If you live outside the UK, just take your passport , marriage certificate and wife' passport to the nearest British Embassy and request for an EEA Permit.

There is no need for you to stress yourself out since there is nothing to worry about. You are legally entitled to enter the UK and if you so wish to take permanent residence with your wife.

 

What I suggest she does is to make a photocopy of all her documentation (passport, work contracts, pay slips, rent contract etc ) and fax or send it by post directly to the Embassy and copies to you as well.

Go to the Embassy and make an application for an EU Family Permit with your copies. It may take a few months for them to verify the information.

I don't think you have a problem except to be patient for the time it will take for the Embassy to verify the information.

Make sure you contact the Embassy once a month to follow-up the application.

 

Coyan, not to dispute you or anything, but I wish it was this easy to get that family permit. One, it's not a simple matter of walking in to the Embassy and requesting the permit, as the officials have to verify supporting documentation that you submit with the application. Two, there are other docs needed to complete said application.

I should know, I'm exactly in the same situation as technospirit is, as I am the non-EU spouse of my Polish wife.

Just my two cents worth...

 

The authorities have their own way of verifying the authenticity of documents. If the relationship is a genuine one with all supporting documentation this shouldn't be a problem.

 

Technospirit,

My first question for you is: why didn't you travel with your wife when she went to the UK? It would have been easier to secure the necessary documents to submit if you were together. But that's done, so on we move...

To start, I'm in the same situation as you are, I'm the non-EU and my wife is an EU National from Poland. I've been living in the US for 4 years (she lived there for 2), before deciding to move to the UK. Let me rattle of a list of what you need to submit to the UK Embassy of the country where you are right now:

1. EEA Family Permit application form, which would be VAF1 form.

2. Financial Documents - for these, you can submit either your bank statement (last 2 months) and/or a certification of employment from your human resources department. If you can submit both, it will be better. You can also ask for a certification from your bank (signed by the branch manager) certifying that you have an account, or have accounts there, at that bank. Now it would even be best if you can get your wife to submit these as well, but since you mentioned she just got a job, then most likely her bank account is new, if she already has one.

3. A letter from your wife addressed to the UK Embassy, requesting the EEA Family Permit. She has to specify why the application is to be approved, i.e that you intend to join her as her spouse, etc. I can help you on this later on.

4.Your passport and her passport, to prove your identity and hers as well. For this, I'm sorry to break it to you, but certified copies will not be entertained by the UK Embassy. If you insist on this, your application will just be returned to you with no results as they specify in the website, only originals will be accepted, speciall for passports.

5. 2 passport sized pictures on a white or light background, 45mm x 35mm, with no facial jewelry, coverings, etc. It should be your face full front, no profiles.

6. A certified true copy of your marriage license, complete with all signatures and local office stamp or dry seal. This is the only exception to the "original documents" rule by the Embassy, as the original copy of this document is usually on the census or public records department of the country where you are in now.

7. A return prepaid envelope, in which the Emabssy will put all your documents back to be mailed to you. I suggest using either FedEx or UPS for this purpose, and choose signature or recorded delivery. Remember, these are VERY important documents inside this envelope you're mailing!


Now, having all of these in mind, and considering your situation and the facts you presented, your best recourse is to let your wife file for the WRS form and wait for her documents to get back to her. Once that is approved, then she can FedEx or UPS you her passport and other documents she can supply from her end to make the application stronger. Remember, you have to convince the Embassy that you are not going to be a public charge to the UK Government. The more documents you submit, the better your chances of gettting that EEA Family Permit.

I submitted all of these, and I got mine in 5 business days. This was aubmitted in New York office of the UK Embassy. I don't know the waiting time for other countries so I can't help you on that one.

Do let me know if you have any more questions.

 

Yes I totally agree with you on this matter. I guess the way you just said it, it sounded like it was very easy to get the permit. It is easy only if you have ALL the documents that they require, and that there is strong evidenciary financial support from the applicant's side, and/or the spouse's side.

