EEA2 - Passport vs. Identity Card?

[sensiblejunglist]

Hello, am quite new to this forum.

A friend suggested that i ask some questions here concerning our situation, we'd be grateful if anyone can help.

me
-singapore citizen
-in between jobs work in London (signed up with a temping agency)
-holding an EEA Family Permit which expires in Feb 2009

my wife
-french
-self employed in London
-has lived here since 2003 as a student and worker

I tend to apply for the EEA2 as soon as possible.
However I am aware of the long processing time, which is quite stressful because we intend to visit Europe a lot!

Having just read the EEA2 form, it says "valid Identifiation required - Passport or ID Card". It says the same thing on the document checklist at the back of the form. Passport or ID card

Is it possible to submit my Singapore ID Card, and an embassy-certified copy of my passport? So I retain my passport for travelling in the meantime.

If yes, would this cause further delays in the EEA2, or would they just call me to send in my original passport when the time has come to issue the EEA2 stamp onto it?

My singapore ID card has a different number to the passport (the passport is biometric hence the number changes each time it is renewed)

I've looked through the EEA2 threads here and couldn't find exactly the answers, so would be grateful if someone could help if they have any info. Thank you in advance.

[thsths]

Having just read the EEA2 form, it says "valid Identifiation required - Passport or ID Card". It says the same thing on the document checklist at the back of the form. Passport or ID card

Is it possible to submit my Singapore ID Card, and an embassy-certified copy of my passport? So I retain my passport for travelling in the meantime.

No, a Singapore ID Card will not work here, only European ID Cards are accepted in the EU.

But you can send the application without a passport. Contrary to what the form says, that seems to be working quite well. You will be asked to mail in the passport (and recent pay slips) once your application has reach the front of the queue.

[sensiblejunglist]

thanks for the quick response!

The question that follows is:

Should I send in the application with my passport, THEN request it back with a note saying I need to use it for traveling?

Or can I just send in the application with a certified copy of my passport + a note saying "call me when you are ready to process my application and I'll send it over"?

[sensiblejunglist]

oh and another question:

in early 2009, my wife is planning to visit her brother who's settled in Brazil.

So - Can I send in the EEA2 form with just her ID Card?
This would allow her to use her passport for without any hassle delay of requesting it back from the Home Office (or whoever is processing these things). I also have a copy of her passport certified from the French Embassy (which I used for the EEA Family permit application)

[thsths]

Should I send in the application with my passport, THEN request it back with a note saying I need to use it for traveling?

I would only do that if you have a lot of time. Getting your passport back does not seem to be easy at the moment, there have been a few reports lately that it may take a month or so.

Or can I just send in the application with a certified copy of my passport + a note saying "call me when you are ready to process my application and I'll send it over"?

I just send a normal copy. I do not think that a certified copy is worth the effort, since the UKBA wants to see the original anyway.

[sensiblejunglist]

thanks I guess I'll do that then, just send in a copy of my passport. I;ll have to be flexible with travel plans since they'll want my actual passport when it's time to process the visa!


But I'd still like to clarify my other question:

Can my wife submit just her ID Card? Because she'd need her passport for visiting Brazil, and her travel plans aren't so flexible.
If we submit the EEA2 forms tomorrow, the 6 month wait (I assume it's only 6 months!?) would mean it gets processed round the time she intends to fly out Brazil

The forms say one thing regarding supporting documents, but the ECOs might say another (its happened before, when I applied for the EEA Fam Permit)

Can someone advise from experience of this?

[thsths]

Can my wife submit just her ID Card? Because she'd need her passport for visiting Brazil, and her travel plans aren't so flexible.

Yes, a European ID card is sufficient. Although actually you can also just send a copy of that, too, because without your passport they will ask for the original anyway.

The forms say one thing regarding supporting documents, but the ECOs might say another (its happened before, when I applied for the EEA Fam Permit)

Yes, unfortunately neither the form nor the caseworkers are very reliable. And by the time your application is being processed, everything may be different again, or they may still take ages after they request the originals. But for now that seems to work pretty well, and you will only be without your passport for 4 weeks or so.

If you need to travel more often than that, you have to negotiate with the caseworker. They recommend not to book any travel until you have received the passport, which of course also means that you should not send the passport if you have any travel booked. How that is supposed to work if you travel frequently is a good question.

Well, with a bit of luck things will clean up and work better once the caseworkers in Liverpool are getting used to the job.