EEA family permit visit

[Seanedwards71]

Hi,

I hope somebody wouldnt mind helping.

My wife is Peruvian, I am a UK citizen. We’ve both been resident in Spain since 2011. We have been living together since November 2017 and we got married in November 2018.

We want to visit the uk to register her with the royal college of veterinarians. She is a qualified vet from Spain. We want to do this before March 29th. We understand that we can apply for the EEA family permit, using the Surinder Singh route. Could somebody advise if we would need to send much documentation other than what is on the government website, for example do I need to write a cover letter?

Furthermore, is the application likely to be accepted? It seems we tick the boxes.

We hope to move permanently in the future but initially just want to travel over to get her registered with the RCVS which she still can.

[kamoe]

My wife is Peruvian, I am a UK citizen. We’ve both been resident in Spain since 2011.

Why has she not applied for Spanish nationality? Seems like the obvious thing to do and will make her life easier later on.

We have been living together since November 2017 and we got married in November 2018.

We want to visit the uk to register her with the royal college of veterinarians. She is a qualified vet from Spain. We want to do this before March 29th. We understand that we can apply for the EEA family permit, using the Surinder Singh route. Could somebody advise if we would need to send much documentation other than what is on the government website, for example do I need to write a cover letter?

It is my understanding that you only need to provide the mandatory documents. You don't even need to fill in the application form. Obviously, application forms and cover letters help the caseworker to understand your application, which usually translates in better chances of succcess.

Furthermore, is the application likely to be accepted? It seems we tick the boxes.

It seems that will be the case.

We hope to move permanently in the future but initially just want to travel over to get her registered with the RCVS which she still can.

You will need to state in your application that it is your intention to move back to the UK in the immediate future, which does not seem to be the case. And I would think there is a time limit for when you/she can effectively move back to the UK after the permit is issued.

To me, the issue here is not if your application will be successful but if that's the most appropriate thing to do? Seems like the only thing you want to do for now is just visit, for which, being your wife, she doesn't even need a visa.

[Seanedwards71]

Thanks for the detailed response! The big issue is we need to this quickly as we want to get her registered with the RCVS before Brexit as the RCVS may not recognise her degree if not.

Why has she not applied for Spanish nationality? Seems like the obvious thing to do and will make her life easier later on.

She can apply for the citizenship in March 2019, unfortunately this process is currently taking years in Spain so wouldn't help us for quite a while.

We have been trying desperately to get an article 10 residency card, we have a lawyer but unfortunately there are no appointments in catalunya to get the card and our lawyer has been trying since July 2018.

To me, the issue here is not if your application will be successful but if that's the most appropriate thing to do? Seems like the only thing you want to do for now is just visit, for which, being your wife, she doesn't even need a visa.

My understanding is that without the article 10 residency card, she isn't even able to travel to the UK without a visa, despite being my wife. As I said we are still trying to get the residency card, but we are doubting this will be done in time to travel in the next two months.

Therefore, I've been exploring options and it seems that the EEA family permit is the cheapest, easiest and fastest way to do this. May I ask your opinion of this? The whole thing is incredibly confusing.

[Casa]

Probably quicker for your wife to apply for a visitor visa.

[Seanedwards71]

Both involve the submission of document and a trip to Madrid, so can’t see how it would be different other than cost

[kamoe]

We have been trying desperately to get an article 10 residency card, we have a lawyer but unfortunately there are no appointments in catalunya to get the card and our lawyer has been trying since July 2018.

To me, the issue here is not if your application will be successful but if that's the most appropriate thing to do? Seems like the only thing you want to do for now is just visit, for which, being your wife, she doesn't even need a visa.

Oh I see. Indeed, if she doesn't have an article 10 card, then she needs a visa. Sorry, for some reason I thought that her Spanish residence permit, issued under Spanish law (which I gather is what she has then) + marriage certifficate, would suffice, but I just double checked that is not the case and she needs an article 10 card.

I agree then that your other choice, or rather, the actual way you are supposed to do it, is a visitor visa.

Going after Surinder Sing now could be problematic if you do want to come back to the UK later on but don't use this permit to stay in the UK once it's issued. You'll have then to explain that you got a Surinder Sing permit, used it to enter in 2019, but then went back to Spain. Might or might not be a big issue later on when you do apply for a genuine long stay family permit to come back to the UK, just mind it.