I have been searching google and various forums for days and asked my questions through the gov.uk visa email form (to which I received a generic, possibly automated response).
Also, for some of them I have found related questions and advise in forums but from a couple of years ago, so I am not quite sure if the information is still correct.
I would very much appreciate any help on my questions or confirmations that the answers that I intend to give make sense.
Some Data
I am German, my wife is Japanese. We have been married for about one year and have been living together in Japan since.
I recently got a job offer (already signed the contract) from a UK company and we are planning to move there in May.
We will be flying there together and will live for the first couple of weeks in temporary housing that will be provided by the company.
What we are asking advise for
We are currently trying to apply for an EEA family permit for my wife.
As far as I understand, it is only possible to apply online in Japan, however, I also went through the PDF application form (https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -form-vaf5) since a lot of things seem to be explained in more details there.
Most other questions/faq/answers that I have found were concerned with the pdf form.
(I have read "Q2: What do I need to submit with the EEA FP application?" in the EEA faq)
The online form that we have to fill in seems to have a large overlap but a lot of questions are marked as mandatory that we would not have to fill out in the pdf.
For many of them I have to pick a given option and can't just simply put a "N/A".
Below is a list of points that we are confused about, I would be very grateful for help on any of them.
- I keep reading of people that prove that the EEA national is exercising his treaty rights by providing payslips, contract and cover letter written by the EEA national.
I am not sure what the treaty rights are but I suppose it refers to the freedom of movement within the EU (Regulation 11 and 12)?
None of us is living or working in the UK at this moment, we are planning to travel there together.
As far as I understand, we don't need any evidence that I (the EEA national) am exercising my treaty rights.
Is that correct? - Do we have to provide any proof that we have been living together?
Even if not necessary, would you advise us to do so? (The internal guidelines mention that living together is evidence of a sincere relationship/marriage) - I read in several other forum threads that people do not supply financial information of the non-EEA national (my Japanese wife).
Again, these fields are marked as mandatory in the online form and we can't submit it if we don't fill them in.
Would you advise in our particular case that we don't supply any info about our finances? ("What is your total monthly income", "Employer", "Type of work", "Savings", ...)
If we do provide this info, do we have to back it up with documents? (We'd have to get them translated and certified as they would be in Japanese)
If we don't provide it, what do you suggest we answer to questions like "What is your current working status?" where it is mandatory to select an option ("Employed full time", "Part time", ...)? - Should we fill in "Please enter what you plan to do whilst in the UK"?
- My wife was in the UK as a student for one year and was admitted to the hospital there once.
"Have you ever received medical treatment in the UK?" seems quite intrusive, we are even asked to state the location of the hospital.
Can we skip this? - "Is the UK address given the permanent address of the EEA National?"
This is from the "EEA National" category where I was asked for my permanent address. I specified my address in Tokyo as it is the only address I am registered for in any country.
I never specified any UK address in this category (since none of us has one at this point), yet, I have to answer this question with a yes or no. The question is mandatory. Any advise on what to specify? - After that, they ask a lot of details about my current working status (EEA National).
(This corresponds to section 8.10 in the pdf).
I haven't started my job in the UK, yet, so this would refer to my Japanese job.
It is madatory to choose between "Full time", "Part time", and several other options and I have to select one of them.
I am working full time in Japan. If I select full time, do I need to specify all the details they ask about my Japanese employer? - Another question is if I intend to work in the UK.
If I select yes (truthfully), I have to provide details about my future employer.
I suppose I will have to back up the data that I supply with evidence.
Do I have to ask my future UK employer to send me a statement saying I will be working for them? - EEA faq: Q2 here in the forum: "A declaration by the EEA national that the non EEA national would be travelling together or joining him"
Is this still required? I haven't seen any mention in the online application. (Maybe they will tell me after submitting the online part?) - "What is the main address and contact details of where you will be staying whilst in the UK?"
I will specify the address of the temporary housing there. We will have to move to a place where we will stay permanently after two months but this is the only address I have right now. Is that enough or is it better to put an "N/A" there.
If you have advise on any of them I would be very grateful.
After checking for days I haven't been able to figure these out, so maybe other people will find advise on these questions helpful, too.
Best,
uksan