EEA Residence Card When not Living in UK

I have what I think is a unique question. My wife and lived in the UK from 2009 to 2011 but are now living in my wife's country of citizenship. (She is EEA while I am USA).

Now, we are moving back to the UK in March due to use both securing jobs that begin in April and my 5 year Residence Card is still valid (Until Sept 2015). However, my new company wants me to visit them at the end of Jan for 2 days.

My question is, as a US Citizens I can travel freely around Europe without a visa, but what should I do when I get to the UK Border at the end of Jan when they ask me the purpose of my visit? Should I risk showing them my residence card, even though I don't live in the UK, but will again in a few months or just enter as a regular American? If they start asking questions, should I just be honest and explain that we are moving back in March but my new jobs wants me to visit them for a couple days? Could an immigration officer say that because we are not living in the UK at the moment, my residence card in null and void and take it away from me (It is on a separate booklet) requiring me to go through the whole EEA Family Permit again?

Any advice?  Thanks.

I thought you can only have an EEA residency card if you live in the UK for 5 years or more.
Is your residency card for UK or for the EEA country that you currently live? I tink its best to be just truthful to the immigration officer as to what is your real intention of coming back.

Are you still currently employed?

I believe you lose your residency 2 year of not living in the UK.

No, that's actually for a completely different type of visa: ILR under UK immigration rules.

The OP does not have ILR. Instead, he has a 5-year EEA residence card because he is the non-EEA family member of an EEA citizen and has the automatic right to live and work in the UK PROVIDING his wife is also currently living and exercising EEA treaty rights in the UK.

Their situation actually has nothing to do with UK visas at all.

Californiaguy:

Your right to live and work in the UK has nothing to do with whether you have a valid residence card or not - the card itself is optional... just a formality to make it easier to prove your right to live in the UK.

Your right to live in the UK is based SOLELY on whether your wife is exercising her EEA Treaty Rights in the UK at the time you enter.

In order for your residence card to be valid, your wife must be living in the UK and either:

- working in the UK
- studying in the UK
- self-sufficient in the UK
- looking for work in the UK

If she is not currently exercising treaty rights in the UK, then you have no right to live in the UK either... regardless of whether your residence card is still in date or not.

As you don't currently live in the UK, you shouldn't try to enter the UK on your EEA residence card... because if they ask for proof that your wife is living and working in the UK, and you are living with her in the UK, you won't be able to show it.

Instead, you should be stamped in as a visitor. Then, when you are ready to move back to the UK, and have proof that your wife will be exercising her EEA treaty rights in the UK again, you can apply for another EEA Family Permit in order to return, and then another 5-year residence card once you have moved back.

Are you still currently employed in the US?

As the OP said, he and his wife currently live in a different EEA country - the country that she's from - and will be returning to live in the UK from there, due to the fact that they have been offered jobs in the UK.

Heh I realized that and change my whole post entirely told you I'm no expert. Heh

I thought you can only have an EEA residency card if you live in the UK for 5 years or more.

No, the residency card is for people who have just moved to the UK to live with their EEA partner. It is valid for 5 years.

He can't get an EEA Residency card for the country he currently lives in because that's his wife's home country and they will need to abide by the visa rules for bringing a foreign spouse into that country (i.e. a UK citizen has to get a spousal visa for their US spouse to live in the UK with them, but if they move to France together, their US spouse only needs an EEA residence card).

When a non-EEA family member of an EEA citizen moves to the UK to live with them the process is as follows:

- They first apply for a free of charge 6-month EEA Family Permit to enter the UK as the non-EEA family member of an EEA citizen.

- Once they have arrived in the UK, they pay £55 for a 5-year EEA Residence Card to show that they have the right to live and work in the UK

- After 5 years, they will automatically gain permanent residence (essentially ILR) as long as they have lived in the UK for the full 5 years and their EEA partner has exercised treaty rights in the UK continuously for those 5 years. They can apply for confirmation of their permanent residence status for £55.

If their EEA partner leaves the UK to live in another country, the US citizen's right to live in the UK ceases and their EEA Residence Card becomes invalid.

The EEA Residence Card is actually only optional - you don't have to apply for one if you don't want to, but it can be awkward if you don't because you won't have proof of your right to live in the UK.

However, it's not the residence card that determines that right, it's whether their EEA partner is living and working in the UK.

Are you still currently employed?

Whether he is employed or not is completely irrelevant here.

It's his wife's UK employment that matters - if she is employed and living in the UK right now, he can enter on the residence card, if she's not, he can't.

Well, the reason I ask is since the wife is at the country where she's from at the moment, presumably working still, which means he doesn't have a valid residency card. One of the immigration officers questions Everytime I enter the UK (been here 8x) is what's my current employment. though, they never asked for proof, but I always bring something with me just in case they go further with their enquiry. But since he's a US citizen, he shouldnt have much problem going through immigration.

Well, the reason I ask is since the wife is at the country wheeee she's from at the moment, presumably working still, which means he doesn't have a valid residency card.

Yes, that's true, although it just means that he can't use his residence card to enter the UK - he'll need to be stamped in as a visitor instead.