But I would like to add though, that these solicitors telling people their spouses should have around five thousand pounds in the bank before a successful application can be made is pure crap.

 

Hi technospirit,

I was very surprised to read your post and all the requirements that the Embassy told you to produce! Those documents are actually for spouses of British citizens (or permanent residents for that matter). Let me run down your "requirements" and what my views are:

1. Yes, you need that letter and I believe i mentioned that in my earlier post. This is a valid one.

2. A tax return form, but the thing is, your spouse just started working in the UK, and will not be filing that paperwork till between Jan-April 2006, depending on how long she completes the forms and the accompanying documents. This then is an invalid requirement.

3. Payslips, since she is new at work, will not have much of that right now, but in lieu of this, she can get a certificate of employment from the human resources department where she works in, or if it's a small business, from the owner. Bank statements are ideal, and I suggest that since she's working already, she can seek assistance from her employer in opening a bank account for her. If she doesn't want to wait for the statements, she can ask the branch manager to give her a certification that she has a bank account there, it doesn't even need to mention how much is in it. this is to establish that she is starting to establish herself here and is in a stable situation.

4. I never gave anything like this, because my wife and I had no idea where we were gonna live when we got here. But I wa still given my EEA Family Permit.

5. This is just downright stupid. Again, going back to the fact that it is not expected for your to have residential paperwork right away, and is not a condition of an approval for the family permit. as long as you can show you have funds or are in employment, you should be fine.

As for details about her wroker registration card and certificate, this will not be necessary (I didn't give one as well) because proof of her employment is in that certificate I mentioned earlier that she should get from her employer. My wife was not asked about her status in the UK as EU citizens have a right to live and work in the UK, that is EU law. The only concern the Embassy has is that you hjave enough funds to cover for yourself and/or your spouse when you come here, and not claim welfare or benefits from the government.

The solicitors in this case, sorry to say it, but have NO IDEA what they were talking about.

 

You're welcome. Just to enlighten you on the matter of WRS, the government, when they opened up the job market, needed to make sure that by doing so, local citizens will not be upstaged and not have job opportunities that will be seized by EU citizens coming in, specially ofr the New Accession States. Thus the creation of the Worker Registration Scheme. This way, the government can keep track of the number of New Accession States citizens coming in that get work, so they can do a "check and balance" as to what percentage of employment is going to EU and what goes to British. Also, the WRS will eventually be a benchmark for other EU countries, when they do decide to open up their job market as freely as the UK, so they have figures and facts to base future rules and regulations regarding employment.

 

I don't see any relationship between your EEA Family Permit and a tenancy agreement, as you mentioned, not all places nor people here get a tenancy agreement. I would be a perfect example. When my wife and I got here, we stayed initially in my cousin's house, rent-free. Of course we had to put the address when I applied for the family permit, but I didn't give any tenancy agreement to the Embassy with my application, simply because I can be a tenant in a household and not pay rent (like my case). Financial documents the Embassy needs to see to determine how you will be living here, but to prove where you will be living here when you arrive, is just plain stupidity.

You only provide an address in your application, and should the Embassy check on that information, it's only to verify that your wife lives there, or whatever relation you have with the person whom you stated lived in the address you supplied in the application form.

 

EEA Family Permit info

I will share how we did it. I am bulgarian my wife Lithuanian. We went to Uk embassy and told she informed them she is travelling to UK and wants me to accompany her. EEA Family Permit issued on the spot. Today her mother received EEA Family Permit in Kiev.
My wife wrote a letter to Kiev embassy to request the permit for her mother. My wife is not working in the UK. I am working. She doesn't have residence permit as this is not needed. We send them a few of ny payslips for her EEA family permit and a copy of her passport. NO questions, asked permit was applied today in the morning and issued in the afternoon. Basically you have to check the Diplomatic Service Procedures, Volume 1, and Chapter 21 – The European Dimension on the www.ukvisas.gov.uk website. it explains what they are looking for when somebody applies for EEA Family Permit.

 

Send me a private message so I can reply to you there regarding the letter.