How to get a visa in UK? - We are expecting a baby and are desperate!

Good Morning all,

I hope that there is someone in here, who could give us an advice on what to do to get visa/ work permit in UK.
My name is Natalia, I am 25 years old Polish woman and I have been living in UK for 5 years 2009-2014. Last year I went to San Francisco and I met Anthony (27). We got married in California in July last year and we decided to move to UK to be with my family who lives here. We've applied for Visa for Anthony in Sep 2015. First it was rejected because the Home Office send a letter to our neighbours instead of us and we didn't response to their letter on time. Then we've sent another application in Dec 1st 2015 along with his Biometric Card and we've received a letter saying we just have to wait and we shouldn't contact Home Office with any qustions. The lead-time is 6 months. Anthony, however called the Home Office couple of times, asking about his aplication, but never get any advice and was asked to wait. Tommorow is 1st of May, which is a deadline of his application and we still had no answer or letter from Home Office. I am 3 months pregnant and the only one working, as he doesnt have a work permit. We need to get him a work permit ASAP, start saving money and preparing for the baby. We are worried that his visa will be rejected or they will just keep us waiting forever.

Is there any other option that he ca get a visa/ work permit, even temporarly?

We will be very grateful for any advice.

A few questions:

What's your current immigration status in the UK - do you have permanent residence or are you exercising EEA Treaty Rights?

What visa did you apply for... was it the 5-year EEA Residence Card (using your Polish citizenship) or an FLR(M) visa (using permanent residency in the UK, if you have it)?

As you are a Polish citizen, as long as you are either exercising EEA Treaty Rights in the UK, or you hold permanent residence, your husband does not need a visa to live in the UK with you... he has the automatic right to live and work in the UK simply because you are Polish and living/working/a permanent resident in the UK.

So although it's not necessary for him to have a visa, applying for the 5-year EEA Residence Card is advised because it show his legal right to live and work in the UK.

The 6 months processing time is just the UKVI standards guidance - it doesn't mean that it will definitely be processed in 6 months... sometimes it can take longer than 6 months, especially if UKVI are busy.

I don't think there's much you can do right now except wait to hear back from them.

Alternatively, you could withdraw his application, but he will need to return to the US (or any other country) as soon as it has been withdrawn.

Once he's left the UK, he can apply for a 6-month EEA Family Permit to come back to the UK and work... those are usually processed in 2-3 weeks (at least they are in the US), and will be his proof of right to work in the UK. Then once he has come back to the UK again, he can apply for the 5-year residence card, and he can still work while it is processing.

Thanks for reply ksand24!

To answer your questions - I don't have permanent residence in UK. I hold Polish passport only and Im  excercising EEA Treaty Rights.
He've applied for 5 years Residence Card using my Polish passport.

To work in UK he needs National Insurance Number which he doesn't have plus he received a letter from Home Office that he cannot work until they change it.

Do you know if we need to prove that we have 18.000 saved on my account or do I need to go for an interview to Home Office as his sponsor?

You said that he could withdraw his application but then he'd have to leave UK and apply for new visa. Do you think he could go to Poland and do it from there rather than going back to US now?

Thanks for reply ksand24!

To answer your questions - I don't have permanent residence in UK. I hold Polish passport only and Im  excercising EEA Treaty Rights.
He've applied for 5 years Residence Card using my Polish passport.

To work in UK he needs National Insurance Number which he doesn't have plus he received a letter from Home Office that he cannot work until they change it.

You've done exactly the right thing, applying for the 5-year EEA Residence Card. The only problem is that because he entered the UK as a visitor, he doesn't have any proof of his automatic right to work in the UK.

Technically he is allowed to work and legally he doesn't actually need a National Insurance number to start work, but because he doesn't have the EEA Family Permit, he is unlikely to be able to get a job... since the companies will want to see his proof of right to work, which he doesn't have.

If he had applied for the free EEA Family Permit in the US before moving to the UK, he could have worked immediately, because the permit would explicitly state that he can work. Then he could have applied for the EEA Residence Card and continued to work while it was processing.

Do you know if we need to prove that we have 18.000 saved on my account or do I need to go for an interview to Home Office as his sponsor?

