takhtar

Dear All,

I will tried to explain my situation, hope it is understandable by all.

Currently I am working in Germany and living with my British Wife & Kid here in Germany for last 1.5 year. When they came i got them registered here in my town and they immediatly got permanent resident because the are British. Recently I got an extension on my visa in Germany and I have been issued a "Residence Card" which says "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen". I think i got this type of residence card because of my British wife living with me.

The situation now is that me and my wife decided to start my son's schooling in UK and move there as well. She is planning to go to UK in 2months and at the same time find a job so that she can sponsor me on a spouse visa.

Now, i am wondering if she should de-register from Germany or keep her residence in Germany while she will start working in UK. Because the embassy may ask if we have lived together before and i can provide a proof of her residence in Germany. But would it be a problem to be a registered residence in Germany and live in UK at the same time?

And yes, i cannot apply on a surinder singh route because currently my wife is not working in Germany. And i am aware that this route needs an EU citizen to work for at least six months.

Any help here would be appreciate and show some direction about how to apply for a spouse visa, since i will be applying from with in the EU.

I am wondering, if she

BritInParis

It doesn't matter if your wife is registered in Germany or not as there is no equivalent of an Anmeldebescheinigung in the UK. Even if she remained registered in Germany the Home Office will know that she's not living with you as she would have been in the UK working for at least six months prior to you lodging your application so it's a moot point.

There's no difference between applying for a UK spouse visa from within or outside the EU.

I think your concern should be your immigration status in Germany if your wife leaves to go to the UK if your immigration status is dependent on her.

takhtar

Thank you for your thoughts BritInParis.

Regarding my immigration status, I think it should not be a problem. I can find this out from local registration authority. But to be on the safe side I dont want to cancel my wife and child registration here in Germany. And cancel the registration once my UK visa is sorted. On the other hand I am wondering if this would become a problem at the time of applying for spouse visa.

BritInParis

The Home Office won't know or care if your wife is registered as resident in Germany or not as they'll know she had been in the UK working as part of the financial requirements.

I think it unlikely however that the German authorities will permit you to remain in Germany as the spouse of an EU citizen if your wife ha left the country. If that's your plan I wouldn't be drawing attention to it.

takhtar

Sorry but I did not understand your last para. You mean they might not allow me to remain in Germany if my wife leaves? My idea to keep my wife registration in Germany was that in the worse case scenrio If my UK spouse visa is not successful for some reason, we can still stay in Germany as we are living now.

It is very strange, I dont know why in my 2nd visa extension is Germany I have been issued with this "Residence card of a family member of EU Citizen" as my wife is not working in Germany it is only myself. And initially I got my visa on the basis of my contract in the company.

BritInParis

Precisely. If your status is reliant on your wife living with you in Germany it'll become null and void if she leaves for the UK. Your wife can come and go between the UK and Germany as she pleases whether she is registered with the local council or not. It's a formality for any resident of Germany, German, British or otherwise.

When does it expire?

takhtar

Well i got my extension only 2wks back. So it will expire sometime in 2018.

takhtar

And I will keep her registered in Germany and my residence here as well until i get a succesful visa to UK. She can travel to Germany during holidays when working in UK.