US citizen marrying an EU citizen living in the UK

I am marrying my boyfriend this coming autumn who is a Hungarian citizen.  He has been residing in the UK for over 6 years and will be applying for his UK Resident card.   When we come back from Hungary I would like to apply for my UK resident card based on the EEA family permit with our marriage certificate.  I will be entering the country on my US passport as a tourist.  I have read some information regarding applying for the EEA Family permit from OUTSIDE the UK.  If we are married is this still necessary?

Yes. You need to apply for an EEA Family permit from outside of the UK.  Once in the UK on the EEA Family permit you apply for a residence card-EEA2-which is good for 5 years. 

jenbrown1017, you said in another post that you are currently living in the UK.

If you will still have a valid visa for the UK when you get married, and will still be living in the UK at that time, you will not need to apply for an EEA Family Permit. You can just return to the UK on your current visa, and then apply directly for the 5-year EEA Residence Card from inside the UK.

However, if your current visa will have expired and you will no longer have a valid visa to live in the UK when you get married, you will need to apply for the EEA Family Permit before you come back to the UK.

Ideally, this should be done in your country of residence (i.e. the US), but for an EEA visa, you can apply from any country. However, you would need to be aware of the processing times for them in that country - you don't want to apply from Hungary as a visitor and then discover it will take weeks or even months to get the permit! (Applications made in the US usually take only about a week).

Because she is marrying an EU citizen, presumably in Hungary, couldn't she just do the 1A stamp at the border on entry?  I know its not the "right" way to do it, but she is entitled by that point, correct?

jenny - only problem with coming back on the visitor visa is proving the right to work to potential employers, and when you are looking for a job - they definitely want to know status and sometimes see a scan of the stamp.  They have sped up the process for the RCs in the last 9 months, but it could still take a while to receive them (and who knows what could happen to the UKBA in the meantime), even though you will (should, but I have seen cases where it doesn't always happen) get a certificate stamped that you have applied for the RC and are eligible to work.

Thank you for the information....I think I got confused.  I did a little more reading and I think THIS is what I need to do:

You can apply for a residence card if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and living with a European partner or family member.

You don’t need a residence card to live in the UK, but it can:

help you re-enter the country more quickly and easily if you travel abroad
show employers you’re allowed to work in the UK
help prove you qualify for certain benefits and services
You should instead apply for a derivative right of residence card if you’re the carer of an EEA citizen, the carer’s child, or the child of an EEA worker and currently in education.

How long it lasts for
A residence card can last up to 5 years.

After 5 years, you can apply for a permanent residence card.

However...this states NOTHING about applying within the UK?  So does this need to be done from Hungary or can we come back to the UK with out marriage certificate and THEN apply???  GAH!!!!

I may be missing something here but if you apply for and receive the EEA family permit you won't be returning to the UK as a tourist.

You'll be entering the country as the family member of an 'EEA citizen exercising their treaty right...' The family permit confirms your 'right' to enter the country, live and work, like a visa.

After you arrive in the UK, you apply for the EEA residence card.

Though the guidance says you do not need a residence card, I think you'll find it hard to find work since employers need to confirm your right to work. Also without it, I think travelling in/out of the UK would be a nightmare.

You will have the easiest time by applying in advance.

The next best option would be to research the Code 1A stamp and get it at the border (you will find a lot of IO's don't know about this).

The least favoured option would be applying from within the UK, as you may be in limbo for some time (many months) without being able to prove a legal status for banking, employment, traveling, and healthcare.  You would be legal, it just will be hard to prove.

Maybe I'm confused, which wouldn't be the first time, but I thought the order for the EEA route is this:

1. From outside the UK, apply for the EEA family permit, which is a stamp in your passport that allows the non-EEA family member of an EEA national residing in the UK to enter the country. The permit is good for 6 months and allows a person to enter/leave/re-enter. Alternatively, you could show up at the border and request a Code 1A stamp, but you may encounter difficulty in proving you have a legal right to enter the country to reside.

2. Once in the UK, apply for a residence card (EEA2) which is a vignette placed in your passport and confirms you have a legal right to live and work in the UK. Valid for 5 years.

3. After 5 years, apply for permanent residence (EEA4).

If you follow these steps, it will make applying for citizenship, if you so choose and once you meet the requirements (5 years resident + 1 year) a much easier process. (This is what I did.)

The EEA family permit/Code 1A stamp clarifies your right to live and work in the UK and as KFdancer says, it provides proof of your status until you can apply for your residence card which takes at least 6 months to process and approve.