No, just ignore this.

This does not apply to you after all, because you do not hold permanent residence and therefore are not eligible to sponsor him for that visa anyway.

The £18,600 requirement is only for people who are UK citizens or who hold permanent residence in the UK and wish to sponsor their partner for a UK visa.

As you are an EEA citizen, you don't need to apply for a UK visa because he already has the right to live in the UK (also he would not be eligible to apply in the UK anyway) - and that's a very good thing, because he will have more rights in the UK as the spouse of a Polish citizen than as the spouse of a UK permanent resident/UK citizen. Plus it's about £5,000 cheaper to apply for EEA permits and residence cards than to apply for UK visas.

You said that he could withdraw his application but then he'd have to leave UK and apply for new visa. Do you think he could go to Poland and do it from there rather than going back to US now?

He can apply for the EEA Family Permit from any country he likes (it's not a visa though, it's just confirmation of a right he already has)

However, you would need to check on the processing times in each country to see whether it's worth going somewhere other than the US, since they can vary considerably: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times

Currently in the US, 51% of applications are processed in 1 week and 95% are processed in 3 weeks, but in Poland, only 9% are processed in 1 week and 95% of applications are processed in 3 months... that's a big difference!

For the US:
51% of EEA Family Permits are processed in 5 working days,
82% in 10 working days
95% in 15 working days.
100% in 30 working days

In Poland:
9% processed in 5 working days
78% in 10 working days
90% in 15 working days
93% in 30 working days
93% in 60 working days
96% in 90 working days
96% in 120 working days
100% in ?
(they obviously hadn't all be processed at the time of publishing)

So, if he withdrew his application and went back to the US to apply for the EEA Family Permit he might only have to be there for maybe 4 weeks, hopefully less. But if he applied in Poland, he could be stuck there for up to 3 months (and they would have his passport, so he couldn't leave).

Also write to, and/or go see, your Member of European Parliament(MEP). Your rights as an EU Citizen are being denied.

https://www.writetothem.com/

Thanks so much for reply!

Last question - do you know if its guaranteed he will get EEA Family Permit Visa from USA now?

Last question - do you know if its guaranteed he will get EEA Family Permit Visa from USA now?

He's legally entitled to one - and his entitlement is based on you exercising your EEA Treaty Rights... so as long as you continue to do so, he will always have the right to live and work here.

So, for the EEA Family Permit, it should be granted as long as you provide the required evidence:
- your EEA passport/copy of your passport
- your marriage certificate
- evidence of your job in the UK (payslips, bank statements, job contract)

In regards to his current application, has he given biometrics and has he received the COA letter from UKVI? The COA will normally say whether or not he has the right to work while it is processing.

Looking at timelines on other forums though, it sounds as though processing times are pretty slow at the moment and are taking more than 6 months - several people who applied in November 2015 still haven't received their EEA Residence Card yet and even people who applied in September are only just receiving them now:
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/britain-expat-forum-expats-living-uk/801530-eea-2-residence-card-processing-time-2015-a-29.html
and
http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-route-applications/eea-fm-eea2-timeline-only-t200923-180.html

It sounds like the increased processing times may be due to lots of people now putting in their permanent residence applications ahead of the possible UK exit from the EU:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/waiting-times-for-eea-residence-applications/

Also, you're only at 5 months as of today, so you still have another month to wait before you reach the 6 months processing time.

Yes he has received letter from COA and he is not allowed to work in UK until his application will be approved.

Do you know where (which institution) does he need to apply for Family Permit in Poland? And will he be able to get it without proof of work in England? His last work position was Sep -Dec in UK

Yes he has received letter from COA and he is not allowed to work in UK until his application will be approved.

Ah, yes, that's because he entered the UK as a visitor without the Family Permit.

To note though, it's not a letter from COA, the letter is called a Certificate of Application (COA).

Do you know where (which institution) does he need to apply for Family Permit in Poland?

If he applies in Poland he will first have to submit an online application and then he will need to attend an in-person appointment at the Visa Application Centre in Warsaw to submit his documents and give biometrics.

