Question about spouse visa,

[RicardoDaSilva]

hi guys,
have a strange one which just wanted to check with you,
when we did my partners visa I was on a eu//eea passport,
Now I have naturalise and gotten my uk passport.

Do we need to update her visa to show this or is it fine the way it is,

the reason I ask is two fold,

first is as we was coming back from holiday the woman on boarder control said she needs to update it, but at the time my partner was tired and didn't catch all the info she was telling her,

second reason is my Portuguese passport is about to run out and for me to renew it I’m going to need to do my ID done before I even apply to renew it, they are a pain to deal with at the best of time and with Christmas just round the corner it’s money I would rather spend some where else.

[Terpe]

So you are Dual Citizen Portugese/UK ?
You currently own British and Portugese passports ? Although your Portugese passport needs to be renewed.
If renewal will be such a pain then why not just wait.........what urgency is there to update at an inconvenient time. It's certainly not going to prevent you from travelling and it doesn't impact your Portugese nationality in any way.

Concerning your partner. Is this your spouse?
What passport does she hold?
What visa does she hold? Is is EEA Family Member? Or does she hold a visa under UK immigration rules?
How long have you been living together in UK as a married couple?

[RicardoDaSilva]

Yes I hold Dual Citizen but I’m more then happy not renewing my Portuguese one at all, and just using my British one from here onwards, as I find it a right pain dealing with the Portuguese authorities,
but its my misses coz of what the woman said to her she has been on my case none stop to go renew it before it runs out,
Yes my spouse holds the EEA Family Member visa I believe as we processed everything here in the UK, before I got the British passport we have been married for over 2 years here in the UK

[RicardoDaSilva]

Yes I hold Dual Citizen but I’m more then happy not renewing my Portuguese one at all, and just using my British one from here onwards, as I find it a right pain dealing with the Portuguese authorities,
but its my misses coz of what the woman said to her she has been on my case none stop to go renew it before it runs out,
Yes my spouse holds the EEA Family Member visa I believe as we processed everything here in the UK, before I got the British passport we have been married for over 2 years here in the UK

SORRY - she is holding a Filipino passport

[Terpe]

Ricardo,
Sorry for my delayed posting I only just got back home.

Look, I haven't been able to take time to double check my facts but...............I would suggest you DO NOT take any action just now and DO NOT contact UKBA

By taking up British Citizenship you may have created a problem in regards to your partners right to reside in UK.
She is residing in UK as the family member of an EU citizen.

I sincerely apologise if this posting alarms you in any way. I just want you to hold fire on any dealing with UKBA and your partners visa until I've had an opportunity to double check my thinking.

You may find it useful to make your own research. I just cannot commit to giving time at present as I'm involved in other urgent family issues back home in Philippines.

I'll get on to it asap unless anyone else here can give their opinion

[RicardoDaSilva]

thank you Terpe,
i'm going to go ahead and get my Portuguese ID done as im going to need that if or when i renew that passport or if i want to get anything done back in Portugal, plus its cheaper then renewing my passport

i have tried to seek out the answer but so far all I've found is contradicting, but will keep digging and will post back if i find anything

[Terpe]

Here's the thing that's puzzling me......that border control would mention the visa of your wife.

Please be accurate with your answers to the following questions:-

1. Exactly what visa does your wife have?
2. Did she make application under EU regulations or UK regulations?
3. Did she enter the UK with a UKBA issued Family Permit or did she enter under a UK Spouse Visa? or Fiancee Visa
4. If she has a visa in her passport what is the validity and what is the date of expiry?

Ricardo, if your wife entered under a UKBA issued Fiancee visa then she would need to have gotten married and applied for a spouse visa FLR(M) within the 6 month validity of the Fiancee Visa.
Her FLR(M) visa would be valid for 2 years. Before expiry she would need to apply for either ILR (if eligible) or for a further extension to FLR(M) This MUST be done before visa expiry.

If, on the other hand, she entered UK under a Spouse Visa she would have been given a 27 month visa. After 2 years living here as a spouse she would need to apply for ILR (if eligible) or for a further extension to FLR(M). This MUST be done before visa expiry.

If she entered the UK under a Family Permit as the family member of a EEA national, then she should (ideally but not mandatory) have applied for UK Residence Card.

You'll need to divulge more information so that we can fully understand the background.

As far as I understand it if the EEA spouse (you) becomes a British citizen before the non-EEA spouse has acquired permanent residence (under EU regulations) then it becomes necessary that the EEA spouse retains the EEA citizenship, otherwise the non-EEA spouse is no longer the spouse of an EEA national and would lose their right of residence.
This would entail having to return to Philippines in order to apply for a spouse visa.

So you can see it's very important to focus on the route you wife took to enter UK and the type of visa she has in her passport.

If she's under UK immigration rules she'll need to make visa application to remain BEFORE her current visa expires.
If she's under EU rules as a non-EEA family member and entered UK with a Family Permit then you MUST retain and continue as an EEA national NOT a British Citizen.

Hopefully that makes some sense.

[RicardoDaSilva]

1. Exactly what visa does your wife have?

from what i remember it says eu/eea Spouse Visa, will double check when i get home

2. Did she make application under EU regulations or UK regulations?

not sure as we went through a layer here in the uk,

3. Did she enter the UK with a UKBA issued Family Permit or did she enter under a UK Spouse Visa? or Fiancee Visa

she entered the uk with a student visa, and then we meet each other a year after she was here

4. If she has a visa in her passport what is the validity and what is the date of expiry?

visa was issued from home office which i will double check, and expires in 3 years as she is on a 5 year visa.


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from what i understand its best for me to keep my EU stuff upto date, as she would need to start from the beginning other wise.