Forum Immigration UK

by **theinspired** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:24 am

Hi there I am interested to know about your experiences with EEA2.
I sent application in the first week of August 2008 and still waiting. I received certificate of application at the end of September. (took almost 2 months for my application just to be on the system)
I sent application to croydon as that was the destination address at the time of application. Not sure if it is there now or in Liverpool
I have made calls sent letters without hearing more than "application awaiting consideration"
I had to move address a month after I sent application, I contacted in writing about this and also made calls and they were adamant that address is amended but they still sent the certificate of application to the old address. I am still chasing old address as I still do not believe that they actually made the change. It seems that once you send your application you can't do anything as they do not respond to any correspondence even about a change of address.
I am so worried and can't make any plans and can't travel and they are holding my wife's passport too

by **sueno2007** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:44 am

Check some other topics in this forum. Basically, there's no chance they will process your application in 6 months but when 6 months pass you have all the legal arsenal to make them process it.

Also, you can ask for your passports back, although if you've submitted in early August, just wait few weeks as early February is your time.

by **thsths** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:25 am

theinspired wrote:I sent application to croydon as that was the destination address at the time of application. Not sure if it is there now or in Liverpool

As far as I understand, all applications have been moved to Liverpool, so yours should be there now.

I had to move address a month after I sent application, I contacted in writing about this and also made calls and they were adamant that address is amended but they still sent the certificate of application to the old address. I am still chasing old address as I still do not believe that they actually made the change. It seems that once you send your application you can't do anything as they do not respond to any correspondence even about a change of address.

That is odd. We moved during the 9 months it took for the application to come through, and while we did not get a confirmation for the new address, it was entered in the system just fine. Once your application reaches 6 months, you can send a complaint to the North West unit (aka Liverpool), and then you can also ask about the address.

I am so worried and can't make any plans and can't travel and they are holding my wife's passport too

You can ask for the passports to be sent back, that does not affect the application. In theory they would not need your wife's passport any more, because they have already seen it, but there are conflicting reports about this. Of course traveling for you could be difficult without a visa, especially if you are a visa national.

PS: If you have any immediate issues with the UKBA, you can always ask the European service SOLVIT to contact the UKBA. They are quite fast, but they have limited powers. IF you want more leverage, you should send a complaint to the European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_ ... rms_en.htm . For example keeping the passports for months would be an issue you can raise there, or if you application takes longer than 6 months.

by **theinspired** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:33 am

Many thanks for useful replies. thsths are you saying that it took 9 months for your EEA2 to come through? Did you make a complaint after 6 months?
Is it true that if you complain or even bother them about your application they can further delay your case as a punishment?

by **thsths** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:46 pm

theinspired wrote:Many thanks for useful replies. thsths are you saying that it took 9 months for your EEA2 to come through? Did you make a complaint after 6 months?
Is it true that if you complain or even bother them about your application they can further delay your case as a punishment?

I does take about 9 months, and a complaint makes no difference. It used to be that they tried hard to stick to 6 months if you complaint, but that is no longer the case. I cannot imagine that they would dare to delay your application because of a complaint.

by **tongo** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:47 pm

hi
me and my missus applied for eea2 and eea1 at the same time oct 31 2007 and end of nov got a letter for more info from caseworker and finally got it in december

by **theinspired** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:09 pm

tongo wrote:hi
me and my missus applied for eea2 and eea1 at the same time oct 31 2007 and end of nov got a letter for more info from caseworker and finally got it in december

in our case we applied separately because the address for my eea2 was croydon while the one for her eea1 was liverpool
my wife sent letter from her employer confirming employment and her contract of employment but she did not send payslips, i am not sure if that will be a problem

by **tongo** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:42 pm

hi
if she has worked for the same employer for more than a year and has registered the employment then there shouldn't be any problem as the whole application depends on showing that the eea citizen is excersing her treaty rights i.e. by being gainfully employed

by **lynneg** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 3:13 pm

For what it's worth, here are my experiences:
I applied for EEA2 in May 2008.
It's now March 2009 and still waiting.
In December 2008 I submitted a complaint to SOLVIT. Whilst they are sympathetic, they have been unable to help.
At the same time, I wrote a letter to my local MP. Again, whilst he is sympathetic, he has been unable to help. He wrote to the UKBA on my behalf and in late January he received a reply from them claiming that "the removal of foreign national criminals is their primary concern" at present and that they are devoting all their manpower to that. Sounds like an excuse to me........ In addition they wrote that all applications are considered in turn, and they are currently only processing applications received in February 2008.
I have now engaged a lawyer, but she too is having no success.
My lawyer claims that if I need to travel, I should request my passport back and "take my chances" at immigration upon my return. It's almost impossible to get an EEA family permit anywhere in the world without waiting about 15-21 days (no good if you just need to hop off somewhere, eg to visit aged parents or other family - who is going to sit waiting for 1 days????). In addition, UKBA has all my original documents, eg marriage certificate, without which it is not possible to apply for a family permit.
I did travel in July last year and it was extremely unpleasant being detained at immigration and being treated like a criminal.
So - we are between a rock and a hard place. UKBA has told my MP that I am free to travel at any time and they are not hindering my right of free movement. But on the other hand, it's not really possible to obtain a visa for re-entry.
My advice - don't waste your money on a lawyer; don't waste your time complaining to SOLVIT - nobody can do anything, the Home Office does not seem to care about the 6 month rule.....
Very upsetting, very depressing.....

by **peace101** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:39 pm

Hi there,its funny reading this thread because my case is just so similar.I applied since may 2007 & up this this day,i'm still waiting for my residence card.I made a complain to solvit and after a while,they responded saying there was nothing they could do.Only God knows how many complaints i have written to the ukba,its just been falling on deaf ears as they dont seem to care at all.I recently just contacted my local mp with the hope he can help and he has promised to contact the home office on my behalf,hence i'm keeping my fingers crossed & optimistic about a positive outcome.Meanwhile reading this post just discouraged me as it seems not even an mp's intervention can make a difference.Well,all the same i'm just hoping for the best outcome.

by **sueno2007** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:44 pm

That is really annoying. They have been in status of 'processing February 2008 applications' for 3-4 months now. We've applied in August 2008. We also got EEA family permit in the embassy of France during one week (documents on Monday, permit on Friday) but we had to push them really hard to make these terms. Now it seems we'll have to re-apply for EEA family permit in Paris twice a year until they deal with those criminals.

