# EEA family permit for my algerian husband



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Hello, I have been looking for information on this forum and have found the advice of "JOPPA" to be so professional and informtive. Im therefore requesting your help please Joppa (and anyone else of course if you feel you can help me). This is my story: I am a britsh citizen and my husband is algerian. My husband has lived in france since 2001,he has french residency but not french nationality (he was reused but thats another story!). When we married in 2005 i moved to paris to be with him. We now have two children and we want to move to the uk to be near my family. However, my husband has been refused an EEA family permit before because apparently i wasnt 'fulfilling my treaty rights', in that i wasnt working. I worked from 2005 until the end of 2006 when I stopped to bring up our children, i receive benefits for this. My huband is a plumber. So of course now that we actualy want to move to england permanently we have a problem in getting him there. Would you know if we are able to apply for the EEA family permit with my mum a his sponsor? We will be living with her in the beginning anyway, she owns her house and is retired. Or is there another way? I would be so grateful for your help and advice.


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

If you are a British citizen then you apply for a spousal visa, not an EEA family permit.


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Thank you nyclon, I thought i had to be resident in the uk to get a spouse visa for my husband, is that not the case?


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

No. If you are a citizen of the UK your spouse must apply for a spousal visa. You are a returning to the UK. It doesn't matter that you are currently a resident in another country. The important part is that you are a citizen of the UK. He is not eligible for an EEA family permit.

Here is a link to get you started:

UK Border Agency | Can you apply?


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

I am so very confused on this. I understand completely what your saying, but my husband was granted EEA family permits every year from 2005 up until 2011 when he was refused due to the fact i wasnt fulfilling my treaty rights in aother europpean country. I suppose the law has changed. A spouse visa is expensive I think? A family permit is free when applying from france. But thank you for you advice, I'll have to look into this more on the UKA website


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Citizens of the EU in general can live and work in other EU countries of which they are not citizens and their non-EU spouses can join them by being granted an EEA family permit. If you weren't living in France then you weren't exercising your treaty rights and no, your husband shouldn't have been granted the permit.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

clareparis said:


> Hello, I have been looking for information on this forum and have found the advice of "JOPPA" to be so professional and informtive. Im therefore requesting your help please Joppa (and anyone else of course if you feel you can help me). This is my story: I am a britsh citizen and my husband is algerian. My husband has lived in france since 2001,he has french residency but not french nationality (he was reused but thats another story!). When we married in 2005 i moved to paris to be with him. We now have two children and we want to move to the uk to be near my family. However, my husband has been refused an EEA family permit before because apparently i wasnt 'fulfilling my treaty rights', in that i wasnt working. I worked from 2005 until the end of 2006 when I stopped to bring up our children, i receive benefits for this. My huband is a plumber. So of course now that we actualy want to move to england permanently we have a problem in getting him there. Would you know if we are able to apply for the EEA family permit with my mum a his sponsor? We will be living with her in the beginning anyway, she owns her house and is retired. Or is there another way? I would be so grateful for your help and advice.


What has happened is that in order to benefit from the Surinder Singh judgment, now incorporated into the UK immigration law, a British citizen needs to be living in France in an 'economic capacity', either being employed or in self-employment, and looking after the children (non-working spouse) doesn't qualify.

See UK Border Agency | EUN02 - EEA Family permits EUN2.14

So as things stand, your husband cannot apply for EEA family permit. Of course, should you get a job, and it doesn't have to be a career-type work but something like waitressing, he can qualify for a permit. You clearly need to be in work for some time, and not just at weekends etc. 

Otherwise your only option is to apply for a spouse visa under UK immigration rules. Your mother can certainly be an external sponsor. The fees will be high, at 1013 euro.


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Thank you very much Joppa for making things clearer for me. I cant believe its so difficult for my husband to be able to live in england when we've been married for six years! A spouse visa is just way too expensive, we so cant afford that. I m wondering, if i registered as a jobseeker, what he then qualify for a family permit? Or even if we get him visitor visa, which is alot cheaper, and we did this last christmas with my mum as his sponsor, would we then be able to get him a residence permit and if he was offered work? There must be another way? Im sorry to ask so many questions, but i look forward to your reply all the same! Thank you


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

nyclon said:


> Citizens of the EU in general can live and work in other EU countries of which they are not citizens and their non-EU spouses can join them by being granted an EEA family permit. If you weren't living in France then you weren't exercising your treaty rights and no, your husband shouldn't have been granted the permit.


And thank you nyclon for your reply aswell. I was and still do live in france, its just that I havent worked since the end of 2006, thats how i havent been exercising my treaty rights. I appreciate your time.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

clareparis said:


> And thank you nyclon for your reply aswell. I was and still do live in france, its just that I havent worked since the end of 2006, thats how i havent been exercising my treaty rights. I appreciate your time.


