we are going to thailand next week,,we need to make the visa as soon as we get to bkk...my wife wants her two 9yr old sons to join her here in uk under eea family permit ...do i make the visa application or does my wife ? also i came out of work 7 mths ago and am now in receipt of incapacity benefit,will this affect the decision ? i need to show more than £5000 in my bank account to the embassy but as im in reciept of incapacity and housing benefit i really shouldnt have that much funds available to me in other words if the embassy twig on that i have money in my bank account they will surely notify the dss and housing benefit people back home wont they ? im stuck in a situation here that my wife really misses the kids but im open to getting my money stopped by the authorities here in uk if they find out i have funds available to me...but as usual the wife doesnt undertand this !!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

any help and advice greatly appreciated thanku

Sorry you have lost me.

Where is your wife from?

Where are the children?

If you are British and your wife Thai, I do not think you can apply for an EEA Family permit.

Please give more details and keep it simple, then the answers will come flooding back to you

you could come and stay in Thailand if she is Thai, capacity benefit cannot be paid here but am sure you can find a way around that little thing, like a friend of mine has.

Assuming that you are a dual UK/Irish national living in Northern Ireland, and you have used your Irish nationality previously to sponsor an EEA Family Permit for your wife, her 9-year-old kids are also family members for the purposes of an EEA application.

The issue is whether, because of your unemployment for 7 months, you are still a "qualified person" under EEA Regs. The caseworking instructions say this:

"EEA nationals who are residing in the UK should generally be able to support themselves

without help from public funds. EEA nationals who are exercising Treaty rights in the UK as

workers, self employed persons or work seekers are able to claim public funds without their right

of residence being affected. Caseworkers should note that a worker or self employed person

would include someone whom had temporally ceased their economic activity in the UK due to

involuntary redundancy or illness."

I think the operative word is "temporarily" (not temporally), and whether 7 months on incapacity benefit now disqualifies you from residence under EEA legislation. You're probably ok, but you'd better consult a specialist legal advisor with knowledge of relevant caselaw on this if you want to be watertight. I do recall from previous research on the subject that to remain a "qualified person" under the EEA Regulations, an unemployed jobseeker is normally expected to have found work within 6 months or be signed on and have a realistic prospect of finding work. I'm sure they cut more slack for those who are disabled, but having claimed a form of residence for visa purposes and then be drawing public funds to which you would be entitled by virtue of your British nationality is unlikely to endear you to those in authority.

sorry guys i should of explained in more detail.....yes im from belfast northern ireland,,my wife is obviously thai and her 2 sons are 9 yr old and currently left back in thailand....she is in reciept of (smp) statatory maternity pay as she had a baby 5 mths ago (in the uk)....she cannot be deperted or anything because our baby was born here but thats a different matter...anyway we want the 2 sons to join us now,my wifes father who was looking after them untill now is sick and not able to take care anymore,it is our priority to get them back here with us....i was working untill january 2009 then became sick and am now recieving incapacity benefit,,which i hope is temporary. what are the main sticking points here and what are grounds for refusal ? what papers would i need to take to embassy with me ?

thanks in advance

What entry clearance did your wife use; UK visa or EEA permit?

As Eff1n2ret says, if you are using your Irish nationality to obtain EEA permits for your wife and her children but using your British nationality to obtain state benefits for you and her which an EEA national would not be entitled to then this may cause you problems.

Hopefully an EEA expert can advise.

Edited October 3, 200916 yr by 7by7