# EEA Family Permit or Spouse Visa



## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

My cohabitant partner of 2 years and I are looking to moving to Scotland summer of next year. He is both Danish and British. We currently live in Norway.

I myself am however not an EU citizen. 

1. Should we "waste" 1000 GBP to apply as a spouse under the regular visa system?
2. Use his EU/EEA rights and just apply for a Family Permit instead?

Besides the downside of having to wait 5 years for a Permanent Resident under the EU/EEA permit, is that the only difference between the two?

Seeing that he is also a British citizen, if I were to apply to the UK under the EU/EEA permit, can I after 3 years of living with him apply for a citizenship?

Anyone have any idea which way is faster/better?

Many thanks!


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


amnoi said:


> My cohabitant partner of 2 years and I are looking to moving to Scotland summer of next year. He is both Danish and British. We currently live in Norway.
> 
> I myself am however not an EU citizen.
> 
> ...


1. No
2. Yes
3. No
4. No
5. Both require time and effort. Having EU ancestry also helps.

Animo
(Cheers)


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## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

What are some of the downsides of applying for an EEA Family Permit? 
Besides me having to leave the country if things go wrong, what else should I take into consideration?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

amnoi said:


> What are some of the downsides of applying for an EEA Family Permit?
> Besides me having to leave the country if things go wrong, what else should I take into consideration?


I can't think of any if you are entitled to it. It's free, fairly easy to obtain, has no financial requirement, and it takes the same 5 years to get settlement as partner visa.


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


amnoi said:


> What are some of the downsides of applying for an EEA Family Permit?
> Besides me having to leave the country if things go wrong, what else should I take into consideration?


Whether is under EU regulations or UK immigration laws, you are going to depend on your partner either way, or at least for the matter we are addressing here.

I take your biggest fear is having to leave the UK should your relationship end, and I don't blame you for that. There is however, a provision on the regulation where you can apply for a leave, only if you have "Retained Right of Residence in the UK". In other to do so, you must be in a civil partnership/married to the EU national for 3 years, and have lived in the UK for 1 year. 

Good luck on your decision.

Animo
(Cheers)


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## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

Thank You so much for all your help. You have no idea how much this forum has helped!

A few final question if I may.
My cohabitant partner and I are not planning to get married anytime soon, unless I have to. So going through the EEA route is a bit scary for me, if things do go wrong later.

(here in Scandinavia, our rights are the same as a married partner given we have lived the same household for 2 years, but that is not the case in UK I suppose)

Anyways,

1.Given that I love it in the UK and want a to be British a little bit further along in time, which one of the two methods of first arriving in the UK is best? 

(As far as I understood, it takes 3 years of marriage and living in the UK to be British, if I go under the EU/EEA route, it takes 5 years + 1 year for an ILR? and then I can apply for a citizenship?)

2.My partner and I are in our mid twenties,and graduating in the summer. Anyways, is there a maximum number of countries we can apply for this permit? We are planning on "testing the waters" in the UK, over in Germany and possibly in Netherlands too before deciding whats best for our future.

3. This might be a little bit of an open question, what are the job opportunities in Scotland like in comparison to Wales and England? Any ideas? I am graduating with a degree in IT whilst my boyfriend is graduating with a degree in Product Design from universities here in Norway.

4. Final question, does it matter that neither of us have lived in the UK before. We do have a place to live for free until we find our own at his grandmothers, but that is about it.

Ee have no job offers, no real clue what to expect and really no actual "plans" besides wanting to see if Scotland (or somewhere else in the UK) might be an all right place to start after we graduate. We might even plan change our mind and head back to graduate school in Scotland. Would all this be allowed under the EEA family permit?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

amnoi said:


> Thank You so much for all your help. You have no idea how much this forum has helped!
> 
> A few final question if I may.
> My cohabitant partner and I are not planning to get married anytime soon, unless I have to. So going through the EEA route is a bit scary for me, if things do go wrong later.
> ...


Both take 5+1 so 6 years from first arriving in UK, as probationary period for settlement has been increased from two to five years. If you aren't married to (or in same-sex civil partnership with) a British citizen, you need to be settled for one year before you can apply for naturalisation, hence the extra year.



> 2.My partner and I are in our mid twenties,and graduating in the summer. Anyways, is there a maximum number of countries we can apply for this permit? We are planning on "testing the waters" in the UK, over in Germany and possibly in Netherlands too before deciding whats best for our future.


