Oh dear - that sounds very complicated. And there may be a bit too many factors involved to get reliable information here. I'll try to raise a few issues that may require confirmation/explanation - but that's all I can do...

1. You got married in a religious ceremony. In Britain, correct? But do I understand you correctly that you still applied for a certificate of approval *after* you got married? Why? I was under the impression that religious ceremonies are officially recognised in the UK?
2. The rules for certificate of approvals don't apply if you get married in the Anglican Church. So - presuming it was in the Anglican Church - it's not as if your marriage was performed illegally. The question for me now is whether there are any grounds (e.g. your overstaying) on which the Home Office could contest this marriage (perhaps also as a marriage of convenience?) - or whether they have to recognise it. If they have to recognise it, you should be on safe ground, as you are then covered under European law. Can anyone clarify?
3. If the two of you have been living together for 3 years, there should be plenty of evidence to support this statement. So you should have no problems with your EEA2 application.
4. Did you ever receive a certificate of application for your EEA2 application?
5. You mention that you paid all fees in the beginning - what fees are you referring to? Presumably not EEA2 fees?
6. £500 for a letter sounds steep. If this is a question about reminding the HO of the fact that they have to take action within 6 months, then this is not the type of letter that requires advanced legal knowledge to draft. Some readers here on the forum might have written such a letter themselves and you could probably use theirs as a basis.
7. Have you considered talking to Solvit (http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/)?

Don't know whether any of this will help...

Good luck!
Sebastian

 

application delay

Hi,i read your responce to to the guy who's eea2 application is been delayed.i'm in a similar situation where i applied since 2 may 2007 and was sent certificate od application a while later which has'nt served me any purpose ever since.As you may be aware,its written on the certificate of application that you should'nt call to ask about the progress of applications but due to my worries and depressive situations,i've called my solicitor on two occassions asking him what's going on but he only said there's nothing to do at the moment rather than wait.In my opinion i think its right to call and ask them what's up but dont know what to do myself.I sometimes feel like calling them myself on behalf of my solicitor as i'm running otta patience and really confused because i dont see any reason why these applications should be delayed.As you know humans deal with these applications and it might just be as a result of their laziness.please give some advice

 

Re: application delay

Unfortunately, calling the Home Office isn't likely to get you anywhere. The people who deal with calls are not the people who are working on your case. In 99% of the cases, they just look at their computer screens and confirm that the application is being processed. (Apparently, they even say that to people who have in the meantime received their residence card - it's probably simply their standard reply...) I managed once to get a person to check something with the case worker - but that seems to be an exception.
If your EEA2 application has not received an answer within 6 months, the Home Office is in violation of European Law and you can apply some pressure to have the issue resolved quickly. The thing to do then is to send a registered letter to the complaints department. In my opinion, there's no need for a solicitor to write this letter, as the legal situation seems to be perfectly obvious.

Question to the moderators: Since this seems to come up from time to time, would it perhaps be a good idea to draft a sample letter of this type and make it available via a sticky/link?

Sebastian

 

waiting for residency card apllication

Thanks a lot mate,i do understand your point,its been very annoying and frustrating waiting all these while for something you know should'nt really take that long to process.Well,i bet i have no choice rather than wait or might still pressure my solicitor to write them as its abreach of my rights.its just getting a job that's posing a problem for me.Anyway,i bet i'll just have to wait.Thanks

 

Residency card delay

Hi,i've been waiting all these months for a responce from the home office regards the reason why my application for residency card is been delayed,i called my solicitor to urge them cos life's been hell for me and frustration is just an understatement cos i'm just stuck and my life is literally on a standstill.To make matters worse i just lost my dad on sat morning which is a big blow and i'll need to travel back home for the funeral but how?Its always been my fear that anything that will warrant urgent travelling should'nt happen while my application is been delayed, but here i am.I called my solicitor yesterday telling him what happened and the state i'm in so he said he'll need to send a letter but will require the death certificate along with the letter so they can hasten things up.I've ordered for the death cert and they've sent it for me to receive in few days time.HAS ANYONE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION B4 OR CAN ANYONE ADVICE ME ON WHAT TO DO?