US spouse of EEA moving to UK

Help me think this through, please?

My DH is Dutch and currently in The Netherlands, and was just offered a job in England. Starting mid-September.

I am American and currently in USA with our youngest (who has a Dutch passport).

What is the best way for me (us) to travel to England to join DH? Ideally, I would go mid-September as well to help him set up the bank and look for a rental during the month the company is paying for the hotel.

I'm looking at the EEA Family Permit, but I am nervous about applying for a visa and risk not getting it before I purchase plane tickets. I could wait with plane tickets, but close-dated one-way flights are pricey! Plus, getting the copy of DH's passport is a hassle. And since his job hasn't started yet, and he hasn't moved there, is it even possible to get an EEA Family visa? Is a signed job contract with a start date acceptable to the immigration folks?

On the other hand, I could just go to Heathrow and get the 3-month stamp, and then apply for a Residence Card, yes? I'm not going to run into problems entering with a one-way ticket, am I (especially if I'm accompanied by a Dutch dependent)? (I've done it before, but that was Schipol, not Heathrow). Is the 3-month stamp enough time to get the Residence Card process started and my status legalized? What legal or tax consequences would there be while my application is being processed?

Are there any other issues I'm not aware of?

The 6-month EEA Family Permit is what you should apply for. It's really your only feasible option as you'll need get one before you leave the US in order to be allowed into the UK as the spouse of an EEA citizen.

Once you have arrived in the UK on the EEA Family permit, you can then apply for a 5-year EEA Residence Permit.

You should not purchase plane tickets before a visa is approved in case you can't travel and lose the money from the ticket. Often it can be cheaper to purchase a round-trip ticket and just not use the return leg.

However, as you already have the automatic right to live and work in the UK with your husband, providing he is exercising his EEA Treaty Rights (either looking for work or has a UK job), it should just be a formality and there shouldn't be any reason for it to be refused - it's not even technically a visa and is about the easiest thing you can apply for.

He doesn't need to actually have started working yet - his job contract is fine. You could even apply if he was simply looking for work and hadn't secured a job yet.

You don't need to send your husband's actual passport with the application (it's not recommended to do this anyway as he may need the passport), just send a certified/notarised copy of his passport photo page.

All you should need to provide for the application is:

- Your passport
- Passport photo
- Your original marriage certificate
- A certified/notarised copy of his passport photo page
- Evidence of his job in the UK (original job contract) to show he will be exercising EEA Treaty Rights
- Evidence of your intended accommodation in the UK (although this is not actually a requirement for the permit)

On the other hand, I could just go to Heathrow and get the 3-month stamp, and then apply for a Residence Card, yes? I'm not going to run into problems entering with a one-way ticket, am I (especially if I'm accompanied by a Dutch dependent)?

This is not a good idea because to enter as a visitor, you would have to prove you are only a tourist with no intention of living in the UK and that you will return to your life in the US within 6 months and a one-way ticket is a massive red flag.

You would need to have a return ticket, evidence of a job and a home in the US to go back to (letter from your US employer and evidence of homeownership or rental agreement in the US) and enough money to support yourself without working for the full trip.

There is no 3-month stamp though... visitor visa stamps are usually issued for 6 months, though the immigration officer can technically only stamp you in as little time as he likes.

Is the 3-month stamp enough time to get the Residence Card process started and my status legalized? What legal or ta

Technically, there's nothing illegal about applying for the residence card while in the UK as a visitor, however, the chances of you actually being allowed to enter the UK as a visitor in your situation are pretty slim because you have to prove you will NOT be living in the UK... it that won't look good if you have a Dutch husband living in the UK, a Dutch child entering with you and you have packed up your life in the US to come to the UK.

Also, if you were allowed in as a visitor, you would not be allowed to work, you would not have access to NHS care and you would not be entitled to claim any UK benefits.

If you apply for a free-of-charge EEA family permit first though, you won't be a visitor, you will be able to work, you will have free access to the NHS and you will be entitled to claim benefits.

Thanks for the reply.

I read this: newcomer link: http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-route-applications/eea-faqs-common-questions-read-before-posting-t114867.html [nonactive]

Though it dates to 2012, and curious if anyone has taken the non-visa national route described there recently.

Thanks for the reply.

I read this: http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-route-applications/eea-faqs-common-questions-read-before-posting-t114867.html

Though it dates to 2012, and curious if anyone has taken the non-visa national route described there recently.

As a general rule of thumb, anything more than 6 months old may be out of date, although luckily this information is still in date as they haven't changed the EEA rules that I know of.

It is possible to do things this way and get the Code 1A stamp, but it can be risky (you may come up against immigration officers who are not aware of this being an option and it could take you hours to get through immigration) and it's not recommended. It's probably simpler just to apply for the EEA FP and then know you already have permission to enter the UK as the spouse of an EEA citizen.

I guess I'm not really sure why you're hesitant about applying for an EEA FP - it costs nothing, is a very simple application, with only actual 2 requirements (you are married and he has a UK job) and is very easy to get... plus you won't have to spent the flight here worrying about whether or not you will be given a Code 1A stamp.

At the moment, EEA FP applications made in the US are being processed within 15 working days, so if your husband has his job contract, you could apply now and have the permit in the next month. You can even pay extra for priority processing and it may well be processed within a week.

It's not so much that I'm hesitant about the FP, just that I want to know exactly what ALL my options and rights are.

This is not my first merry-go-round with immigration, and what I've learned so far is that immigration A) Can't always be counted on to follow their own laws, and B) Taking their sweet old time.

Plus, everything on the internet saying that the FP MUST be applied for by everyone before entering the UK sets of my Total B.S. meter based on my knowledge of EU law. Sure, that makes their life easier, but liars make me suspicious. What are they not telling me??? 

Trying to factor visa wait times into an overseas move is a booger, that's all. 

It's not so much that I'm hesitant about the FP, just that I want to know exactly what ALL my options and rights are.

This is not my first merry-go-round with immigration, and what I've learned so far is that immigration A) Can't always be counted on to follow their own laws, and B) Taking their sweet old time.

Fair enough.

Plus, everything on the internet saying that the FP MUST be applied for by everyone before entering the UK sets of my Total B.S. meter based on my knowledge of EU law. Sure, that makes their life easier, but liars make me suspicious. What are they not telling me??? 

Essentially they say that so that they don't have to deal with people trying to enter the UK without one, because it means more work for them. Instead of you applying in advance and sending the documents to NYC for a decision, they have to go through the documents and make a decision at the border, which means more work when they have to also deal with thousands of other people trying to enter the UK at the same time.

Since there is already a procedure to get the proper visa sticker free of charge before you leave the US, they don't like you asking for a Code 1A stamp when you could have easily got the FP sorted before you arrive and saved time and hassle at the border.

So though it's not technically true that you MUST have one, it certainly makes things easier if you do.

An EEA FP is pretty simple to get and can be fast to process (especially if you pay for priority processing as that usually gets FP applications processed in 2-5 days), plus it will be your proof of right to work in the UK and acccess to public funds (which I don't think will be shown on the Code 1A stamp).

If you apply for a free-of-charge EEA family permit first though, you won't be a visitor, you will be able to work, you will have free access to the NHS and you will be entitled to claim benefits.

Free NHS (paid by the UK) for the family is now only while the EU citizen is in work. While not allowed healthcare from the UK, you can get the Netherlands to pay your NHS bills by using the Netherlands EHIC.

Only those in work can now claim UK benefits and even if they are in work there is a wait period of 3 months (under present rules).  That includes a wait for all child related benfits too.