Chapter 5 - Residence Card Applications - UK Border Agency ...

In such circumstances the third country national has the option to enter the U.K.
either under the Immigration Rules or as the spouse of an EEA national, if the British
citizen is also returning to the U.K..
If the third country national has been issued with an EEA Family Permit and has
enter the U.K. on this basis then they have opted to use European law and cannot
then switch to being considered under the Immigration Rules. The only way they
could then avail themselves of the Immigration Rules would be if they left the U.K.
and applied for entry clearance under the Immigration Rules as the spouse of a
British citizen.
However, the British citizen is not issued with a Registration Certificate as a
Registration Certificate can only be issued to EEA nationals who are exercising
Treaty rights in Member states other than their own.
Application form
An application form, EEA2, should be for use when applying for a Residence Card.
However, it should be note that in some cases the applicant will have applied using
form FLR(M) and will have paid a fee in the mistaken belief that they can still be
considered under the Immigration Rules despite the fact that they have entered on
an EEA Family Permit. There is though no requirement for the applicant to complete
form EEA2 and in contrast to the policy governing applications made under the
Immigration Rules an application cannot be rejected because the form has not been
used or has not been fully completed.
5.5.1 Qualifying for the issuing of a Residence Card as the non-EEA
family member of a British citizen.
The following documents must be supplied by a non-EEA family member of a
British citizen who is applying for a Residence Card:
� The valid British passport of the British citizen
� The passport of the third country national
� Marriage certificate / civil partnership certificate
� Documentation confirming that the British citizen would be a qualified person if
s/he were an EEA national
5.5.2 Checks that must be conducted before a Residence Card can be
issued to a non-EEA member of a British Citizen.
Prior to issuing a Residence Card to a spouse/civil partner we must be satisfied that
the marriage/partnership is legally valid and is not a marriage/partnership of
convenience, that the British citizen was working or self-employed in another
member state prior to returning to the U.K. and that the non-EEA national was
residing with him/her.
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