Anyone have any experience as an American (or anyone else, I suppose ) married to a Spanish (or another EU) working in the UK?

I have my NI# and am familiar with the UK, having lived/worked here previously for a few years... My question is specifically as to what, if anything, needs to be officially done upon arrival in the UK. Do I need to specifically register our/my status or anything?

Initially I have entered the UK as a tourist (as my wife is still stuck in the USA waiting for her greencard/travel doc) which allows me a 3 month stay. How does this get changed? As a husband of an EU person, I have the right to stay as long as I like (not to sound snotty).

Thanks.

Not that I'm aware of, but if you're in the UK on a tourist visa you're not allowed to work. You can register with the US Embassy if you like, but it's not required.



What you should have done was obtain the proper visa prior to coming to the United Kingdom. Not to sound snotty, but unless your EU national wife is in the UK, I am not certain that you actually have the right to stay as long as you like since your wife may not meet the 'present and settled' rule.

You need to contact the Border & Immigration Agency here in the UK about obtaining an EEA family permit. You may have to leave the UK and re-enter.

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/eeaeunationals

Good luck.

Even if your wife was British you'd need a visa. But she's not, she's Spanish. No person from the EU has the "right" to remain in another country as long as they want to, EU or not. I'm British, if I wanted to live permanently in Spain I'd have to get the correct paperwork and stamps in my passport. I couldn't just "stay there".

Echoing HA and Mags, I'm afraid you are wrong. I am a UK citizen living in Germany, I was not allowed to just plonk myself down and become resident here, no matter who I am married to.

If I may ask, if your wife has just obtained US residency and is awaiting her greencard, how she can also have residency in the UK and why would you need to stay as long as you like if your wife is not allowed to set up residency elsewhere or be out of the US for extended periods?

Well actually you do sound very snotty and as for rights .....you have absolutely no damn right to be here in the UK without the proper papers. You have very few rights infact I would say you are totally illegal and will be deported if caught. As for rights you have none.

I'm pretty sure you can (at least if you're an EU citizen in the UK.)

You have to apply for a form of residency card. My Dad lives in Malta (an EU country) and had to go through a right old palava to get permanent residency there. It is quite bureaucratic, regardless of whether you are an EU citizen.

When did he apply for residency? Malta joined the EU in May 2005.

AFAIK (and I'm just an American married to an EU citizen who's looked into this, not someone who's lived it) these days despite the bureaucracy you go through to become resident in a different EU country, an EU citizen has the RIGHT to live and work anywhere they want in the EU. Paperwork may slow that down, but I'm 99.9% sure you have a right to go where you want.

Now, as someone married to an EU citizen, what I understand is you have the right to live in their country with them, but only to live in another EU country IF that person becomes resident (takes a job there, moves there, whatever). So if your wife is a resident of the UK, she can apply for you to come in.

Is this correct?

OP: I'm really confused. Are you trying to immigrate to the UK? And you left your wife in the US? You do realize that if she gets her greencard and then abandons US residency, she loses that greencard?

He's not here illegally; he's on a tourist visa, but he doesn't have the right to settle or to work...or to use the NHS for free. I think all he'd get is emergency care, but he'd have to pay for everything else according to what I've read.

To the OP, you need to talk to the Border and Immigration Agency TODAY. Call RIGHT NOW. You need to figure out what you need to do in order to adjust your status. You haven't specified what your intentions are, but I am assuming that you intend to settle in the UK. Right now as of this moment you do not have the correct visa and you do not even have the right to do so, since your EU-citizen spouse is NOT present in the UK. As a US citizen you are fine to use the VWP, but if you came to the UK with the intention to settle here ON THIS VISIT then you do not have the proper visa and the British government may interpret that as fraud. They're not quite as gung-ho as the US government so you may get lucky, but they still don't like being taken advantage of.

I hope you have some money left over because there is a chance you will have to leave the UK in order to sort this out.

Also, if your wife is adjusting her status in the USA but intends to settle in the UK, she'll lose the green card if she stays away too long. Green cards are for permanent residents of the United States, not for foreign-born spouses of globehopping American expats.

Good luck, because I think you will need it.

ETA: I also recommend seeking advice about UK immigration on a board other than this one; some of us here have been through the UK immigration process (myself included) but the focus (and the expertise) on this board is on US immigration. There are lots of boards out there dealing with UK immigration; just type 'uk immigration forum' into Google, pick one, and register.

Thanks all for you input (some being more aggressive than others). As always in VJ, I appreciate the assistance and opinions.

In reading the replies, I have a few comments/corrections/references...

For clarity, as family members of European Citizens we do, in fact, have the right to reside in any member state - This was clearly defined/re-defined in the European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC (which updated and clarified EEC Regulation 1612/68). Also related, is the Right of Free Movement (otherwise termed by Candace as the right to plonk ). These directives also clearly provide for permission to work.

Granted, as Alex+R said, any movement between countries often requires dealing with bureaucracy and its related paperwork, of which we are all familiar, however none of it is impossible nor should make us throw in the towel.

