Difficulties entering UK (EEA Family Permit)

[Marco 72]

I am an Italian citizen working full time in the UK. My wife, a US citizen, joined me on an EEA Family Permit in July 2005 and in November that year she was granted a 5-year "residence card", which expired in November 2010. In September 2010 she applied for a permanent residence stamp in her passport by filing form EEA4. Shortly afterwards she asked for our passports back, and we received them a few days later. In October she received her Certificate of Application which states, among other things, that she is "free to live and work in the United Kingdom" until her application is decided.

Two weeks ago we left for a holiday in Italy, bringing with us the Certificate of Application, together with evidence of my employment in the UK (to show if needed). Today, when we arrived back at Heathrow, the immigration officer noted that my wife's residence card had expired, and asked if she had a new one. We showed her the CoA, she then asked us why we had gone to Italy, and when told it was a holiday she said we should not have left the UK for non-urgent travel. She left to confer with someone, then came back and told us she was going to give my wife a six month stamp, but that she should not leave the UK again until her application is decided, and we should send our passports back to the Border Agency straight away (actually, UKBA had told us we could keep the passports until they requested them back).

My questions:

1. My wife's stamp says "Leave to enter the United Kingdom is hereby given for/until Six Months / 6th June 2011". Underneath, it has "LHS 46 767". I assume that this still allows her to work, and is not the usual 6 month stamp given to tourists. Is this correct?

2. Was the immigration officer correct when she said that my wife should not leave the UK until her application has been decided? That seemed a bit strange, since I know someone in a similar situation to my wife whose residence card also expired and who did not even apply for a permanent residence stamp, but who left the UK and came back simply showing evidence of her German husband's employment in the UK.

Thanks.

[Plum70]

The six month stamp was unnecessary since your wife automatically attained PR in July 2010 and is merely waiting for confirmation of this on paper.

The IO is incorrect in advising that your wife be 'island bound' till her PR application is confirmed. She is free to travel provided she can prove that she has attained PR and is resident in the UK.

[Marco 72]

The six month stamp was unnecessary since your wife automatically attained PR in July 2010 and is merely waiting for confirmation of this on paper.

The IO is incorrect in advising that your wife be 'island bound' till her PR application is confirmed. She is free to travel provided she can prove that she has attained PR and is resident in the UK.

Thanks, that was my understanding too. However, many of the IOs we have come across don't seem to know very much about immigration under EU rules. Is there something from a UK government website which we could print out and bring with us on a next trip? Our word that my wife attained PR in July last year and that the stamp is just a confirmation of this will carry little weight if the IO doesn't know the rules.

[Plum70]

Print relevant excerpts of the EU Directive 2004/38/EC and its transposition into UK Law - The Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006.

See here for the full docs:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... dlaw/ecis/

[Marco 72]

Print relevant excerpts of the EU Directive 2004/38/EC and its transposition into UK Law - The Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006.

See here for the full docs:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... dlaw/ecis/

Thanks again.

[fysicus]

The stamp your wife received is a so-called code 1A stamp. This is the normal procedure for persons who do not have a valid (permanent) residence card, but nevertheless do have the right to enter the UK as a family member of a (qualified) EEA national, and were able to convince the immigration officer by other means, as it is called in the law. This stamp has the same status as an EEA Family Permit, so until 6 June you can travel in and out of the UK without any further problems, and by then you should of course have received the Permanent Residence Card, assuming the EEA4 application will be successfull.
My prediction is that UKBA will not ask your passports back, but instead send you the PRC as an Immigration Status Document (an A4 sheet of paper with the visa-sticker attached to it).
If in the future you ever again encounter an IO who is somewhat ignorant about the European regulations, don't hesitate to ask for the Chief Immigration Officer; very likely that was the someone with whom she conferred in your case.

[Stefan-TR]

The stamp your wife received is a so-called code 1A stamp.

Just in case anybody else is curious, this is how it looks like:



As far as I know, the immigration stamps need to restrict your rights with additional text if they want to impose limits, e.g. "No recourse to public funds" or "Only allowed to work for ...". If the stamp text doesn't contain any restrictions (as is the case for Code 1A), the passport holder is free to work, claim benefits, and so on.

[vinny]

If the Immigration Officer was satisfied that you have the right of admission to the UK (11(4)), then you do not require Leave under the 1971 Act.

[mastermind]

She left to confer with someone, then came back and told us she was going to give my wife a six month stamp, but that she should not leave the UK again until her application is decided

So much for the right of free movement. WTF?
Your and your wife's rights are not subject to any "fulfilling of administrative procedures" and they have no right to restrict your rights by demanding to stay in the country while they take their time to "decide" something. (and there is nothing for them to decide in this particular case, as your wife's right for PR is conferred directly by the Directive 2004/38/EC and EU Treaty and not by their decision or indecision, their job is to merely issue a sticker to confirm/document this fact)
There is an excellent guide on this matter by European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/ci ... _ec_en.pdf
Print it out and have it handy when crossing borders.