Spouse of EEA v. Spouse of British

My husband is Irish, but he was born in Britain, so he technically has dual citizenship.  His passport is Irish; his birth certificate is British.

When I started looking into getting a spousal visa, I did not find much info comparing the EEA family permit and the British spouse settlement visa.  I figured that it must be to my benefit to get the British spouse visa, so that is what I did.

Now my 2 years are ending, and I am getting ready to apply for the ILR.  (See my post of 5 minutes ago!)  After looking at the documentation and expense required, I am wondering if it would be better or easier for me to apply for an EEA permit instead.

Does anyone know anything about the pros and cons of the 2 visas?

Not sure if this is relevant, but we do not plan to remain in the UK forever.  My husband's current contract ends in Aug 2007.  After that we might go back to the US or we might stay here another couple of years, depending on the job market.

Thanks for any info.

If you were to switch to an EEA permit you would not be eligible for ILR for another 2 years, so it will certainly be better to just make the ILR application under UK law now.

Victoria

Hmm... given that we only definitely plan to stay another 18 months, maybe the EEA family permit is the way for me to go.  And then if I need to apply to stay longer, it is a hassle, but at least there would be no charge, right?  And as far as I can tell, my rights as a spouse of British or spouse of EEA national would be the same, correct?  I wish I had applied as an EEA spouse from the beginning and saved the $500 I payed for the spouse settlement visa, but I couldn't find adequate information about the EEA family permit at the time.

One problem:  I just downloaded the application EEA2.  It doesn't list Ireland as one of the countries that can exercise treaty rights in the UK!  Is there some special case with Ireland that requires a different form?  Or are spouses of Irish citizens expected to apply as a spouse of a British citizen because of some special agreement between Ireland and Britain?

Irish nationals can choose whether to use UK law or EU law as they have a special status.

Do be aware that EEA applications are likely to take longer than UK applications will.

Victoria

Thanks for your help-- it is so hard to find this kind of info on the government websites.  Do think there would be any problem switching from UK law to EU law?  There is no rule that if you began under one system you must continue under that one, is there?

I have done quite a bit of research into this lately and I can see no reason why Irish nationals cannot literally pick and choose whether to use UK or EU law, so I see no problem between switching from one ot the other.

Victoria

One more thing: If I switch to EU law and apply for the EEA family permit, would there be any restrictions on when I apply?  I know that I can not apply for the ILR under UK law more than 1 month in advance of having lived here for 2 years, but if I apply for the EEA family permit, that doesn't apply, right?  So can I apply anytime before my visa ends?

No, you can apply at any time.


Victoria