Hi there Crampton, welcome to the forum.
An EEA Family Permit is a special form of 'entry clearance' to the UK (similar to a visa).
It's used is for nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) (eg Philippines) who are family members of EEA nationals.
In principle so called Family Members are:-
- husband, wife or civil partner;
- children or grandchildren (or the children or grandchildren of your husband, wife or civil partner) who are under 21 years of age or are dependent on you; and
- the parents or grandparents of you and your husband, wife or civil partner, if they are dependent on you.
The family permit is issued prior to a person's travel to the UK, is valid for six months and is free of charge.
In connection with the idea to use this route to bring your wife to UK you'll need to be more specific on your circumstances.
I notice you're in Northern Ireland. Are you a UK national?
If you're considering using British/Irish dual citizenship as the basis for a family permit application you need to be aware that the rules on this for folks in Northern Ireland (and also holding Irish citizenship/passport) recently got changed.
The definition of “EEA national” has been amended in light of the ECJ judgment in McCarthy, which confirmed that the provisions of the Directive are not applicable to an EEA national who has never exercised his right of free movement, who has always resided in a Member State of which he is a national and who is also a national of another Member State.
An EEA national is therefore now defined in amended regulation 2(1) as “a national of an EEA State who is not also a United Kingdom national”.
