Where to start

I realize this is the lazy way of doing it (I should be searching the forums, but I am short on time right now) but in case someone is so obliged to offer assistance I would really appreciate it.

Back story, I am American, my husband is Swedish. I had 2 children before meeting him and we have 2 children together.

Being Swedish he has right under EU laws to live in the UK. I, being wife to an EU national, can apply for visa under his rights. Our two children together also have rights as EU nationals to live in the UK. My two children from my first marriage, I am not too sure about. I think I read they are allowed under the same terms I am allowed...?

First step I know I need to get off my rear end and get the Swedish 'person number' (like SSN) for our two children together and their passports and make all of that legal, just a matter of doing it.
But then what do I need to do?

Has anyone else done this that is not a UK citizen or partner of one, but that is a partner of a EU national? It seems everything has to be done at once- applying for visas for me and my first two children, applying for the Swedish passports for the two other children, looking for jobs- but then you can't look for jobs until you have right to live there and I'm just a little confused as to what our first steps should be and how to go about it all. 

As your husband is an EU citizen and you are able to go through the EU immigration path to move to the UK, you will actually have it pretty easy as the visas are free of charge (compared to costing thousands of pounds for UK visas) .

You will need to apply for 6-month EEA family permits for you and your two non-EU citizen children... these family permits are free and I don't believe that you need to show any maintenance funds in order to get them - you just have to show that your Swedish husband will be exercising his EEA treaty rights in the UK.

Once you have got your EEA permits and have moved to the UK, you will need to apply for 5-year EEA residence cards... these are also free of charge, but can take up to a few months to be processed (although you can request your passports back while they are being processed if you need to travel).

With the EEA family permits and residence cards you will have the right to work in the UK as soon as you arrive (you can look for work before you arrive, but usually companies won't hire you until you have the right to work).

Thanks so much for the reply!! 

So if it can take 9-10 or even more months to get the EEA family permits, if we were to not be able to move right as the permits came in and they are only for 6 months and the EEA residence cards can take a few months to come through, what happens if the 6 month permits expire before the 5 year ones come in? Or even worse, is it possible to be approved of the 6 month permit but then denied the 5 year cards? And when the 5 year cards expire, what happens? Do we apply for another 5 year card?

I've been looking through the information on the UK Border Agency website, do you happen to know of other links for useful information regarding this?

I'm not sure I understand why it would be easier and cheaper to be family of an EU citizen...? Not that I'm complaining but just wondered the logistics of it. Is it simply because it's what is stated in the treaty? Is it more difficult and more expensive if it's a UK citizen's family? 

Thanks so much for the reply!! 

So if it can take 9-10 or even more months to get the EEA family permits, if we were to not be able to move right as the permits came in and they are only for 6 months

No, it takes a few days to get the EEA family permits. Current processing times for them in Sweden are 41% processed in 5 working days and 83% processed in 15 working days.

So, you would want to apply for the family permits a few weeks before you are ready to move.

and the EEA residence cards can take a few months to come through, what happens if the 6 month permits expire before the 5 year ones come in? Or even worse, is it possible to be approved of the 6 month permit but then denied the 5 year cards? And when the 5 year cards expire, what happens? Do we apply for another 5 year card?

It doesn't matter if the 6-month permits expire before the 5-year residence cards are processed... your immigration status is 'put on hold' so to speak while you are waiting for the visa - as long as you apply before the 6 months are up, the EEA permits will stay 'valid' until you get the residence cards.

I've never heard of anyone being denied a 5 year card after getting the family permit, unless they didn't provide the documents that are required (such as proof of marriage, proof of exercising treaty rights etc.). However, it is really just a confirmation of your right to live here and in fact, it is not even a requirement to apply for one... unfortunately though if you don't you may have trouble proving you have the right to live here for employment etc. and also every time you left the UK you would have to apply for a new EEA family permit to be able to re-enter again!

After 5 years in the UK, you will become UK permanent residents, so you won't need to apply for another 5-year card - you would just need to apply for confirmation of permanent residence (although again, this is not a definite requirement).

I've been looking through the information on the UK Border Agency website, do you happen to know of other links for useful information regarding this?

The UKBA website contains all the official information, whereas other websites are often not accurate as they are not official, so I would only recommend the UKBA website. See: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/

I'm not sure I understand why it would be easier and cheaper to be family of an EU citizen...? Not that I'm complaining but just wondered the logistics of it. Is it simply because it's what is stated in the treaty? Is it more difficult and more expensive if it's a UK citizen's family? 

