current one expires in fall 14), would she be able to simply travel in and out UK with expired passport with valid EEA 2 stamp + new passport?
Or will we need to re-do the whole application?

It's a vignette either in a passport (if the HO still have the passport) or a stand alone A4 paper. The RC doesn't expire when the passport expires. You just need to carry the RC (in the old passport/stand alone papaer) with the new passport.

3. My mom will have to leave UK the end of November to go to USA and then to stay there for about 4-5 months, as she will be applying for US citizenship (I will still maintain her, and she will live with my friend).
I am trying to figure out what can I do to minimize the hassle with her returning to UK afterwords.
- Clearly, if she will get her EEA 2 before the end of November, there will be no problem.
- If she will get EEA 2 approval and stamp/card while she is in US (I could return her passport to UKBA, if needed, once she is in US - I assume they do not need her to appear in person?), will she have any trouble upon returning and crossing the border?

If the HO don't have the passport, then will put the vignette on a stand alone paper. If she is not in the country, you could DHL it to the states.

- If the process will not be finished, and her EEA FP will expire, would it be OK to border the plain on US passport (once she gets it), and once arrived to show all the documents about our relation + the paper that UKBA is considering her EEA 2 (CoA, I think?)

Yes. With a US passport she can just enter using her CoA.