There is a premium service he can purchase for faster processing:
- Priority Visa Service for 198 Euros... puts the application at the front of the queue, where they aim to process in 5 working days, but it's a 15-working-day service

See here for more info on applying:
About the Family Permit:
https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/overview

Online application:
https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome

Visa Application Centre in Warsaw and priority processing: https://uk.tlscontact.com/pl/WAW/page.php?pid=procedure
https://uk.tlscontact.com/pl/WAW/page.php?pid=added_value_services

And will he be able to get it without proof of work in England? His last work position was Sep -Dec in UK

No, he isn't required to have proof of work, because he technically hasn't moved to the UK yet.

It's YOU who needs to provide your proof of work, because you working shows that you are exercising treaty rights in the UK.

Do be aware though that even if he leaves and gets the Family Permit, it is only valid for 6 months and so he will still have to put in ANOTHER application for the EEA Residence Card when he gets back... meaning you would have to wait another 6+ months for that. The only difference is that he can work when he arrives back.

Honestly, I think it should be a last resort for you though - you're already 5 months into the process so it may just be faster to wait for it to be processed now.

As sonofasailor suggested, I would contact your MP or MEP and see if they can do anything to speed up the current application.

Yes he has received letter from COA and he is not allowed to work in UK until his application will be approved.

The COA letter states this?

Sonofasailor - The Certificate of Application says:

"At this stage we are unable to confirm your right to work in the United Kingdom. This will depend on the outcome of the application."

Ksand24- I am working full time but its a temporary position through agency and I am just trying to get a permanent position. Is that enough for him to get Family Permit?

When we came to UK last year I had a permanent position at the different company but March this year I have changed my job and now I'm employed through the work agency. Should I inform home office about it?

I understand that we have been waiting for so long and we could just wait a bit longer but the baby is due November so my husband can't be without work for another 2-3 months. Do you know what's the longest time it can take for the home office to make a decision? And do you know how big of a chance do we have or how many % of the applications are being accepted?

Ksand24- I am working full time but its a temporary position through agency and I am just trying to get a permanent position. Is that enough for him to get Family Permit?

Yes, the only thing you have to meet is that you are exercising your EEA Treaty Rights in one of the following ways:

- You are working
or
- You are looking for work
or
- You are self-employed
or
- You are self sufficient
or
- You are studying

You only have to be doing one of these things to get him the family permit... and if you weren't doing any of these things, you would not be allowed to live in the UK either and you would have to leave too.

The only reason the application can be refused is if:

a) you don't provide evidence that you are married to each other
or
b) you don't provide evidence that you are exercising your treaty rights in the UK.

When we came to UK last year I had a permanent position at the different company but March this year I have changed my job and now I'm employed through the work agency. Should I inform home office about it?

No, I don't believe you need to do anything. You are allowed to work in any job you like.

Do you know what's the longest time it can take for the home office to make a decision? And do you know how big of a chance do we have or how many % of the applications are being accepted?

The longest I've seen before has been about 10 months or so I think, but that was a few years ago.

From the threads I linked to above, it looks like people who applied in November have been getting their residence cards in April, so I can't imagine it will be much longer for yours... maybe by the end of May or so?

As suggested, contact your MP/MEP and explain the situation - they may be able to get the application put through more quickly for you.

Thank you for the reply.

I have contact my MEP today and explained our situation so I am just waiting for his response.

One more question - once my husband will get Family Permit will he also be able to get NIN? If not, then it will be very difficult for him to find a job anyway.

One more question - once my husband will get Family Permit will he also be able to get NIN? If not, then it will be very difficult for him to find a job anyway.

Yes, as soon as he has either a family permit or residence card, he should make an appointment for a NIN interview - it can take a few weeks to sort it out though.

Info on how to do it: https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

For the record, it's perfectly legal for him to start working without a NIN - it's just that he may be taxed at the incorrect rate until he has it.

However, many companies will ask for his NIN on the application form and may not hire him until he has one.

That's right. He tried to apply to many places but first thing the employers are asking for is NIN.

Anyway, we are waiting for the MEP response and if he can't speed up the the Residence Card process then we will consider applying for Family Permit from Poland.

Thank you for all of your help and advice. You have done a lot for us!