andrew1p

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help.
My wife is Mexican and I am British. We came to Ireland using my treaty rights and my wife now has a EUFam stamp in the passport for 5 years. We have already been here in Ireland for around 2.5 years. We would like to return to England.
Should my wife apply for another EUFam from the UK or can she go with the one she has?
Would the 5 years to get permanent residence begin again if we move?
We are hoping to use the Surinder Singh process and are well on our way with that.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Andrew

BritInParis

Your wife should apply for a EEA Family Permit under the Surinder Singh route. This is free of charge.

https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/surinder-singh

After arriving in the UK she should apply for an EEA Residence card. This cost £65 and can take up to six months to be issued but it lasts for five years.

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

At the end of the five years your wife can apply for a EEA Permanent Residence card. Once she has this she will meet the residence requirements to naturalise as a British citizen.

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

Yes, the time you have spent in the RoI doesn't count in the UK and vice versa. An alternative would be to remain in the RoI for another 2.5 years and for your wife to naturalise as an Irish citizen.

You should qualify if you have spent 2.5 years in the RoI. There is more information available on the wiki.

Surinder Singh : British Expat Wiki

andrew1p

Thank you so much for your reply and the links. I found that very helpful but I'm a bit confused, as from a post elsewhere here on britishexpats, it is said that my wife can go with the family permit she has been issued in Ireland.
We visited England last year and nobody checked anything when we arrived there. Only when returning to Ireland were there passport checks, where she showed her Mexican passport and the GNIB card and was waved through with no further questions.

BritInParis

The UK and the RoI are part of the Common Travel Area meaning there are no border controls when travelling between the two countries. If you want to use the Surinder Singh route to move to the UK then it would be highly advisable to apply for a EEA Family Permit first before making the move which will confirm her right to be in the UK before applying for a EEA Residence card which can take months to be issued.

andrew1p

Would it not be possible to use her current EUFam permit to get to the UK and then apply directly for the residence permit instead of getting another EUFam?

BritInParis

Technically yes but if her application is rejected after several months of waiting then'll you've got a problem as she'll have no legal immigration status in the UK. Little point in taking that risk when an EU Family Permit applied for in the RoI takes ten days or less and is free.

andrew1p

A very well taken point!.
So... once issued, am I right to say that we would have up to 6 months to physically make the move?
What if we changed our minds once already approved, and we decided to stay in RoI after all?
To be honest, though, I can't see her ever being turned down for residence. She speaks fluent English, we have children with British passports, she once had a spouse visa and once worked and paid National Insurance contributions.
Knowing this, what's your opinion?

BritInParis

Correct.

Then you just stay in the RoI. You don't have to go if you change your mind.

None of those things would make any difference to a Surinder Singh application. Speaking English, previously living in the UK or having a British family doesn't mean your wife will be given residence based on you exercising your Treaty rights in another EEA member state. You need to demonstrate that you, the British spouse, had moved the centre of your life to the RoI. If you have been living and working there for 2.5 years then the likelihood is that your wife will be granted an EEA Family Permit but you still need to make the application and provide sufficient evidence.

andrew1p

Thanks so much for your info, BritInParis. Now.... another thing.
My wife would like to take a trip to Mexico to visit family just after moving to England. Can she do this straight away on getting the UK family permit?
She was thinking of getting the family permit while we're here in RoI, going over to Mexico and then returning the England.
Otherwise, getting the Family Permit from the UK, moving to the UK and going to Mexico from there.
Would she encounter any problems with either of these scenarios?

BritInParis

An EEA Family Permit is valid for six months from its date of issue so both of those scenarios are fine.

andrew1p

Now, another scenario...
If my wife was to stay in Ireland for the full 5 years and gets permanent residence, can she then move to England and settle there?
As far as I'm aware, she would still have to wait 5 years to get permanent residence in England, assuming the vote would be to remain in the EU.

rebeccajo

You say you are British. Were you born in Northern Ireland?

BritInParis

If she were to stay long enough to gain permanent residence in the RoI it wouldn't give her any rights in the UK. She would need to start again if she moved to the UK. If you were going to stay for that length of time then she should consider becoming an Irish citizen as that would give her virtually the same rights to live and work in the UK as a British citizen and it would be unaffected by any fallout from a possible Brexit.

Adi008

Hi there Britinparis. Sorry for sneaking into the thread. I was wondering is it possible to apply for residence permit after expiry of my eea family permit? I want to apply when my wife will get her residence certificate. I know I can stay in UK even after expiry of EEA FP but i dont know I can apply for residence permit after expiry of EEA FP? can you please help me out? Thank you

BritInParis

Yes you can although you won't be able to leave the country and re-enter without a new EEA Family Permit until you have your residence card.