olgana

Me and my partner have been in a long distance relationship for a little over 2 years, he is an EU national living in the UK(working) and I am US citizen. We are planning to marry here in the US sometime this year and go right after to the UK if the EEA family permit is approved

From what I've read online, it seems that is fairly normal to be declined this visa and even as a spouse, due to marriage of convenience and especially with Brexit going on which is a great worry of mine because I'd really like to be with him :| I have no idea what documents would be best to provide? If we should provide proof of relationship (FB chats etc.), we speak everyday and FaceTime daily. I've seen that people have been declined for not providing proof or providing something that the border control didn't like. Would hiring a legal service help? Are there any here in the US?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

BritInParis

It's actually pretty difficult to be refused an EEA Family Permit. It's important to note that it is not actually a visa; it is a permit that confirms a right which you already have under EEA freedom of movement rules. It's not actually required to make a claim at the border, although it's certainly a lot less risky to have one in hand.

Which passport does your partner hold and how long has he been living and working in the UK? Does he have an EEA Permanent Residence card?

olgana

Thank you for the reply. I've just seen that they can decline if they think it's a marriage of convenience or some other reason, which worries me. He is a Polish national using treaty rights in the UK(currently working), has been living for about 9 years in the UK

BritInParis

That is a concern but it usually involves applications which are obviously suspect - young Lithuanian girls marrying Pakistani men twice their age when neither of them speaks English. It's unlikely to be a problem for you and your partner.

Does he have his EEA Permanent Residence card? If not then I would highly recommend that he obtains that first. All you would need to provide with your application then would be your passport, marriage certificate and a certified copy of your partner's passport/identity card and his EEA PR card.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-re...residence-card

eribird33

Hi, I'm in a very similar situation as the OP... if my EU spouse has been living and working in the UK for less than 5 years (therefore, ineligible for the permanent residency card), does this greatly impact the outcome of our EEA Permit Application? We have all the other supporting docs to show he is exercising his Treaty Rights. I'm also gathering as much as possible to show proof of our relationship, since we got married fairly recently and applying within a few weeks of that.

Thanks!

BritInParis

It doesn't impact the outcome in any way - it's obviously easier from a paperwork point of view if your sponsor does have an EEA PR card but if they don't then your application should still be successful so long as you provide documentation demonstrating that they are exercising their Treaty Rights in the UK. If you have only been married a short time then I would also provide some evidence pertaining to your relationship to show that it is bona fide.

eribird33

Thank you, britinparis! Seems straightforward enough... I guess we’ll just have to apply, wait and see. One other random question... if my EU spouse has dual citizenship (EU and Brazil), do I need to state the other citizenship on the application? I wasn’t planning on it, mainly because his EU citizenship/status is the significant factor here, and the reason why we’re able to apply for the EEA FP. I have been searching but couldn’t find any answers to this particular question— any advice is welcome, thank you!

BritInParis

His EEA citizenship will suffice.

eribird33

Thanks BritInParis, appreciate your comments and helpful advice!

I've just received an email today that my EEA Family Permit application is successful -- detailing timeline below in case it's helpful for others:

For background, EU Citizen spouse living/working in UK, non-EEA spouse living/working in US. I erred on the side of being overly thorough with my supporting docs, but I figured better to put in a little extra grunt work into pulling the info together in our first shot at it. I can provide the complete list of documents provided, if anyone would find it helpful.

Total: 9 working days from completion of online application to receiving notice the permit has been approved

• April 25 2018 - Applied through online application
• April 30 2018 - Attended biometrics appointment
• May 1 2018 - Mailed in supporting documents and application to NY Consulate
• May 2 2018 - UPS tracking shows as delivered at 10:40am and signed for, left in Mail room
• May 3 2018 - Received email from NEYOZVisa Info that application had been received and being assembled and prepared for assessment. "Aim to process all applications within 15 working days or less."
• May 7 2018 - Received email from NEYOZVisa Info that visa has been approved and I should be receiving passport back with stamp

I think I lucked out in that I am applying from New York, so shipping times to and from the Consulate in NY only took/will take a day or so. Will let myself exhale only when I receive my passport back with the stamp in it! Sending good vibes to everyone else going through this incredibly stressful process!!

BritInParis

Glad to hear you were successful. You'll note that your EEA Family Permit is only valid for six months; you should therefore apply for a EEA residence card when you arrive in the UK. This will be valid for five years* and will allow you to travel in and out of the UK without having to apply for another EEA Family Permit. Be aware that legally it can take up to six months to process and you will be without your passport for this time so don't make any travel plans until you receive your passport and residence card.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-residence-card

*Or until the end of the Brexit transitional period.

Vaxier

Hello Paris, talking of some evidence pertaining to your relationship to show that it is bona fide, can you please give an examples of these documents. Thanks.

​​​​​​​And a question to anyone with an idea of how to print a WhatsApp chat history with both parties having their WhatsaApp account numbers shown on the print out as prove of contact numbers between married partners. Print out of only names without account number has cost me my first attempt. Any help please?

eribird33

@Vaxier, usually documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc. will be the critical pieces. Any additional supporting evidence to help can include things like dated photographs, travel itinerarys/flight confirmations of travel together or visits, and communication logs (phone calls, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.)

What I did for my WhatsApp chat history was show the actual conversation logs (which showed both parties' names), and then included screenshots of each person's WhatsApp profile, which had their phone number shown, as well as profile photo and showed the numbers for media (photos, videos, etc.) sent to each other.

BritInParis

If you are married then it's less important as your marriage certificate will be your primary piece of relationship evidence. The evidence bar is also lower for an EEA Family Permit in comparison to a spouse visa and it will vary widely depending on your individual circumstances. My usual advice is a relationship statement from each of you describing how you met, the development of your relationship, your decision to marry and your future plans; no more than two sides of A4 per statement. You should then provide a limited selection of documents to support the claims you made in your relationship statements; photos, joint financial documents, etc.. No more than a dozen pages. Electronic communication like Skype or WhatsApp is less useful unless you have spent long periods apart and even then it should be used sparingly. Your ECO will have neither the time nor the inclination to wade through a hundred or more pages of chit chat.

SlamDon101

Thanks for this please I got married to my wife she's a portugese national and am a Nigerian the home office refused our application saying to appeal we did the appeal and they dismis the appeal too.. now we don't know what to do IF WE CAN APPLY FOR A PORTUGESS RESISDENCY CARD FROM THE UK PLEASE WE NEED HELP

THANKS

Vaxier

Many thanks to both of you, Eribird and Paris. I have been gathering supporting documents for the next application.
Actually it's an EEA family permit. My original married certificate from where we got married ended up at the Italian embassy by regulations it should be in their possession for the marriage to be registered under an Italian law. We then asked for a photocopy.
The ECO was not satisfy with photocopy as part of the registration date was not showing in the copy unfortunately, even though there was an Italian version of my marriage certificate( translated copy in english too) I have manage to get a copy now from the council from where we got married and will keep you guys update of the process. Thanks again