You *are *exercising treaty rights, but in order to benefit from the Surinder Singh case, you must be living in France in an 'economic capacity', i.e. working and earning. This is because the original judgement was given about a non-EU citizen, Mr Singh, whose British wife was working in Germany, who wanted to join his wife back in UK. Since the judgement only referred to someone who was working, those who are exercising other treaty rights like studying or being a housewife etc don't qualify. 

I know it's very expensive to apply for spouse visa, but frankly I can't see any other way, except for you to get a job - applying for JSA alone won't suffice, you need to be earning wages (you'll have to enclose wage slips, job contract etc). 

Getting a visitor visa won't work, as he isn't allowed to work in UK on it and he cannot switch to another visa category in-country. If he has permanent residency in France (i.e. he doesn't have to keep renewing his carte de séjour), then he is able to 'transfer' his residency to another EU country, but UK (plus Ireland and Denmark) has opted out of that provision (Directive 2003/109/EC).


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Yes i see now that it probaly is the only way. But what about if he was offered work before going to uk? My cousin has said he may give my husband a job once we move to england, would it make any difference if i asked him for a letter confirming he's offered my husband a job with perhaps a start date? Would there be another type of visa for this, a cheaper one?


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

clareparis said:


> Yes i see now that it probaly is the only way. But what about if he was offered work before going to uk? My cousin has said he may give my husband a job once we move to england, would it make any difference if i asked him for a letter confirming he's offered my husband a job with perhaps a start date? Would there be another type of visa for this, a cheaper one?


No it doesn't work either. The trouble is as an Algerian your husband has no right to work in UK and needs a Tier 2 work visa sponsored by his potential employer, who has to show there are no other suitable applicants who require no visa, or an EEA family permit or spouse visa. I suppose applying for French nationality may be an option, but normally a foreigner not married to a French citizen has to live for 10 years (unless he is a graduate of a French uni), and the procedure is long and complicated (as everything else in France).


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Ok so spouse visa it is then! My sincere thanks to you Joppa, i am very grateful for your excellent advice and for your time. My very best wishes.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

clareparis said:


> Ok so spouse visa it is then! My sincere thanks to you Joppa, i am very grateful for your excellent advice and for your time. My very best wishes.


Remember one major advantage of spouse visa over EEA permit is he acquires settlement (ILR) after only two years, instead of 5 years with EEA document. As there are rumoured new rules coming in requiring everyone to live in UK for 5 years to gain ILR, I suggest you apply sooner than later. He can then apply for naturalisation as British citizen after a further year.


----------



## clareparis (Feb 6, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Remember one major advantage of spouse visa over EEA permit is he acquires settlement (ILR) after only two years, instead of 5 years with EEA document. As there are rumoured new rules coming in requiring everyone to live in UK for 5 years to gain ILR, I suggest you apply sooner than later. He can then apply for naturalisation as British citizen after a further year.


Great, thanks for that tip!


----------



## walex (Aug 30, 2010)

Joppa said:


> No it doesn't work either. The trouble is as an Algerian your husband has no right to work in UK and needs a Tier 2 work visa sponsored by his potential employer, who has to show there are no other suitable applicants who require no visa, or an EEA family permit or spouse visa. I suppose applying for French nationality may be an option, but normally a foreigner not married to a French citizen has to live for 10 years (unless he is a graduate of a French uni), and the procedure is long and complicated (as everything else in France).


Hello Joppa,
Sorry to have reffer you back. I a Uk Citizen, living in France, exercising my treaty right from 2010. Is it compulsory that my non eu spouse should apply for a Family Permit in Paris for our return to Uk or we may apply at the port of entry(Portsmonths) for the entry clearance with his resident card, EU Family? My Mum is at the hospital and we need to be there before Tuesday 2nd May. We can easily get a Ferry from where we leave (Cean) to Portsmonths. Any member experience will highly be appreciated.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

walex said:


> Hello Joppa,
> Sorry to have reffer you back. I a Uk Citizen, living in France, exercising my treaty right from 2010. Is it compulsory that my non eu spouse should apply for a Family Permit in Paris for our return to Uk or we may apply at the port of entry(Portsmonths) for the entry clearance with his resident card, EU Family? My Mum is at the hospital and we need to be there before Tuesday 2nd May. We can easily get a Ferry from where we leave (Cean) to Portsmonths. Any member experience will highly be appreciated.


If he is a visa national, then yes, he needs either a visitor visa or EEA family permit. If you just turn up at Portsmouth, he will probably be refused entry, or he may not even be allowed to board the ferry in Caen for inadequate documentation. As UK is outside Schengen, his carte de séjour isn't a sufficient document for entering UK.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/france/applying/?langname=UK English
You may have to travel on your own this time.


----------

