Wife Is Now Waiting 7 Months On Pr From Ukba

[asiansun]

just read ukba has a backlog and will not clear it untill 2037 ( daily express ) my wifes pr visa app has been with ukba 7 months allready. she wants to go out of uk now but cannot. i got our local MP onto her case and MP contacted colleague in london and word has come back that she may not even get a reply never mind a visa from ukba for months ... <deleted> !!

without going into detail my wife absolutely needs to travel to thailand , she is out of her mind with worry. her resident cars has expired on 19 mar 2013......she fears and i fear that if she were to leave uk and go to thailand then on her return ( at bkk or london airports ) she would be stopped from entering uk.

help

[sjohnson1234]

just read ukba has a backlog and will not clear it untill 2037 ( daily express ) my wifes pr visa app has been with ukba 7 months allready. she wants to go out of uk now but cannot. i got our local MP onto her case and MP contacted colleague in london and word has come back that she may not even get a reply never mind a visa from ukba for months ... <deleted> !!

without going into detail my wife absolutely needs to travel to thailand , she is out of her mind with worry. her resident cars has expired on 19 mar 2013......she fears and i fear that if she were to leave uk and go to thailand then on her return ( at bkk or london airports ) she would be stopped from entering uk.

you are clearly not British by birth and appear to be a foreign national whi is a naturalised Brit. I think the best thing you can do is somply an immigration lawyer to handle the case / paper work etc for you.

Best of luck

[asiansun]

thanks but......i am british by birth plus its not about me , its about my wifes PR

Edited May 15, 2013 by asiansun

[theoldgit]

Derogatory remark regarding English skills removed, please don't post in future.

[bangkockney]

Her immigration status remains the same whilst her application is pending.

Does she have her passport in her possession? Any paperwork relating to the pending application?

What route has she taken to settlement?

UKBA can release a passport for travel and keep the application pending on compassionate grounds. Have you had much luck contacting them?

[RAZZELL]

It's not PR. It's ILR - Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Friend had something similar - ILR application took 6 months. Lost a flight to Thailand over Christmas/New Year.

I think the OP's wife is a bit knackered without a passport. This is when you think you should have paid the extra and got the "premium" service.

RAZZ

Edited May 16, 2013 by theoldgit
Quoted deleted post deleted.

[sjohnson1234]

Or even a wise move

At least someone got it.

[sjohnson1234]

I think the OP's wife is a bit knackered without a passport

Na, compassionate grounds. Follow BangkokCockney he always has the right advice.

[asiansun]

hi , thanks for the info, wife got her passport back onlt 4 weeks after she submitted her app . she has her passport in her posession, we fear if she travels to thailand and then when she is ready to return to thailand that either thai immigration / airlines / or ukba will not let her enter.

in her passport it states her resident stamp is expiried since march 2013. home office did not even have the decency to confirm in writing that they received her PR app, they just sent the passports back as i requested them back because i had to go travel to work and they sent all passports back including my wifes.

maybe by law her visa status is still lawfull in uk as her application is pending but we fear thai airline/immigration will not let her fly.

[bangkockney]

It's not PR. It's ILR - Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Friend had something similar - ILR application took 6 months. Lost a flight to Thailand over Christmas/New Year.

I think the OP's wife is a bit knackered without a passport. This is when you think you should have paid the extra and got the "premium" service.

RAZZ

Not if he exercised his Treaty Rights and his wife came to the UK afterwards, as the spouse of an EEA national. PR is the correct term if this is true.

Hence why I asked the OP to clarify his wife's route to settlement.

He talks of his wife's residence card so I believe the above is the route taken.

OP:

I'm pretty sure your wife will have to get an EEA Family Permit in Bangkok to return to the UK. This shouldn't be an issue.

Perhaps you can provide the required background details?

Edited May 16, 2013 by bangkockney

[asiansun]

she is in uk on EEA PERMIT, resident card has expired, i hope this helps,

[andyandythai]

Just a thought on this one, would you having the passport back delay the application? I have read this may be the case on the UKBA website. Maybe they are waiting for her passport to be returned to complete the application?

I may be wrong but it might be worth checking!

Andy

[asiansun]

good point andy, though i would imagine that ukba would ask for her passport back once application is processed. obviously common sense would suggest they send her out some sort of official document stating the outcome of the decision and then ask for her to send her passport back into them to be stamped.

