UK Visa Settlement Processing Time

Hi Everyone, my name is Ruben, I'm new on this Forum. Last week on Wednesday  I submitted my EEA Application form to the UK NY Consulate . I got an e-mail from them yesterday saying that they received the application and are now processing it.

I'm a little nervous. I do hope we will get it.

My story is :   My wife is Italian and we met a few months ago here in Costa Rica. She lived for over 10 years in the UK, she did School and University in Manchester and she came to visit her parents here in Costa Rica since they now own a business. She arrived here in October2009 and we are now planning on going to the UK.

We sent a folder today including :

   1. An endorsed copy of her Italian passport
   2. My real Costarican passport
   3. Bank statements of the past six months showing our savings on a Joint Bank Account that we have
   4. Papers showing that we owned two cars and once we sell them we will get money for them
   5. My resume and her resume showing that we are both professionals and we intend to look for jobs as soon as we arrive

   6. A letter from a company in Manchester offering me a job interview ( in order to show that I can get a job )
   7. Our Marriage Certificate certified by the Costa Rican government in Spanish and translated into English.

   8. And a letter from my wife’s best friend saying that we can stay with her until we find a flat and we rent it .
   9. And off course the EEA Family permit application forms.


I believe I speak good English since I studied for a few years and I have been to England 4 times on holidays, this was around 2000 to 2003. So English shouldn't be a problem

My wife and I met in January this year and we have a very nice relationship, I’m 26 and she is 24 and we are now hoping to get this EEA permit in order to continue with our plans.

I forgot to say that on her passport it actually shows that she got her Italian Permit in Manchester and that her residence is in Manchester

How long and do you guys think it would take before  we get it  and do you think I submitted all the necessary documents in order to get the permit approve ?!  

   2. My real Costarican passport

I guess the question would be you have a FAKE passport?  

long and do you guys think it would take before  we get it  and do you think I submitted all the necessary documents in order to get the permit approve ?!  

For an EEA Family Permit all you need is passport for yourself & your wife, your marriage certificate and a letter from your wife to the ECO that says you will be travelling with her in the UK. Thats it.

Bank statements, accomodation arrangements, your future employment are not necessary documentation and are not required for the EEA application process.

What supporting documents should my family members include with their application?

They should include all the documents they can to show that they qualify for an EEA family permit.  

As a guide they should include:

**a copy of your EEA national passport (endorsed by your embassy in the country of application); and  
**proof of their relationship to you (for example, their birth certificates or marriage certificate); and
**a letter from you declaring that you are travelling with them or that they are joining you in the UK.

At the moment, non priority non settlement applications are taking about 15 business days. Your application is NOT a settlement application and will not take as long as those in this thread.

Visa application processing times
Non-Settlement applications

To complete 90 per cent of visa applications (except settlement categories), in not more than three weeks, 98 per cent in six weeks and 100 per cent in 12 weeks.

Hi WebyJ,

Ok so I've finished the application, printed,etc..

In the instructions on the supporting documents to my application, here is what it says.

I know you told me, earlier in this thread,  the things I would need to provide but after the application was submitted, it gave me a lists of things to supply and there are a few more than mentioned before in this thread, so I wanted to double check with you. The ones I am wondering about are in RED

One recent color passport photograph (not more than six months old) Please note: scanned or copies of photos are not acceptable

passport/ID of EEA national (original document or certified copy)

written confirmation that your EEA sponsor will accompany you to the UK

your current passport

your old passport or a copy of it

After you have attended your appointment please send your documents to: British Consulate General, New York, 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022

completed online application form

documentary evidence to prove relationship to EEA national e. g. marriage/birth certificate (Original documents or certified copies)

evidence of funds available to you, in the form of detailed bank statements covering at least the last three months

evidence of your sponsors accommodation in the UK, for example mortgage or tenancy documents, etc.

evidence of your sponsors employment or intended employment in the UK, for example a contract or offer of employment, salary slips, etc.

Flight reservation/itinerary showing your intended dates into and out of the United Kingdom. Do not purchase your ticket before the visa is issued

I don't mind sending a copy of our funds or anything but what about the living arrangements/and job situation because we have not set up any employment yet or arranged accommodation. Do you think that will be a problem? It wasn't a problem 3 years ago when I applied for the same visa.

And one last thing I just remembered,

Do we(me and my wife) have to travel together to the UK after I get my visa? or can I just travel by myself and start arranging things over there?