One of the immigration officers questions Everytime I enter the UK (been here 8x) is what's my current employment. though, they never asked for proof, but I always bring something with me just in case they go further with their enquiry.

Yes, that is a standard question when you're entering the UK as a visitor, especially when visiting a partner, because they want to see that you have a life back home and that you won't be tempted to overstay your visitor visa to stay with your partner in the UK.

However, I'm not sure that they would ask it in his situation, since:

- he is only going to be visiting the UK for 2 days for a job interview

- he doesn't have a partner living in the UK and is not visiting a loved one here

- he already lives with his wife in a different EEA country, so won't be considered at risk of overstaying or working illegally

- he will be moving back to the UK legally in April anyway as both he and his wife have jobs... and as long as his wife will be moving with him and also working in the UK, he won't need a work visa... just the EEA Family Permit.

Thanks for your replies. Here is what I hope is more clarification.

We both have jobs in my wife's country of citizenship and we own our own place. We also now have a child. However, recently, we both got offered positions with a company in England and we have already signed our contract of employment. They have agreed, that to give us time to get our things sorted where we are now, we are starting our jobs at the beginning of April.

The company wants me to visit them at the end of Jan as they are running a workshop.  Do I just tell the immigration official at the border than I am visiting friends and shopping (which is true) or do I tell them that I am going to a workshop? I'm afraid that might open up more questions and make the issue more complicated.


Basically, I would like to know what I can tell him or her that is completely truthful but at the same time doesn't flood them with details which would create more questions from them?

What sort of standard questioning do US Citizens normally get anyway? It's been so long since I went through the UK border that I can't remember.

If their EEA partner leaves the UK to live in another country, the US citizen's right to live in the UK ceases and their EEA Residence Card becomes invalid.

Are you saying that in order to move back to the UK in 3 months time we will need to fill out/in another EEA Family Permit because the current one that is still valid until Sept. 2015 was only based on our first time in the UK and is no longer valid for our 2nd stint in the UK? When September rolled around I was going to get another 5 year residence card. Are you saying this s not possible? Can anyone provide case example or anything in law that would suggest this?

My assumption is that what we are doing is so rare that there may not be any sort of established legal statute.

 Do I just tell the immigration official at the border than I am visiting friends and shopping (which is true) or do I tell them that I am going to a workshop? I'm afraid that might open up more questions and make the issue more complicated.

No, not telling the truth will make things more complicated.

Whatever you do, don't lie or omit information if you are asked for it.

The two worst-case situations:

1) You tell them you are coming for a workshop. If they ask more questions, you explain your current situation and that you are moving back as the family member of an EEA citizen to start your jobs in April.

If there is a problem with you attending the workshop as a visitor, the worst that can happen is that you won't be allowed into the UK to attend it and will have to go home.

2) You tell them you are visiting friends/shopping. They question you about it (i.e. who your friends are, where they live, what you will do, why you are only coming for 2 days, what shopping will you do etc.). It comes out that you are actually attending a workshop and are not visiting friends/shopping at all.

You have just used deception to try to enter the UK. You can be refused entry and potentially banned from entering the UK for 10 years (although as you are the spouse of an EEA citizen, I don't think the ban would apply if you come back when she moves back too)

Basically, I would like to know what I can tell him or her that is completely truthfulbut at the same time doesn't flood them with details which would create more questions from them?

The key is to be completely honest, but don't offer more information than they ask for.

Basically, don't flood them with details unless they ask you for those details.

Are you saying that in order to move back to the UK in 3 months time we will need to fill out/in another EEA Family Permit because the current one that is still valid until Sept. 2015 was only based on our first time in the UK and is no longer valid for our 2nd stint in the UK? When September rolled around I was going to get another 5 year residence card. Are you saying this s not possible? Can anyone provide case example or anything in law that would suggest this?

I'm not sure, to be honest - I can see if I can find anything online about it.

You should only be able to enter using the residence card if your wife is either ALREADY living and working in the UK or she is entering the UK WITH you to live and work... and has proof of that.

So, when you come as a visitor, you shouldn't be using the residence card because you won't have any right to live in the UK at that time.

But when you arrive back in the UK with your wife, she will be exercising treaty rights again, so maybe you would be okay with entering on the residence card.

Maybe you could ask the immigration officer when you arrive for your workshop in January? Explain the situation - that you used to live in the UK and still have the residence card, and will be returning in April - and see what they say about how to enter the UK again in April.

It is possible for them to issue a Code 1A stamp (equivalent of a family permit) at the border if you don't have a residence card or family permit, as long as you have all the evidence required with you, so that could be an option if you don't know whether to apply for another permit or not.

Either way, though you still have to apply for another residence card within 6 months of moving back anyway.

You either:

- enter the UK on the current residence card in April and apply for a new one in September when your current one expires

- apply for an EEA family permit to enter the UK in April and apply for a new residence card by October (6 months)

- get a Code 1A stamp at the border to enter the UK and apply for a new residence card by October (6 months)

The family permit is free of charge anyway, so if you do have to apply for it, it's not the end of the world.