# Eea family permit



## Mi amor

Good evening, I would like to ask if anyone here tried to apply EEA FAMILY PERMIT IN UK Embassy, Osaka Japan? Thanks for everyone who's gonna answer.


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## HKG3

Mi amor said:


> Good evening, I would like to ask if anyone here tried to apply EEA FAMILY PERMIT IN UK Embassy, Osaka Japan? Thanks for everyone who's gonna answer.


Just to let you know that if you are a British Citizen, you cannot apply for an EEA family permit for your family members. This is because British Citizens cannot exercise EEA treaty rights inside the UK.

Hope the link below helps - 

UK Visa Information - Japan - Home Page


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## tom_tom_tom

Hello, my wife got her EEA family permit in Osaka. Do you have a specific query?


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## tom_tom_tom

I should add it was at a visa office, not the embassy.


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## whatahw

tom_tom_tom said:


> Hello, my wife got her EEA family permit in Osaka. Do you have a specific query?


Hi Tom,

Did you have to provide evidence of cohabitation with your wife's Family Permit application?


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## tom_tom_tom

I don't think we did. We had never properly lived together (other than short periods less than 3 months when she visited the UK) before we got married so would not have been able to provide anything. We just submitted the family permit application a coupe of days after we got married and she moved to the UK permanently once it was issued. Once in the UK she applied for the 5 year EC spouse visa, EEA2 I think. That expires next year so we need to figure out the next step now..


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## whatahw

That's great news! Thanks for the info. It's good to hear about other couple's success with this.

Myself and my fiancee will only have been married for 2 months when we apply. We've been in a relationship for 2 years but never lived together. After applying for the visa, did your wife have to sit an interview at the embassy in Osaka?

Also, by any chance did you get married in Japan?

Thanks for the help!


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## tom_tom_tom

We were in a similar situation, together less than two years and never lived together. She didn't need to do an interview, as far as I know you don't normally have one although her application was four years ago so it may have changed.

We got married in Japan. We did the formal/legal thing at a town hall first to get her visa sorted. After that was done we had a proper wedding ceremony about a year later. 

Getting married in Japan is quite easy, you just need a few documents all translated into Japanese by a certified translator. I can't remember all the documents you need but one is a letter from your countries embassy in the country you are currently living (japan for you?) confirming you have never been married, and if you have been married proof of a divorce I guess.


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## Mi amor

Thank you HKG3, whatahw, and tom_tom_tom for the info, link and correction. &#55357;&#56842;


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## Mi amor

tom_tom_tom said:


> Hello, my wife got her EEA family permit in Osaka. Do you have a specific query?


Hi, Tom!  I would like to know if the UK still accept EEA FP application because I heard they exit EU already.


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## HKG3

Mi amor said:


> Hi, Tom!  I would like to know if the UK still accept EEA FP application because I heard they exit EU already.


The UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, but the formal talks regarding the exit will not start until Q1 of 2017 with the aim of the UK leaving the EU before the European Parliament elections in the summer of 2019.

The UK is still a member of the EU just now. What will happen to EEA FP holders in the UK once the UK leaves the EU in 2019 is up for discussion between the UK government and the EU.


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## whatahw

I thought I might as well post a follow up after our EEA Family Permit application for future reference of anyone going through a similar situation. First of all our timeline looked something like this:

Country applying from: Tokyo, Japan
Type of visa applied for: EEA Family Permit (Spouse)
Date application submitted (Visa4UK online): October 14th, 2016
Date appointment at VFS Tokyo (document submssion & biometrics): November 11th, 2016
Date of Receipt of Documents in Manila: No receipt received
Confirmation email application was received from UKVI: No email received
Office location processing your visa: Manila
Email from Manila "Decision Made": No email received
Email from VFS Tokyo "visa received": December 14th, 2016
Documents returned from Manila: December 14th, 2016
Passport Collection: December 15th, 2016

The reason for the big gap between submitting the application online and scheduling the VFS appointment was because we needed more time to get all the translations completed and returned to us. From when we submitted the documents (11/11/16) to when they were returned at VFS Tokyo (14/12/16), my wife received no email at all from UKVI in relation to receipt of documents, decision made etc. I presume this is down to a very busy period for visa applications. At the time of the VFS appointment the processing times on UKVI website showed 100% of EEA Family Permits being completed in 15 working days. For us it took 23-24 working days. Again I presume this is down to the time of year as our application seemed relatively straightforward. 

Using the email form https://ukvi-international.faq-help.com/ we requested status update on several occasions after the first 15 working days. The first status was "your application has not yet been assessed by an
Entry Clearance Officer (ECO)", the second was "a decision on your application has
been delayed whilst further enquiries are being conducted" and the final one was "that application is currently in progress". Two days after that final email, the application was ready for collection. We didn't know the result of the decision, until my wife opened her passport after collection.

Like many others on here, our application was broken into three sections: 1. Applicant, 2. Sponsor, 3. General Supplementary Documents. We included a Table of Contents as follows:

1.	EEA Family Permit Applicant
1.1	Completed Visa Form
1.2	Letter of Introduction - signed
1.3	Current & previous passports & one passport photograph
1.4	Bank statements & certified translations 
1.5	Marriage Certificate & certified translation
1.6	Employment information (contracts, payslips with certified translations)
1.7	Tax declaration & certified translation
1.8	Family register & certified translation 
1.9	Degree certificate & certified translation 
1.10	Flight booking details to UK

2	EEA Family Permit Sponsor
2.1	Letter of Introduction - signed
2.2	Certified Passport Copies
2.3	Bank statements with relevant transactions highlighted
2.4	Employment information (employment contract, recent payslips)
2.5	Evidence of old address from (Email of lodging agreement from landlord, HM Revenue & Customs letter, Jobcentre National Insurance letter)
2.6	Evidence of new address (AST contract, photos of new apartment, invoice of payments to rental agency, letter from rental agency stating the property is suitable for a second occupant)
2.7	Private Health Insurance (showing that it's possible to add family members)

3	General Supplementary Documents
3.1	LINE Messaging App Extracts
3.2	Google Hangouts Video Chat Log File
3.3	Assorted photos of time spent together, trips, with friends, letters, boarding passes
3.4	Marriage in Japan (photos of ceremony and meal with families, boarding pass, reference to marriage cert included in 1.5)

We included all original documents where we could (except for my passport) and also provided a copy of each document in a separate bundle. However, both bundles were returned so perhaps they just made their own copies in this case. 

The permit was granted and I hope this may help someone else in the future.


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