Last time I applied for the visa 3 years ago, I remember that we had to go together and this time when I was filling the application, there was a question if we would be traveling together and I said yes to it but I just said that because I just assumed we had to travel together.

It's just that it's easier for me to travel whenever I want because my work here is flexible vs my wife's job.

I hope by saying yes to that question, I didn't mess up anything.

Thanks a million in advance once again.

JA JA ... Thanks for your answer Weby J   ... and nop I do not have a fake passport hehe... What I meant to say was that I did not send copies of my passport but my passport it self. ! So it should take less than a settlement visa.

I do hope everything will go smoothly and we will get a straight yes.

At the end of the day that is the reason we sent all those other supporting docs.

Dogan - The email you received was a form email, designed for UK Visas not EEA Rules applicants.

The only items you need were listed in the guidance for EEA Applicants, under EU law they are not supposed to ask you for those items and red and you DO NOT have to provide them.

What supporting documents should my family members include with their application?

They should include all the documents they can to show that they qualify for an EEA family permit.  

As a guide they should include:

a copy of your EEA national passport (endorsed by your embassy in the country of application); and  
proof of their relationship to you (for example, their birth certificates or marriage certificate); and
a letter from you declaring that you are travelling with them or that they are joining you in the UK.

To Webyj

 I understand that for an EEA FP, there is no need to send all those docs in RED .  But do you believe it would cause me any problems, because I actually send all the docs that Im mentioning at the top of this page.!!!  Do you think that sending more docs will affect in anyway.


Don't tell me I did wrong webyj... I will freak out.

To Webyj

Okay  I understand that there was no need for me to send those documents. But do you believe it would cause me any problems !!! Or I can just wait for the resolution.

Don't tell me I did wrong webyj... I will freak out.

You'll be fine...no freaking out is necessary.

Cheers Boss !! Will keep you posted. :-)

Dogan - The email you received was a form email, designed for UK Visas not EEA Rules applicants.

The only items you need were listed in the guidance for EEA Applicants, under EU law they are not supposed to ask you for those items and red and you DO NOT have to provide them.

Thanks Webyj for the info. Helps a lot.

What about traveling with the wife vs traveling without her to the UK ? Any knowledge on that?

Thanks again.

Just curious--what makes the difference between a UK spouse/fiance visa and an EEA one?  Isn't my UKC partner a part of the EEA?  Not trying to stir anything, just wondering why there is such a difference in procedure is all.

Yes your spouse is an EU citizen, but each country is allowed to make rules for their own citizens. 

Trust me, if that would work for UK citizens none of us would have paid all this money.

Yes your spouse is an EU citizen, but each country is allowed to make rules for their own citizens. 

Trust me, if that would work for UK citizens none of us would have paid all this money.

Ha ha!  Too true.  Only on Day 10, but all the EEA talk made me wonder if I had overlooked a better, cheaper option.  Lucky EEA peeps! 

Well,
I've been waiting for this day for a while... my biometrics are scheduled for 2pm today.  I am going to fill out the priority processing in the VERY near future, and then from there, it's go time.  I've spent countless hours compiling supporting documents, everything from bank statements to travel receipts to itineraries from the ships I worked on, and now, I get to send it all in, and I become another person who posts on this board and waits for his application to come back [hopefully] soon.

Wish me luck guys and gals :-)

GOOD LUCK!!!!

I can't wait until I can finally post on here...better yet I can't wait until I am back in England with my husband!!!

What about traveling with the wife vs traveling without her to the UK ? Any knowledge on that?

Unfortunately your wife must travel and reside in the UK with you. If she didn't by what basis would you NEED to be in the UK for? As your right to be in the UK only exists because your wife would be living & residing there.

Sorry, you'll need to enter at the same time. If she needs to return to the US to tie up loose ends for a week or so, that would be OK, but you cannot travel in advance of her because and live in the UK without her because your entry is tied to her exercising her EU treaty rights. If she is not there exercising her rights, you have no right to be in the UK.

23rd august - sent in our application, paid priority service
24th august - conformation email was recieved
1st october - My wife was denied entry, we have given them everything they asked for.
2nd ocotber - devestated that our lives have been decided by someone else.

PLan for Monday - fight them with everything we have. Our lawyer does not see any valid reason for the turn away and will help us contact the govenment in both countries.

They can not do this to our family