- -First application May 2013
-COA received 1.5 weeks later May 2013
-ROD request for passport and other documents as soon as I got the COA
-Passport and other documents returned within 2 weeks of ROD request
-Application rejected circa Aug 2013 (no rejection letter received, had to find out by trying to get back in the country) - reason: did not believe partner was exercising treaty rights, i.e. working
-Went on trip without EEA2, came back requested Code 1A stamp, waited 2 hours while they made calls everywhere, received Code 1A stamp but only valid for 2 months
- -2nd application Early Oct 2013
-ROD request made immediately upon seeing they received my application
-COA received 2 weeks later
-ROD not received within 10 working days, proceeded with follow up request, 5 working days later still no response, called into EEA2 helpline, weren't helpful at all, made a complaint via e-mail, 6 working days later Passport but no other documents were sent special delivery. Total working days to get passport: ~24
-EEA2 received, all documents returned - Late November 2013
THINGS I LEARNED THAT MIGHT HELP YOU IF YOU'RE DOING AN APPLICATION
1) If your EEA partner is working, make sure you send both a contract and and a payslip showing NI number with the application. In the old application it said any one of those would do, that is a lie, you should endeavor to send both.
2) Make the ROD request after you receive your COA, they're incapable of matching your ROD request with your application if they haven't sent a COA
3) Recently ROD requests seem to be taking longer to fulfill, leave plenty of time. BUT, if they haven't returned your documents within 10 days and you want to follow up, I would quickly make a follow up request via their website form, wait a couple days and if your documents still haven't been posted, send them a complaint ASAP to
complaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk . Make sure you include your Case ID, etc. They are the only people that can speed up your ROD request, the people on the phone are completely useless.
4) You have every right to leave the country and come back while your EEA2 application is in progress. You have every right to leave the country and come back even if you don't do an EEA2 application. The Home Office will not tell you this, the people on these boards aren't sure, but I read the laws and regulations, I read the Home Office immigration manuals, and I've done it. It's perfectly legal and perfectly within protocols. BUT, you must be able to prove you are married and/or family member of an EEA national and that the EEA national is exercising treaty rights, which means you essentially need to have all the documents that you sent as part of the EEA2 application sent back to you and you need to have them while you are crossing the border. Also it's advised to be travelling with your family member, if that cannot be the case, make sure they're available to take a phone call. As has been said on these boards before, you are almost for sure going to be inconvenienced. I waited 2 hours to try to cross the border this way. The border guards pulled up my EEA2 application on the computer, found that it had been rejected (which was news to me), called my partner and after 2 hours finally admitted me in on a Code 1A stamp. It's a lot of hassle, but once you have the Code 1A stamp you can come and go as you please and you will not be stopped at the border as long as its still valid (the Code 1A stamp SHOULD be good for 6 months, in my case it wasn't because my application had just been rejected so they were a little suspicious and only gave me 2 months). It's quite stressful and it's 2 hours of your life wasted, but it'll probably take less of your time and energy than getting the EEA family permit to cross the border.
5) If you are travelling abroad you DON'T need to do the EEA Family Permit to get back into the country. Despite what the Home Office will tell you. The Code 1A stamp can and must be issued to family members of EEA nationals who are travelling with their family members or coming to join the EEA national in the country regardless of whether they are coming to the UK to live permanently or not, so long as they are able to prove they are family members (marriage certificate), can prove their ID and that of their partner (passport and EU national ID), and can prove the EEA national is exercising treaty rights. This means if you want to make a quick trip to Spain and don't have time to visit the UK consulate to get the EEA Family Permit, you are perfectly able to.
6) If you are flying within the UK, you do not need your passport, you don't even need an ID if you're flying with BA. All other airlines have different ID requirements for domestic flights, but government regulations do not require any form of ID (as evidenced by BA protocols). You can use your national ID or drivers license (i.e. non UK forms of ID) to fly with Easyjet. When I called them they said I just need a piece of laminated plastic with my photo on it. Then, when I flew with them between London and Edinburgh they weren't even checking ID's.
What a horrible process. The Home Office / UKBA are moderate to very incompetent. Every person at the Home Office / UKBA will tell you something different if you ask them about something. The Home Office / UKBA actively try to obfuscate the options available to you through EU laws. At least the £50 you need to spend now on the application process seems to have sped up processing times. What a bunch of numpties.
Can't wait to leave this country
. 
