FLR application coming up

[fbf]

On 01/08/2017 at 2:24 PM, 7by7 said:

Postal applications usually take up to 8 weeks, I assume online is about the same. Unless you have extremely urgent reasons for needing your passport back the same day, I see no point in paying the extra £590, taking the time of work and travelling to your nearest PEO just to get a same day decision.

I am thinking of paying it next year; personal decision as I think your reasoning is sound.

 

The main reason is that I don't want to spend 8 weeks worrying. Assuming I'm on the right page, it says the earliest you can apply is 28 days before your current permission expires. That means for 4 weeks my wife will be staying in the UK beyond her original permission; I know this is allowed, I just don't like it. Also, a lot could happen in 8 weeks while they're holding her documents - e.g. family emergency in Thailand etc. Plus I do a lot of business trips (mostly 2-5 days in Europe) that tend come up at short notice and sometimes I might want to take my wife. Talking of which, I thought I'd have to give over my own passport for 8 weeks which would definitely interfere with my work, but it seems they only ask about the partners documents?

 

Small detail, our closest centre is Croydon which appears to have Saturday opening (and is also close to Wing Yip so we can stock up on Thai ingredients).

 

Anyway I'm probably in a more fortunate financial position than most, but I do agree it's horribly expensive, and unfair that most people will have little choice about being in this eight-week limbo trap.

[7by7]

Up to you, fbf; even though vastly overpriced, the PEO service is there for those that want or need it.

 

BTW, you say

22 hours ago, fbf said:

I do a lot of business trips (mostly 2-5 days in Europe) that tend come up at short notice and sometimes I might want to take my wife.

The UK is not a member of the Schengen area, so a UK visa, FLR, ILR etc. does not entitle her to enter other EEA states without a visa.

 

Although as the spouse of an EEA national she should be allowed entry without a visa provided she can satisfy immigration at her port of entry that she is your spouse and that she is travelling with or to join you: see "Arriving at the border without an entry visa" at Travel documents for non-EU family members.

 

But you may find that some carriers will refuse to carry her without a visa, and there may be long delays once she gets there while the officials check the rules and her status; so it's advisable to get a visa in advance. 

 

Of course, that is the situation for UK nationals and their non EEA nationals family members at the moment; post Brexit, who knows!

 

 

[fbf]

56 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

But you may find that some carriers will refuse to carry her without a visa, and there may be long delays once she gets there while the officials check the rules and her status; so it's advisable to get a visa in advance. 

 

Of course, that is the situation for UK nationals and their non EEA nationals family members at the moment; post Brexit, who knows!

Thanks for the advice 7by7. We always intended to get a visa, despite one of my colleagues reporting success without one. So far the hassle has tipped the balance against us bothering but we'll probably try it for a short trip to Budapest next month.

 

As for Brexit, I'm hoping my wife will get a British passport by early 2021 (she arrived in September 2015) so assuming Brexit happens on time in 2019 and the partners rights are dispensed with, we'd be looking at a gap of less than two years.