Hi there

First off: What a wonderful forum! I've picked up many wondering pieces of advice here relevent to our situation: EEA National (my wife) and a non-EEA National (me) moving to the UK.

I've hunted about on the forum but I've not found an answer to this question though:

1. We've planned out move to the UK for years and we have a UK joint bank account with approx. GBP 16k in it. We're about to actually come into the UK and trek about a bit before we settle down by finding work and a place to live. In order to extend the 6 month limit on my EEA Family Permit, we wanted to apply for the Residency Documents (via forms EEA1 & 2) as soon as we arrived in the UK on the grounds of Self Sufficiency. Do we have enough for the IND to accept our claim to self sufficiency? It would be nicer to get that 5 year Residency Permit in which to find work at our own pace (ie. till our money began to run low) instead of having a few months to sort it out before I'm kicked out of the country.

2. When you do apply for the Residency Document does the whole process have to be completed, ie the Residency Document issued, before my EEA Family Permit expires? Or is it sufficient to have the application lodged?

3. Do you need a residential address to apply for the Residency Document? I have relatives in the UK, whose addresses I could use for postal purposes and I'll have a mobile phone and I was intending to provide these as methods of contact while we trekked about.

I have passed these questions onto the IND, but it would be great if someone here could provide some advice as I'm unsure how long the IND takes to respond.

Its been a bit distressing recently as the Canberra, Australia British Consulate told us that we could just goto to the IND in Croydon as soon as we arrived in London and apply for the Residency Document, but I called the IND yesterday (We're currently with my wife's family in the Netherlands) and was told that we'd need to have work before we could even think of doing it.

Any advice you can provide would be REALLY appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Aaron

 

Thank you for your help. I have read through the documentation and found that self sufficiency includes medical cover also. However, I could not find anything to:

1. Provide a metric on how much money the IND deems to be sufficient to not require social service funds

2. If our traveller's insurance, which goes for 12 months and can be extended while I'm abroad is considered to be sufficient medical cover

3. If I require a residential address in my name or if I can specify a UK relative's address

4. Need I have the Residency Document issued to me prior to the expiration of my EEA Family Permit, or if my application submission is sufficient

Thank you for your help though.

Regards
Aaron[/list]

 

Thanks very much for your help. Can you please tell me where you gained access to those Directives? (I searched the IND site and couldn't find them).

I called IND again and had a rather helpful woman assist me in my enquiries. I discovered that following:

1. There appears to be nothing stopping us from applying for Residency Documents (via EEA1 and EEA2) on the grounds of economic self sufficiency when we arrive in the UK. The success of our application however is something I can only gauge when I speak with the IND people when I goto the office in Croydon.

2. I do not need my Residency Document to be issued prior to the expiration of my EEA Family Permit as it is sufficient to have lodged to application for it by that time.

3. I did confirm the information I'd seen elsewhere in this forum, that if I got work before my EEA National wife, then it would be sufficient for us to lodge the Residency Permit applications.

The remaining option is to apply for the Residency Permit once I, my wife or both of us have work. I found the following on the IND site:

"...The EEA national's position within the organisation, the purpose of the work, the level of income it yields (including whether or not the person has to supplement his or her income by claiming social security benefits), and whether payment is in cash or in kind, are not relevant factors."

It goes on to state that the definition of a "Worker" includes a job seeker.

From this I interpret that:
a) If we're registered with job agencies we're considered to be workers?
b) Once we are employed, it doesn't matter what the contract duration or salary level is, it is sufficient to apply for the Residency Documents based on being employed?

1. Can anyone confirm if my understanding in the 2 points above is correct?; and
2. Does anyone know what the minimum level of the social security pension is?

Thank again for your support.

Cheers
Aaron