Does anyone know if there is some European institution where complaint can have some power? Anything that checks how individual countries obide EU law?

by **peace101** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:41 pm

Due to this inhumane and uncivilised treatment of applicants by the home office,i think it will be better to complain to the Eu parliament or make case to the Eu court as this has gotten out of hand.I am personally writting to downing street highlighting this issue of mass delay causing a lot of distress and heartache to applicants,perhaps someone has done this before but i advise anyone in similar situation to write because its never too much.Maybe if a mass letter is received in 10 Downing street complainig about the same issue concerning the home office,then maybe it will be addressed.

by **sueno2007** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:50 pm

After reading this thread my understanding that noone will help on this issue in the UK. If some people use their local MPs as representatives, perhaps it would be possible to escalate the issue to euro MPs.

At the same time I'm pretty sure almost every country receiving high influx of migrants (Spain for example) have issues with 6 months term but not at such level as it is now in the UK.

by **lynneg** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:11 pm

The only marginally encouraging thing is that we are all in the same boat.
I agree that there is strength in numbers.
Unfortunately, neither SOLVIT (EU) nor our local MPs can help, and it's not worth paying a lawyer who can't help either!
I am also going to write to Downing Street. Also, I'm going to write to the Home Secretary.
My other idea was to try and interest a newspaper in the story. Surely there are people out there who would be outraged to hear how their Home Office treats people who are not criminals, but rather legitimate people just trying to get a residence card.
As I explained to my MP - I'm not a burden on the UK social system as I am not asking for any benefits, I'm not asking for money, I pay taxes her ein the UK. All I want is my residence card!
btw the excuse the Home Office gave my MP (as detailed above in my earlier post) is obviously designed to be their excuse when they are challenged as to why they are blatantly flouting the 6 month "rule." It's just not good enough.

by **peace101** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:52 pm

There is no excuse whatsoever the home office gives that justifies their delay.Like someone said on this issue,there is strenght in togetherness,if all being affected writes to Downing street,i think they'll be compelled to review this case.Its really annoying being subjected to this situation of not knowing your fate.

by **thsths** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:51 am

sueno2007 wrote:After reading this thread my understanding that noone will help on this issue in the UK.

That is not quite true: my understanding is that you can apply for judicial review once the 6 months deadline has passed, and the court can order the UKBA to issue the residence card immediately.

However, this may take quite some time and money. It may be worth a try if you qualify for judicial aid.

Of course you are right about all other options: they seem to be pretty much useless.

by **chsguk** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:29 pm

lynneg wrote:My other idea was to try and interest a newspaper in the story. Surely there are people out there who would be outraged to hear how their Home Office treats people who are not criminals, but rather legitimate people just trying to get a residence card.

I honestly think that this is the right way forward. It would have to be a widely-read national paper, and not the tabloid sort (Times or Guardian spring to mind), in order to raise awareness in the right circles.

Perhaps a few of us should get together and take this forward. I'd certainly be happy to add my signature to a letter to a national newspaper on these EEA2 delays. My wife and I have the most anguishing times every time we consider travel back to Europe.

What do you say we take lynneg's idea and turn it into action.

by **sueno2007** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:31 am

The biggest problem is to get sympathy of those readers. We all know what British think about immigrants especially in these times (British jobs for British workers). Therefore, we have to think about the right approach here.

With regards to judicial aid, thsths, could you elaborate on this a bit more please?

by **chsguk** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 3:09 pm

sueno2007 wrote:The biggest problem is to get sympathy of those readers. We all know what British think about immigrants especially in these times (British jobs for British workers). Therefore, we have to think about the right approach here.

I take your point, that's why we should probably aim this at the more educated end of the newspaper-reading population. After all, many of us are here in HE institutions (e.g.), and we are probably the ones nobody wants to see leave because of an inadequate Home Office.

Consider the fact that many of us are quite happy working here and making a contribution to the UK economy despite having had to lower our living standards upon moving to this country. Surely that should stir some sympathy among our British friends? </sarc>

Certainly my employer begged me to take the job -- no word of "British jobs for British workers" last September!

by **lynneg** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:33 am

I'm happy to say that this morning the postman delivered my passport WITH EEA2 visa inside. I can't tell you how relieved I am. For me the process took 10 months. As I already explained in my posts above, I sent in my application and then after the 6 month "deadline" had passed I complained to SOLVIT and also sought legal advice, plus a complaint to my MP.
I don't think that any of the above assisted in speeding up the process, unfortunately. I think the Home Office deals with these applications in their own time, and pressure from SOLVIT, MPS or lawyers does nothing to help.
I am still happy to be part of any campaign or letter all of you want to submit to a newspaper or to Downing Street or to the Home Secretary. Even though I now have my visa, the anguish the whole process has caused and the stress to myself and to my family abroad has been massive.