EEA Family Permit UK

EEA Family Visa UK allows family members of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals to join their family in the United Kingdom. An EEA family permit is a form of 'entry clearance' to the UK (similar to a visa) for the nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) who are family members of EEA nationals.

The following are the family members of an EEA or Swiss nationals who have the right of residence:

• Husband, wife or civil partner of the EEA or Swiss nationals;
• Children or grandchildren of the EEA or Swiss nationals or their partner, who are under 21 years of age and are dependent on of the EEA or Swiss nationals;
• Parents or grandparents of the EEA or Swiss nationals or their partner, who are dependent on of the EEA or Swiss nationals;
• Unmarried partner of an EEA or Swiss nationals provided they have living together for two (2) years;
• If EEA or Swiss nationals is a student, only their husband, wife, or civil partner and dependent children have a right of residence; and
• Extended family members such as brothers, sisters and cousins if they are dependent on EEA or Swiss nationals.

Visa Entitlements

Successful applicants will be granted a visa for six (6) months (if applying from overseas) or five (5) years (if applying within the UK). Applicants who were granted EEA family Permit UK for 6 months can apply for further extension within the UK which is granted for five (5) years.

They will have free access to public schools, and National Health Service. Eligible dependants may also be able to work or study without any restrictions.

Once applicants have completed 5 years in the UK, as an EEA Family Member they can apply to settle here.

FAQ

• Can fiancé(e)s, and proposed civil partners qualify for an EEA family permit?v

  • Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners are not recognised as family members or extended family members in the EEA Regulations. Only an EEA national who is a qualified person in the UK have permanent residence can bring their partners on a Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners visa. Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners of EEA nationals applying under these Rules will have to pay the usual fee.

• Can family members of British citizens qualify for an EEA family permit?v

  • In cases, where British national has exercised a treaty right in another Member State as a worker or self-employed and they wish to return to the UK, then their non-EEA family members may qualify under the EEA Regulations. The non-EEA Family members of the British citizen is their spouse or civil partner, they are living together in the EEA country before the British citizen returned to the UK.

• Rights of Dependantsv

  • Dependants (including children under 18 years of age) will be eligible to live and stay in the UK with the parent. They can live and work in the UK without any restrictions. They will be granted leave in line with the expiry date of the main applicant’s leave.

• Biometric Requirementv

  • Foreign nationals from outside the European Economic Area making certain applications to the Home Office have to apply for a biometric residence permit. This applies to both postal applications and applications made in person (known as ‘premium applications’). The biometric residence permit is a residence permit which holds a migrant’s biographic details (name, date and place of birth) and biometric information (facial image and fingerprints), and shows their immigration status and entitlements while they remain in the UK. This also means that a UK visa will no longer be stamped in applicant’s passport and all applicants will be issued one of the new Biometric visa cards instead. These cards look very similar to a (pink) UK driving license except they have a microchip on the back.

    Applicants who wish to extend their stay in the UK by post, the Home Office will send them a letter asking them to enrol their biometrics after the Home Office have received their application. Applicants will be able to enrol their biometric information one of the Post Offices offering this service across the UK using their walk-in service.

    Applicants who are submitting their application in person can do this at one of the Public Enquiry Offices by using the premium service. Applicants will enrol applicants’ biometric information at the same time as making their application.

    For application submitted overseas, the applicants have to provide their biometric enrolment at one of the Visa Facilitation Centres. Successful applicants will receive a 30 day ‘vignette sticker’ in their passport instead of a vignette with the full grant of leave. This 30 day visa will be the date they indicated as their intended travel date in their visa application. Applicants will be required to collect their BRP from the Post Office branch detailed in their decision letter within ten days of arrival in the UK. The Post Office branch is linked to the postcode that they submitted in their visa application. The BRP card can then be used as proof of right to work, study and access public services in the UK.

• Government Feesv

  • The Home Office fees for EEA Family permit UK is £65 per applicant.

• Processing Timesv

  • In line with the Home Office service standards for processing UK visa applications, they decide 95 per cent of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the application date and 100 per cent within 24 weeks of the application date.