Hi all,

Just wondering whether anyone has had a similar experience, or has any advice! I"m new to all this...

I'm a non-EEA national and have applied for an EEA Family Permit to join my EEA-national partner of 6 years in the UK. I submitted my application to the British High Commission in Canberra nearly 8 weeks ago, and have not heard anything useful since. I have called several times to find out what is going on, and was told that the average processing time is five weeks, and that after six weeks, they can give me a 'personalised' response. However, the personalised response is that my application is in the 'decision queue' or with an 'entry clearance officer' and that they'll send me an email as soon as my visa is ready (of course they can't tell me when that will be).

Has anyone had any luck getting any useful information from the Canberra High Commission? Are there particular tactics that should be tried? What factors are likely to delay the processing of a particular application? As we are not married, I submitted a large binder full of supporting documents and information to substantiate our relationship. Does submitting lots of information simply slow down the whole process?

The Family Permit only lasts for six months, so I don't understand why it takes one third or even half that amount of time to process it! And then we have to do it all again for the Residence Card!!

Any advice appreciated.

 

Hi Dan,

Best of luck with your wedding! Once you are married, you should have no problem securing the EEA Family Permit. Be aware that once they issue the permit in Canberra, it is valid for six months from the date of issue, NOT from the date that you enter the UK.

In my case, after more than two months of waiting, three changes to my departure date, hundreds of dollars in charges from a certain national airline, three separate 'last days' at work, lost employment and a great deal of frustration, I finally got my EEA family permit. My partner and I are not married; this may have been responsible for the additional delay. The people on the other end of the phone line told me that the AVERAGE wait for a family permit is six weeks.

Also be ready to apply for your residence card as soon as possible after you enter the UK. You will need the 'EEA2' application form, and the same information and documents as required for the family permit. They will ask you to submit your passport and your partner's passport along with the application, and the average processing time is now in excess of 6 months, violating EU regulations. Again, it may be easier if you are married, but there is no way to speed up the process. It is almost inevitable that there will be some gap between the 'expiration' of your family permit and receipt of your residence card - some employers don't like this, but it is perfectly legal for you to work during this period.

Because either myself or my partner are travelling overseas at least once a month, I did not submit our passports, but rather a certified copy of each. I have heard that it is perfectly possible to do this, and to request that you be contacted once the residence card is ready to be issued. There is no way I am going without my passport for six months or more. Apparently, if you do submit them, you can apply to have them sent back in cases of 'urgent travel', but this takes at least ten days, and if you surf the posts here you will find that many people have had problems with this service.

Well good luck with everything, and hopefully you won't have too many bumps on the road to moving to the UK!