Post
by mike#23 » Mon Dec 22, 2014 2:39 pm
Hi all,
I have a quick question on the EEA Family Permit and I'd truly appreciate your help. I've read the laws and regulations and I've gone through some posts on the board, but every case seems to be different, thus I thought I would ask and maybe someone would be kind enough to help.
I am an EEA citizen living and working in the UK for the past 1.5 year. My girlfriend is Ecuadorian and we've been together for a bit under a year, although we've known each other for over 3 years. We don't really see each other too often due to considerable distance, but we talk lot every day over the Internet (Skype, Viber, etc.) which is obviously not enough, although this is the best we can get for now.
We've been trying to get her to the UK so we can live together and we decided to start with the student visa as it seemed like quite a reasonable option. However, it turned out that for Tier 4 visa she would need to have some English certificates passed to prove the proficiency in English (which she currently doesn't have), while the Student Visitor visa didn't really make much sense as I would have to spend a lot of money on the course which wouldn't grant her any working rights and if I have to move because of my job, I will never get that money back.
Long story short, we've decided to at least investigate the EEA Family Permit. I make much more than the treshold of £18k, so I would be able to provide for both of us while she is here. However, my concerns are:
1) Will we be eligible for the visa at all or is it more of a wishful thinking (not married, don't see each other too often, haven't been together for too long, haven't lived together)?
2) Does it make any sense to fill the application or could it impact our chances for any partnership visas in the future if the application is denied?
3) If we have no chance for EEA Family Permit visa, what can be done to increase our chances in the future (e.g. vacation together, common hotel reservations, etc.)?
4) Would it make any sense to go to the immigration lawyer to obtain help on this matter?
As mentioned before, I would be really grateful for any comments and suggestions.
Many thanks,
Mike