You should in theory be able to apply in every EEA country and Switzerland, but each state has its own rule, based on EU regulations. As I'm not an expert on immigration systems outside of UK, I don't have details. In some you just enter as a visitor and apply for residence permit, in others you have to get an equivalent of EEA family permit in advance.



> 3. This might be a little bit of an open question, what are the job opportunities in Scotland like in comparison to Wales and England? Any ideas? I am graduating with a degree in IT whilst my boyfriend is graduating with a degree in Product Design from universities here in Norway.


Job market is very tough, and many graduates are unemployed or doing low-skill work to tide things over. In a tough climate, those with UK qualification and work experience will always be favoured, and there may be hundreds if not thousands of applicants chasing every job. There are more jobs in South East England (the so-called Home Counties around London), but competition is still stiff. Even low-skill, entry-level jobs (like retail, hospitality, care asistant etc) are in demand and not easy to get.



> 4. Final question, does it matter that neither of us have lived in the UK before. We do have a place to live for free until we find our own at his grandmothers, but that is about it.


Not as far as immigration/migration is concerned, but as I've said, employers prefer to give jobs to locals first out of a sense of social responsibility, though under EU law you should not be treated unfairly.



> We have no job offers, no real clue what to expect and really no actual "plans" besides wanting to see if Scotland (or somewhere else in the UK) might be an all right place to start after we graduate. We might even plan change our mind and head back to graduate school in Scotland. Would all this be allowed under the EEA family permit?


Yes, study is one way of exercising EU treaty rights. You pay the same tuition fees as home (UK) students, which for Masters may be £10,000 to £20,000 depending on your course.


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## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

Thank You SO MUCH.

Now to the nitty gritty. 
We are going forward in applying for the EEA Family Permit later this month.

When we hand in the application for that permit, should my boyfriend include his British Passport AND his Danish Passport? Or should we keep quiet and not admit that he is also a British citizen?

Once again thank you. This has helped so much in determining what we should do hereon.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

amnoi said:


> Thank You SO MUCH.
> 
> Now to the nitty gritty.
> We are going forward in applying for the EEA Family Permit later this month.
> ...


Just a clarification.
There is no problem applying for EEA family permit under Surinder Singh provision, i.e. your partner has been working in Norway and now you both wish to locate to UK. What he cannot do is to go to UK using his Danish nationality and claim to be exercising treaty rights, and bring you in as a family member. This has been outlawed in a recent change in rules, because as a dual British-Danish citizen, he cannot be said to be exercing treaty rights in UK.


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## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

So what you are saying is that, we will have to apply as a British Citizen, and we will apply on the basis that he has been working/studying/and have a company here in Norway thus exercising the treaty rights. 

His Danish citizenship doesn't make any difference to the case whatsoever?


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## jay009 (Sep 7, 2012)

hi .
hope you be good ..
i have some queries regarding the EEA family permit which i got it for 6 month from Cyprus . now i am in UK and i don't know what to do next .... can i work on this family permit ? can i apply the residence card now ? if i can apply this what will be documents should i provide them ? and how long it will take me to get this residence card ? plzzz reply i am so confused ....

many thanks ..


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


amnoi said:


> So what you are saying is that, we will have to apply as a British Citizen, and we will apply on the basis that he has been working/studying/and have a company here in Norway thus exercising the treaty rights.
> 
> His Danish citizenship doesn't make any difference to the case whatsoever?


It isn't that his Danish Citizenship doesn't make a difference. Due to a recent ruling, as a British Citizen, he will and needs to sponsor you under Surinder Singh. This portion is clearly explained on the EEA - Family Permit form. The key on this provision, is to include as many supporting documents as he can to show that he has been exercising treaty rights.

Animo
(Cheers)


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


jay009 said:


> hi .
> hope you be good ..
> i have some queries regarding the EEA family permit which i got it for 6 month from Cyprus . now i am in UK and i don't know what to do next .... can i work on this family permit ? can i apply the residence card now ? if i can apply this what will be documents should i provide them ? and how long it will take me to get this residence card ? plzzz reply i am so confused ....
> 
> many thanks ..