However...this states NOTHING about applying within the UK?  So does this need to be done from Hungary or can we come back to the UK with out marriage certificate and THEN apply???  GAH!!!!

It doesn't say anything because you can ONLY apply for it in the UK (it is assumed that you are already in the UK when applying) - it doesn't exist as a visa outside the UK.

An EEA Family Permit is what you apply for outside the UK, in order to be allowed in as the family member of an EEA citizen. It is only valid for 6 months and is just used to enter the UK when you move here.

Then, once you are in the UK, you apply to switch to the 5-year EEA2 Residence Card so that you can prove your right to live in the UK and you don't need to keep applying for EEA Family Permits

If you don't apply for the permit, and you don't already have a valid visa for the UK, you could in theory ask to be let in as an EEA Family Member at the border (1A stamp), but you would need all the evidence to show you meet the requirements (the same documents you would need for the family permit), but it's a bit risky doing that.

Also, in theory you could enter as a visitor and apply for the EEA residence card in the UK, but you will be bound to visitor visa rules until you get the card (no NHS, no working, proof you do not intend to live in the UK etc.).

I may be missing something here but if you apply for and receive the EEA family permit you won't be returning to the UK as a tourist.

Oh, I read it that she would be entering Hungary as a tourist to get married, not the UK as a tourist after the wedding... now I'm not sure!

As you said though, even though it's not essential to get an EEA family permit before coming to the UK, it's a whole lot easier if you do, because it means you have definite proof of your right to live and work in the UK.

Maybe I'm confused, which wouldn't be the first time, but I thought the order for the EEA route is this:

No, you're not confused... that is the route. As far as I know, that's what is being discussed here.

The only difference I mentioned is that if you are already living in the UK on a different visa (Tier 2, Tier 4 etc.), you can just enter under that visa again after the wedding and then switch to an EEA Residence Card without needing the family permit first (because you are already living in the UK anyway under a different immigration status).

You will have the easiest time by applying in advance.

The next best option would be to research the Code 1A stamp and get it at the border (you will find a lot of IO's don't know about this).

The least favoured option would be applying from within the UK, as you may be in limbo for some time (many months) without being able to prove a legal status for banking, employment, traveling, and healthcare.  You would be legal, it just will be hard to prove.

ok....if I get a Code 1A stamp at the border when we return from the wedding I can then apply for the Residence Card from within the UK.  But now you say it can take 6 MONTHS to complete??? 

Can I work with a Code 1A stamp?  I already have a bank account here, have had it for almost 4 years.  As far as healthcare I have a NHS # also.  They can't deny you healthcare if it's an emergency even as a tourist.  Travelling for 6 months won't be an issue but I will need to work!

Yes, you can work and apply for the residence card when you are in the UK (that's the only way to get a residence card - apply in the UK). And yes, it can take up to 6 months to be processed. However you will still be able to work during this time (they will send you a letter confirming this) and if you need to travel you can request your passport back.

You are supposed to first apply for the EEA family permit though, rather than rely on getting the Code 1A Stamp as getting the stamp is not the standard thing to do and the immigration officers may not be that familiar with it. Plus you may find that employers/GP Surgeries aren't familiar with it either, which could be a hassle for proving your right to work/NHS treatment.

With the family permit or the stamp you will still have free access to the NHS (yes, they can't deny treatment to visitors but they have to pay for it) and be able to work, however I would advise you to apply for the EEA Family Permit before re-entering the UK and not just rely on the Code 1A stamp as you won't know for sure if you will definitely be able to get one when you arrive in the UK.


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I agree 100% with ksand24. The rules are easier for EEA applicants, so I would follow them. Plus if your end goal is citizenship, I think if you follow the outlined procedures and do things by the book (family permit, residence card, permanent residence card), the whole process is much, much easier.

The only thing I can add is the EEA2 applications do take 6 months, sometimes longer. If you need your passport back to travel, you can request that it be returned to you without your application being cancelled. But the practicality and logistics of actually sending it back may prove difficult and it the end it will ultimately delay your application in my opinion.

When I applied for my residence card, I was told I could easily request my passport back if I needed to travel. It made the process sound simple. It wasn't and in the end I had to get an emergency passport from the US embassy. When I returned to the UK I was stamped with a code 1A in my emergency passport (Note I had copies of all my application paperwork with me for back-up.) It was a risk and I don't recommend it. Technically, I should have applied for another family permit was I wasn't out of the UK for long and didn't have enough time to apply.

If your EEA partner is self-employed, they may want further evidence that he's paid his taxes. With my application, since six months had gone by I had to provide proofs that my partner made additional payments to HMRC.

Good luck!