lululaki

I read a lot of helpful threads from this forum regarding the EEA Family Permit. It helped me to get the EEA FP at the end. I am in UK now and my EEA FP will expire in March next year. I am going to apply for the Residence Card now but I have a question about this.

As you might know, the application of the residence card might take around six months. By then, my EEA will be expired and I will not have my passport or residence permit as the Home Office will hold it till the whole process finishes. I heard that the HO will give us a certificate or letter to prove that we’ve handed in the application and this certificate or letter will be effective to prove to the employer that we are eligible to work in UK.

Does anyone here know whether this is true? Will I be allowed to work while I wait for the residence card? Recently an employer asked me what is my plan after my EEA FP expires and I told him that I will apply for the residence card as soon as possible. But he didn’t reply after that so I thought my visa status might be a problem for me to find a job here.

I will appreciate if anyone here can provide a sure answer or any of your own experience about this issue.

Thank you all in advance.

Englishmum

What's your nationality? I guess you are not from the EU?

lululaki

Hi. No I’m not EU citizen but my husband is. That’s why I need EEA Family Permit and Residence Card to stay in UK

lululaki

Hi there,

Nobody knows about this? I need to work as soon as possible and I don't know whether the employer will trust my situation or not. If you know anything about this, please help. Thank you

roaringmouse

The EEA Family Permit isn't something that comes up a lot on these forums, because mostly one person is British rather than "other EU". Asking your question on UK Resident forums might bring you an answer.

lululaki

Thank you very much for the information!

lululaki

Thank you very much for the information! I found the forum

DigitalGhost

Just to confirm that you can, my partner's friend had filed an application for this visa inland (sponsored by a Spanish boyfriend) and your current status remains intact until you get a decision. I think it can generally take a lot longer to be approved than most UK visas though, most probably because it is open to a lot of abuse of the system and I wouldn't be surprised if the BIA try to make it more difficult in the coming years.

The applicant in question was waiting for nearly 8 months for a decision on hers where as my girlfriend's UK permit was approved within 5 weeks and they had both been in the UK as students for a similar legnth of time with no previous problems.

lululaki

Thanks a lot for your answer! Your girlfriend was very lucky to get the permit in only 5 weeks. I think your partner’s friend waited a bit too long..I heard most of the people who applied for this residence card waited for around six months. I still didn’t apply for the RD yet coz I am waiting for some job interviews and they need my passport now. I think employers are well informed about this situation otherwise they wouldn’t call me for interviews (I sated my visa status very clearly in the job application process). I also read a lot of threads from the forum recommended by roaringmouse. Almost all of the response is positive. Well, finger crossed. Hope I can pass the coming interview and start working immediately

DigitalGhost

It was an odd situation to be honest, we were planning a move to Canada at the start of this year but her UK student visa expired in the preceding September so we got an FLR(M) for her because we had been living together for a couple of years and that would allow us to return to the UK without any hassle for an extended period if things didn't work out across the Atlantic. I think it all depends on where the sponsored partner is from with this though and their ties to the UK. She was a Japanese citizen who had studied there for 8 years and I had a stable and well paid job. I think people from a lot of other countries or people applying from overseas get a much harder time.

lululaki

I totally agree with you. If sponsor is British citizen living in UK or from ‘favourite’ European country and adding that he/she has good finance to support the partner and the applicant has all of the legal documents, things will for sure speed up. I hope I also fit in all of these conditions. It will be even better if the applicant has a permanent job in UK. Good luck with your moving to Canada

DigitalGhost

Thanks, I've been in Canada for nearly a year already now actually and the reason I came on here today is because I'm considering moving back to the UK. My girlfriend really hates it here and misses Europe badly and I miss home too to be honest, especially at this time of the year.

We got her FLR(M) just over a year ago now as well which also means that we have subsequently arsed up her chances of getting UK ILR for at least the next 2 and a half years.

lululaki

Canada must be very cold now UK’s weather is turning bad too, windy, raining, storming…I believe if you both are determined, you will make it at the end. Of course the safest way is to find jobs in UK first before you move here. But it will be much easier for you if you have your families and friends here to support you. Wish all of us good luck!

DigitalGhost

Thanks I think I would be OK on the job front to be honest, I still get emails occasionally about jobs back over there and I haven't been active in the UK market for a year and abandoned my UK phone number some time ago. The scariest part for me is finding somewhere to live again, I hate flat hunting.

lululaki

About flat hunting, you can check gumtree online since you are not in UK right now. They have a lot of information there. If you have any connection here, ask them to help you find one and they can check the condition for you as well. We have many estate agencies here although I haven’t used any of them to find flat. If you want, you can find their contact details online and call them to ask. I was lucky to find one here without effort. One friend of mine was leaving UK by the time I was moving here. So I took over her flat directly without hunting anywhere.