It's kind of stupid really - family members of EU citizens get more rights in the UK than family members of UK citizens (they can claim benefits right away as well) - plus the visas are free! It's something to do with the EU/EEA laws - similarly, UK citizens can move to other EU countries with their non-EU spouses pretty easily as well.

The only drawback that I can see for the EEA path is that it takes 5 years to get permanent residence and 6 years to UK citizenship, compared with 2 years to permanent residence and 3 years to UK citizenship for family members of UK citizens.... however, the government are proposing to increase this to 5 years to permanent residence for UK spousal visa holders from April 2012 anyway.

No, it takes a few days to get the EEA family permits. Current processing times for them in Sweden are 41% processed in 5 working days and 83% processed in 15 working days.

We are not in Sweden, we are in the US and my husband has been in the US for 12 years now (he spent the first 28 years of his life in Sweden). Will this be a problem that you know of? We have never lived in Sweden as a family, only the US.

Isn't there a chance of being denied the EEA family permit, even with all papers in order?

I'm not sure why I was under the impression it could take many months for these things to go through, maybe because we are in the US...? But if that is still not the case then what does step one need to be other than getting the 2 kids' Swedish papers- or do we even need to do that?

It's kind of stupid really - family members of EU citizens get more rights in the UK than family members of UK citizens (they can claim benefits right away as well) - plus the visas are free! It's something to do with the EU/EEA laws - similarly, UK citizens can move to other EU countries with their non-EU spouses pretty easily as well.

Forgive my ignorance, but yes, it does seem very strange for this to be the case!

We are not in Sweden, we are in the US and my husband has been in the US for 12 years now (he spent the first 28 years of his life in Sweden). Will this be a problem that you know of? We have never lived in Sweden as a family, only the US.

Sorry, for some reason I misread your post and thought you were in Sweden.

No, this won't be a problem at all. In fact, processing times for EEA family permits in the US are even quicker than in Sweden: 40% in 3 days, 74% in 5 days and 88% in 10 days.

Isn't there a chance of being denied the EEA family permit, even with all papers in order?

Pretty much, no, unless you cannot prove that you are married to your husband and that he will be exercising his treaty rights in the UK.

In fact, the EEA family permit is mostly just a formality... technically, you could just enter the UK as visitors and then apply for your 5-year residence cards, but the UKBA website says you need to get the permit first to be allowed in as the family members of an EU citizen, so you would risk being refused entry to the UK if you just went in as visitors (also as a visitor you couldn't work right away, you wouldn't be able to use the NHS and your kids wouldn't be able to enroll in free schools).

I'm not sure why I was under the impression it could take many months for these things to go through, maybe because we are in the US...?

Nope - visa processing in the US is even faster than other countries... and the EEA permit is one of the quickest and easiest visas to get. If you want to, you can pay $150 per application for priority processing within 48 hours, but as the normal processing time is usually only a few days anyway, it's probably not worth paying the extra.

But if that is still not the case then what does step one need to be other than getting the 2 kids' Swedish papers- or do we even need to do that?

I'm not sure what papers Sweden required them to have as I'm not familiar with Swedish immigration law, but you will need to get them Swedish passports in order for them to move to the UK without having to apply for the EEA family permit for them. You're probably best looking up the Swedish embassy/consulate in the US and finding out from them what you need to do.

I would guess it's probably easiest to get their passports and things sorted out first, so you're all ready to go when you apply for the EEA permits.

Thank you so much! All very useful and appreciated information! Is there a certain place you refer to to get your information on processing times?

Is there a certain place you refer to to get your information on processing times?

Yep, the UKBA website publishes their most recent processing times (the current times were from August 2011 last I looked, but the EEA family permit processing times have been pretty much the same for months):

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/customs-travel/beforetravel/visas/processing-times/ (you just need to select the country you are applying from in the drop-down menu)

Fantastic! Thank you so much! 

 For your two kids that you did not have with your Swedish husband, please find out if you can take then out of the country without your ex's agreement. If you take them out of the country without an agreement with him you could be in for a big custody battle

For your two kids that you did not have with your Swedish husband, please find out if you can take then out of the country without your ex's agreement. If you take them out of the country without an agreement with him you could be in for a big custody battle

Thank you, yes, I do know about having to get permission from 'sperm donor' . We're currently working on this.