Yes, you can work with your EEA - Family Permit. You can also apply for your Residence Card by filling out form EEA2 and the supporting documents to include are the same you submitted for the Family Permit + evidence that your partner/spouse is exercising treaty rights. This type of applications take a few months to be processed, 3 - 4 months, but you will be given a Certificate of Application (COA) which will acknowledge that your application is being dealt with. 

Animo
(Cheers)


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## jay009 (Sep 7, 2012)

Jrge said:


> Hi,
> 
> Yes, you can work with your EEA - Family Permit. You can also apply for your Residence Card by filling out form EEA2 and the supporting documents to include are the same you submitted for the Family Permit + evidence that your partner/spouse is exercising treaty rights. This type of applications take a few months to be processed, 3 - 4 months, but you will be given a Certificate of Application (COA) which will acknowledge that your application is being dealt with.
> 
> ...


thanks !!! can you plzz tell me what is the treaty rights ?
and i got the F.P in November iand is valid till april 2013 can i apply it now now ?


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


jay009 said:


> thanks !!! can you plzz tell me what is the treaty rights ?
> and i got the F.P in November iand is valid till april 2013 can i apply it now now ?


What is your EEA partner/spouse doing in the UK? A worker, student, self-sufficient?

Animo
(Cheers)


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## amnoi (Nov 12, 2012)

Jrge said:


> Hi,
> 
> It isn't that his Danish Citizenship doesn't make a difference. Due to a recent ruling, as a British Citizen, he will and needs to sponsor you under Surinder Singh. This portion is clearly explained on the EEA - Family Permit form. The key on this provision, is to include as many supporting documents as he can to show that he has been exercising treaty rights.
> 
> ...


Sorry to be so difficult. :confused2:

This is what I have gathered so far and here are the list of documents I will submit to the British Embassy here in Norway for my EEA Family Permit. 

1. My partner's Passports, both his Danish and British ( I assume they know that I am going to apply under the Surinder Singh case? without me having to state anything)

2. My Passport.

3. Our house contract, and official moving papers from the Postal service(to show that we both have been living in the same household for over 2 years)

4. A letter from the State register to show that we have the same address and that we are registered as a unmarried partner.

5. Bank statements over 12 months showing that we both put equal amount of money into the household each month. And that it is an account we actually use to pay household things.

6. His company registration to show that he is self employed (freelance) here in Norway and that I am also a board member in the company. 

7. His payslips from a part time job (he works roughly 50% at a sport shop in addition)

8. My payslips for the past say 6 months? to show that I have also been working here in Norway?

9. His school semester cards or fee payments (to show that has been studying at the Uni for the past 3 years)

10. My university cards to show that I have also been at the uni the past 3 years 

11. A letter from his mother and a house deed in Scotland to show that we are allowed to live there free of charge until we figure things out

12. Some savings to show that we are self sufficient at least for a few months? Is it okay that we only have about 25-30,000 GBP? (We have been students, thus not allowing us to make very much more)

13. If we have to, we will open a company in the UK soon, just to show that that is pretty much what we want to try and "figure out" if there are opportunities for us in the UK. 

14. UCAS application forms? (We might return and study, as I mentioned previously), but nothing in set in stone so far. 

15. Pictures of us over the years? High School Yearbook, when our families met?, 10-12 pictures from the past 7 years?

16. Our tax papers from the last year? One last piece of evidence to show that we live in the same address?

*What am I missing?
*

I will submit all this at the British Embassy here in Oslo and as far as I have understood from reading other forums, the first Family Permit shouldn't take much long to get. And then I have (IF APPROVED, fingers crossed) to enter the UK with my partner within the next 6 months and reapply when that permit runs out. 

Q : Is it okay that we are not planning on moving right away, but in the summer of next year?

Q : I have started my application process online now, and one of the questions they put out to us what "How long are you intending to stay in the UK", Should I put indefinite? 

Q : What if we dont mention at all that he also carries a British Passport? Is there a different rules regarding just regular EU/EEA members?

Thank You!


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


amnoi said:


> Sorry to be so difficult. :confused2:
> 
> This is what I have gathered so far and here are the list of documents I will submit to the British Embassy here in Norway for my EEA Family Permit.
> 
> ...


*You will notice which documents are really important to include.*

1Q: You can always post date your application up to 3 months.
2Q: That, or, 6 months
3Q: I will suggest to never, ever hide/conceal the truth. Besides, UKBA knows where he is, what he does, and how much he earns!

Animo
(Cheers)


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