I'm not sure where this information is coming from, but my wife, once she has her Green Card can leave the USA for up to, and more than a year without losing her residency (although I would not recommend it).

At the end of the day, for those in a similar position of being a globehopping American expat, of which, based on my support, there are few, we are left in unusual situation. My work requires my international travel. I am surprised to see so many people who attack my questions, and presumably would have me change my line of work so I could better fit in to the system, rather than try to work to resolve the obstacles.

Nobody is doubting that. However, since your wife isn't present in the UK and you're on a tourist visa, I think you'll have a difficult time persuading someone to give you a job or allow you to use certain benefits. You don't have the proper paperwork. End of.



And this is paperwork you should have had on you when you entered the UK.



The green card is for US residents. She can go abroad temporarily, but if you're counting on staying in the UK for several years I would assume she will have problems re-entering the US. She may require a re-entry permit, which could be denied. Then what would you do?



To be fair, Lenny, you came to the UK without seeking the proper paperwork in advance, so that was a mistake. You just assumed that since you were married to an EU citizen but not a UK citizen, you could just come to the UK as a tourist but stay as long as you liked even though your wife is not present in the UK.

Then you said 'not to sound snotty', which was incredibly snotty and obviously set off more than one person, whilst making a thoroughly incorrect assumption.

Have you taken anyone's advice here and called the Border and Immigration Agency, or are you still assuming that the UK is going to be totally fine with you settling here as a tourist and her in the USA adjusting her status? I'd be interested to hear what they tell you.

2 things that don't add up


how one can have a national insurance card without having to prove right to work. I had to show that I had the correct visa as well as registration with the local police to get mine.


a 3 months tourist stamp. I have never heard of a US "tourist" getting less than 6 months leave to remain.

And no, your wife can not be out of the US for over a year. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the maximum would be 6 months in a year.



Also, if you work really required you to be "globe trotting American expat" you would be a little more savvy with the requirements of visas.


I think you might be a troll.

Hello. You are allowed to remain in the UK and not work for six months. To work in the UK or live in the UK for longer than six months, you will need an EEA family permit. Homesick_american provided a good link with FAQs and here's another link with specific information about the EEA family permit.

EDIT - I'm sorry, I just realised the link doesn't work. I'll try copying in the text from the page -

You asked if a national of United States needs a visa to come to the UK as a non EEA/Swiss family member of an EEA/Swiss national

Eligible family members of EEA and Swiss citizens are allowed to live freely in the UK with their EEA/Swiss family member. If you want to come for more than 6 months with your EEA family member, you will need an EEA Family Permit. This is similar to a visa, but is issued free of charge.

Eligible family members are defined in the EEA Regulations as:

the spouse of an EEA national, excluding a person who is party to a marriage of convenience
a descendant (child or grandchild) of an EEA national or his/her spouse who is 21 years of age or is their dependant (this includes stepchildren or adopted children)
a dependant in the ascending line (ie parents or grandparents) of an EEA national or his/her spouse

If you want to come to the UK independently of your EEA/Swiss family member, the normal UK Immigration Rules apply, including visa requirements. Please re-submit your enquiry, choosing another Purpose of visit.

Please read Guidance - EEA & Swiss Nationals for more information.

Any dependants under 16 years old, included on your passport, can be included on the same form, but those older will need to fill in separate forms.

If you are a national of, or are normally and legally living in United States please make your application to Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York.

If you are applying to our visa sections in the USA, you can now make your application and pay online though the visa4UK website.

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Here's the link where I found the info -
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pa...d=1006977149962

I didn't know Brazil joined the EU

He's also Portuguese. Fair question.

Oh it's your dream come true then -- what are you still doing here, you liberal tree-hugger?

Go to Yurrup, embrace the socialist ideals!

Rights to plonk aside, I understand what you are saying but the right to free movement of EU citizens within the EU, paperwork and red tape aside, and your entering the country on a tourist visa and expecting to circumvent said red tape are not quite the same thing. Usually there is a process that one must go through when wishing to reside long-term and work in another EU country. Here in Germany, for residency only it is a short visit to the Rathaus and a relatively painless process to get a work permit for an EU citizen.

Whether you are married to a UK citizen or an EU citizen, the fact you are not one yourself means that there are steps you should have gone through prior to arriving and expecting to 'notify someone' who would shake your hand, pat you on the back and direct you to the local hospital or social security office. I digress, but if it was as easy as you make out, why are our US citizen spouses often questioned on entry when we go back to visit family and not waved through by immigration officers waving a Union Jack in one hand and the Stars & Stripes in the other?

I think as HA said, you have put a few people's backs up here by being a little snotty and even underlining it (kind of like 'I don't want to sound mean, but.... [insert mean comment here.]) and also assuming you can come to the UK with no prior application when people here have waited months or even years to be with their spouse. I am sure your intention was not to bowl on in and hack people off and I hope you have found the advice you have been given in this thread useful.

Best wishes

Maybe I shall, after graduation, although we thought it'd be easier for Rey to stay here til he got citizenship... maybe we'll LDR it again if I get an enticing fellowship. :shudder: