Hello.

I'm an American and my fiance is a dual national, British and French. He grew up in France, but is currently living and working in London. We've been together for about a year and a half, with me coming to visit him for extended periods. It basically got to the point where immigration officials were getting suspicious (we travel a lot, so I had several lovely experiences with passport control) and if our relationship was to continue, I needed to be able to work. So, we'll be getting married in New York in June.

At first, I was going to apply for a UK spousal visa, because someone had said that I couldn't apply for the EEA Family permit since he's British. But in the past few days, I've found information stating otherwise, including some posts on this forum. And I'd really rather not pay 500 pounds, if it's not necessary.

Is it really okay for me to apply for the EEA Family permit? Should I just not mention he's also British if we do? I understand that we can't then "switch" to UK law, but I'm not really sure what that means. What's the difference? We don't wish to permanently settle in the UK. Actually, we only want to stay until January, when we're planning to move to the Czech Republic. I'm not interested in acquiring UK citizenship either. When that time comes, I've decided to apply for French citizenship.

Also, I saw that since I'm a non-EEA national, I have to satisfy the requirements as if I were entering under UK immigration law. So I have to turn in all the same things as if it were a spousal visa, basically? How long does this take if you're applying in the States? My home really is in London now, even though it's not official, so I'd like to get back as soon as possible.

If somebody has any experience with this and can help me out a bit, it'd be really great. It's been so complicated trying to plan a wedding and everything, I'm experiencing an information overload!

Thanks,
Kat

 

He's my fiance at the moment. As I said, we're getting married in the United States in June.

 

I've done quite a bit of research and been to that website already. I was told by someone from IAS that I couldn't apply for the EEA family permit, but I've seen people on this site who have done so successfully in the same situation.

I'm interested in hearing if anyone has any information or experience regarding how this process works with sponsors of dual nationality, and any tips or advice on the process.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

I forgot to ask this before: Am I allowed to leave and reenter the UK with the family permit? The explanations on the sites I looked at were confusing. I know I can get a residence card, but since I'm only planning on being in the UK for 6 months, and it can take that long to get one, that won't really work for me. I ask because after I go to the States to get married and apply for the permit, I was planning on going back to the UK, but only for 2 weeks before going to France and Greece for the summer. If I can't travel, I'll have to go straight to Greece.

Also, like many people our age in London, my fiance and I rent a room in a flatshare, but we're not on the lease. Does anyone have any suggestions about ways to prove "suitable accommodation" in this situation?

Thanks a bunch!