To answer your question, as long as you (and/or your boyfriend) are employed, can submit financial documentation (certificate of employment, bank statements regardless of amount), this will be enough for the UK Embassy to grant your boyfriend the EEA Family Permit. Remember again, the Embassy wants to make sure your boyfriend/husband will not be a public charge to the UK Government should he be allowed entry, and employment and bank documents will suffice as proof that you will be able to survive in the UK without government help.

 

I'm surprised they can ask for details of employment and funds unless you tell them you are definitely going to settle or at least stay long term. Under EU law, you're allowed to go and look for work for 6 months in another member state, and you're allowed to take your family with you.

 

The reason for this is, even though EU law states that you can go to other member states and stay there and look or work, every member state's government has a concern about these very same people abusing welfare and benefits that are supposedly alloted for those who are really in need, and sad to say, there ARE some people who abuse the system, not because they want to, but simply because they know they can.

Any government will want to make sure before granting you entry, that you have sufficient funds to cover your stay in that country without resorting to public funds, as these are reserved for their own people.

 

YOu mentioned you have British Nationality, and in that case you probably already have more than a residence permit, probably an indefinte leave to remain. What is your current citizenship now?

 

I know that governments want to do this, but as the spouse of an EU citizen, they shouldn't, unless you are specifically asking for permission to stay long term. You are supposed to be treated the same way as your EU spouse, with the exception that you may need a visa. Your spouse can travel to the UK without any questions being asked about funds. The visa for the non-EU spouse (or EEA permit in the case of the UK) is supposed to be issued as a matter of course. The reason they ask you to show funds etc is because they wrongly apply national rules, rather than EU law, to these cases, or because the EU spouse has specifically stated that they are going to stay in the UK beyond six months.

 

As soon as you get married, go to the nearest UK embassy and with proof of your French Passport and your current payslips in addition to other documents showing your Research appointments it shouldn't take more than a day to issue your bf with the EU Permit.

 

Yes, you should get it very quickly and it should be free. If they don't do this, complain.

 

As Coyan mentioned, as soon as you get married, he has to apply for the EEA Family Permit. Once that is granted and both of you are here, since you're working, he has to file EEC3 form for residence permit, and this basically "extends" the expiration of the EEA Family Permit into a timescale as determined by the Home Office. And once he gets here, he can start applying for employment, like literally the moment he steps off the plane! Because his right to work is inherent from the fact that he is married to an EU citizen, and that marriage can be proven (employers WILL ask for proof) via a marriage certificate and/or the EEA Family Permit in his passport.

EEC1 form is ONLY used by the EU citizen if the non-EEA spouse is employed and the EU citizen declares a "self sufficient person" satus because the salary of the non-EEA spouse is enought o support both. EEC1 form, once approved, gives the EU citizen "freedom of movement" (specially for new accession states) and the non-EEA spouse's EEA Family Permit expiration is then "extended" as it is now converted to a residence permit.

Hope this clears some of the confusion.

 

Hi Polskie

To clarify the above. The Home Office has no legal right to determine the length of residence of an EU citizen and his family. That right has already being determined by the EC Treaty and the reponsibility of the Hime Office or any other National Immigration Authority is to apply the rules as determined by Brussels.

Secondly, the problem in countries like UK where the first point of contact with Immigration authorities is via the post office is that in practise majority of those who are entitled to work from the moment they set foot on UK soil cannot do so, simply because there isn't any evidence of their status stamped in their passports. Majority of employers are ignorant of immigration rules and as a precaution will prefer to have some physical evidence in ones passport. The reality is that most people with the exception of EU Passport holders have to wait for some physical confirmation from the home office before any employer will take them on.

Thirdly, Form EEC1 is not related to financial status nor the need for assessing self-sufficiency by the Home Office. Form EEC1 is the Application Form used by Citizens from the Old EU 15 Member States who want to apply for a Residence Permit on behalf of themselves and their families. Those from the New States will have to apply for a WRS and for their non-EU spouses and families an application for residence will be made on Form EEC3

 

I can see the problem of persuading a sceptical employer to hire you without evidence that you have the right to work, but perhaps a letter from a lawyer would be enough to reassure them.

 

A lawyer is going to cost you some money to draft a letter. That is certainly no guarantee that an employer would take the face value of the letter for what it is.

The best bet is to have a letter from the DWP or National Insurance Office with your Temporary NI Number written on it. At least that is proof that a government institution have verified your status and agreed with your right to work, which the NI number does guarantee.

The only problem here is that most officials of the National Insuranc office are in no better position than the Employers to know who is eligible to work and entited to an NI Number and who is not. They may also decide to play caution and wait for an official confirmation of your status from the Home Office.

These are some of the reason why there is a huge backlog for EU applications. Its a catch 22 situation.

 

I don't mean to negate you on this matter, but my information is from an actual phone call to a caseworker, of which I posted here and was made a sticky by EasyExpat. I agree that Form EEC1 is not related to financial status, and that Form EEC3 is to be used by the non-EEA spouse and other non-EEA family members. What I do not agree on is your last sentence, that New Accession States citizens have to apply for WRS. Or maybe you just didn't make your point as clear.

Scenario 1:
If the EU citizen found work first, then that person files for WRS if from the New Accession States, and when the WRS card and documents are received, the non-EU spouse files for Form EEC3 for the residence permit, thereby "extending" his EEA Family Permit expiration date because once approved, the residence permit will have a new date stated, as determined by the Home Office. It may be 2 years, 5 years, or more. The non-EU now has "freedom of mvoement" as evidenced in the residence permit. The EU citizen waits for 12 months, since said person is from the New Accession States, and THEN files for EEC1 for that person's residence permit, as only then will that person be allowed to file Form EEC1 and once approved, gives the person the right to "freedom of movement" as part of the Treaty Rights.

Scenario 2:
if the non-EU citizen found work first, then the EU citizen (and I'm talking about New Accession States citizens here) can file for Form EEC1 on the basis of "self sufficient person", thereby BYPASSING the 12 month wait period as originally required for New Accession States, and once approved, benefits twofold. One, the EU Citizen now enjoys the right to "freedom of movement", and the non-EU spouse's expiration date on the EEA Family Permit becomes null and void, as the date now stems from whateever date the Home Office stipulates in the residence permit. Now, if the EU citizen found work while the form is in process, it doesn't matter anymore, though that person is still required to register under WRS, since we're talking about New Accession States citizens, but other than that, they don't have to file for any EEC1 later on "after 12 months" as normally required.

But just to summarize who uses the forms, regardless of financial situation:
EEC1 - EU citizens
EEC3 - non-EU citizens, including spouses and other family members, as stated in the Home Office website.

I spent 45 minutes on the phone on a weekday morning (called around 9:45am) clarifying who uses what form and when, and threw out some scenarios so I can be triply sure as to what to do when the appropriate situation comes. I will not even have the balls to post that information here and request EasyExpat to make it a sticky, if I'm listing wrong information.

I'm sorry buddy, but I don't work that way. I value my integrity above all.

 

Read my thread about the National Insurance Number, you might find it helpful.