PS. she cannot be refused entry , her child was granted entry recently ( PR ) by a high court ruling in uk against the ukba after they first refused him. so no way can they refuse her PR now, its just a matter of her waiting and getting passport officially stamped so as she can go get her son who is in thailand, 10 year old, nnever outside thailand, he cannot fly himself.

[RAZZELL]

good point andy, though i would imagine that ukba would ask for her passport back once application is processed. obviously common sense would suggest they send her out some sort of official document stating the outcome of the decision and then ask for her to send her passport back into them to be stamped.

PS. she cannot be refused entry , her child was granted entry recently ( PR ) by a high court ruling in uk against the ukba after they first refused him. so no way can they refuse her PR now, its just a matter of her waiting and getting passport officially stamped so as she can go get her son who is in thailand, 10 year old, nnever outside thailand, he cannot fly himself.

Confused - I don't understand how her son can have PR without leaving Thailand?

RAZZ

[bangkockney]

She should have received a Certificate of Application as per European law.

If she doesn't have this, you need to contact the European enquiries contact centre at UKBA on 0845 010 5200.

Edited to add:

Your wife's application is over 6 months old and there's a favourable court judgement in play.

If it were me I'd call the UKBA to check the status of the application and (politely) bring up the judgment and the reason for the decision to be known ASAP.

Failing all that, and if your wife is suffering serious anxiety over it all, consider flying the boy as an unaccompanied minor. He'll be taken care of just fine - the airline will be able to give you all the details.

Edited May 16, 2013 by bangkockney

[Baerboxer]

She should have received a Certificate of Application as per European law.

If she doesn't have this, you need to contact the European enquiries contact centre at UKBA on 0845 010 5200.

Edited to add:

Your wife's application is over 6 months old and there's a favourable court judgement in play.

If it were me I'd call the UKBA to check the status of the application and (politely) bring up the judgment and the reason for the decision to be known ASAP.

Failing all that, and if your wife is suffering serious anxiety over it all, consider flying the boy as an unaccompanied minor. He'll be taken care of just fine - the airline will be able to give you all the details.

Absolutely. My daughter flew on several long haul trips on her own, aged 9 to 11. She was treated like royalty - often "upgraded and spoilt". Most air lines are really good at this, and look after them prior to after the flight extremely well.

[sjohnson1234]

Good post, on which airlines has she flown? My two nephews will be flying over age 9 and 12. Thanks

[asiansun]

tried to call ukba. , more than once on that and other numbers.....only answer machine and info. cannot get speaking to anyone

[bobrussell]

tried to call ukba. , more than once on that and other numbers.....only answer machine and info. cannot get speaking to anyone

I went for weeks like this! Apparently the phone gets answered at some parts of the day so worth varying the times you phone. I never did get through though!

[7by7]

Firstly, forget about what you read in the Daily Express. If such a backlog does exist it's to do with asylum applications; it does not apply to Leave to Remain applications under the UK immigration rules, and certainly not to EEA applications.

With respect; your posts are very confusing; it would help you to get good and accurate advice if you gave us the full picture in the OP rather than piecemeal throughout the topic.

To clarify:-

Your wife entered the UK with you using Surinder Singh after you had been living together in another EEA state where you were working: correct?

She has been living in the UK with you now for at least 5 years and so qualifies for permanent residence; correct?

In which case I cannot understand why her application has not yet been processed after so long; EU law requires applications under these regulations be processed without delay.

The good news is that she does not actually need to apply for PR.

The bad news is that if she does not have it and were to leave the UK then she would probably need to apply for a new family permit to return.

Residence documents for non-EEA family members of EEA nationals

Do you need to apply?

You do not need to obtain documents confirming your right of residence in the UK if you are a family member of an EEA national.

However, you may be inconvenienced if you do not obtain this confirmation, as:
you may have difficulty proving that you are lawfully resident in the UK;
if you leave the UK, you will usually need to obtain an EEA family permit before returning here, in order to guarantee readmission as the family member of a qualified EEA national; and
you may find it difficult to obtain or change employment.

The matter is further complicated as you are British and she was able to use the EEA regulations to enter the UK as you had been living and working in another EEA state and she living there with you. That is no longer the case, and has not been for at least 5 years.

So would she able to obtain a new family permit in Thailand, quick, easy and free; or would she need to apply for settlement as the spouse of a British citizen, long, more complicated and expensive?

I don't know the answer to that one, I'm afraid.

I think that you need to speak to an advisor in the UK who specialises in the EEA regulations