How to apply for the Family Permit (FP)

Timeline

– EU arrived in Málaga: 24/09/11 (9 months – Erasmus) then 01/10/2013 to present day
– Non-EU arrived on 07/06/2014
– EU started working on: 06/06/2014 (two contracts – duration nearly one year at time of submission)
– EU Spanish Residency: 28/09/2011 (from Erasmus year)
– Non-EU Spanish Residency: 31/07/2014 (problem with translation of marriage certificate and went to appeal, was resolved after two months)
– FP online application: 16/05/2015
– FP appointment: 29/05/2015
– Decision made: 10/06/2015
– Passport returned: 12/06/2015
– Entry into the UK: 28/06/2015 via Exeter Airport

How

Step 1: Make sure you know which document you are applying for and if you qualify by looking at the UK Gov criteria website

Step 2: Create an account in the Non-EU’s name (I made the mistake of putting it in my name to start with) using the Family Permit online application. You will be sent a confirmation email with a link to verify your account.

Step 3: Start your application by selecting “Applying for myself” at the bottom of the first screen. Fill in the Non-EU’s details on the next page and the following options under visa type:

Step 4: You will then be presented with this screen from which you navigate your application and appointment. Make a note of the reference number starting with “GWF” and quote this on your cover letter.

Step 5: Go to application. Most of the questions refer to the Non-EU. Remember to think of the Non-EU as living in Spain, not from their own or the UK. Their address should be your address in Spain and their contact number should be a number in Spain as well.

Step 6: Fill in the application form. It is divided into the following sections:

Passport and Travel Information:
Passport – these questions refer to the Non-EU only. Remember that the country of residence is Spain and they are not a national of the country of application.
Travel Information – these questions refer to your trip and your EU partner.

Personal Details and Travel History:
Personal details – these questions refer to the Non-EU
Travel history – these questions refer to the Non-EU. Be honest about any refusals in the past. They are not taken into account for the purposes of the FP.

Family Details:
Spouse/Partner – these questions refer to the EU spouse
Father – these questions refer to the Non-EU
Mother – these questions refer to the Non-EU
Dependent children/non-dependent children – these questions refer to the Non-EU

Employment, Income and Sponsor Details:
Employment and Income and Expenditure: these questions refer to the Non-EU. These questions should be answered as N/A as income and expenditure are not taken into consideration for the purposes of FP.
Sponsor details: these questions refer to the EU

Family and Friends in the UK:
Add members of the EU’s family in this section.

Medical Treatment:
Answer no.

EEA National:
These questions refer to the EU. Under EEA reference number put your NIE or SS number. Under the questions about family members write the Non-EU’s country and that you visit them periodically.

Additional information:
Write something along the lines of: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE SUBMITTED AT THE
TIME OF MY APPOINTMENT TO BE INCLUDED WITH THIS APPLICATION.

Step 7: Save the application. Note; you can save and quit at any time. I would suggest filling it in and then going away for a while, then look at it again with fresh eyes. Any missing parts will be highlighted when you are ready to “confirm application”.

Step 8: Look at a completed application forms example 1, example 2

Step 9: Sign the declaration. Write the Non-EU’s name.

Step 10: Create an appointment. Choose a slot that you know you can do as cancelling and requesting a new one might mean a longer wait than you anticipated. Remember to print this PDF file and take it with you to the Teleperformance centre.

Step 11: “Pay” for the application. It is FREE.

Step 12: Print the application (PDF file). It may take anywhere from a few hours to a day or so for this file to appear. Don’t worry if you think it’s taking a long time. If you notice a big mistake you will have to start the application from scratch and won’t be able to use it with the existing appointment you made.

Step 13: When you have completed your application, you will need to create a separate account on the Teleperformance website which will track your application. You can also pay for the return courier service on this website under the “Added Value Services” tab on the left hand side. Remember to print a copy of the courier payment and include it in your application. Make a note of public holidays and where the centre is located.

Where
UK Visa Application Centre
Avenida de Asturias, 9
Esquina Antonio González Echarte
CP 28029
Madrid, Spain
The nearest underground stop is Plaza de Castilla.

Photos from our appointment from the main roundabout as Google Maps hasn’t been updated (click to enlarge).

Documents

Please note, these are the documents I personally submitted, you can choose to submit more or less than this. I have separated them into their corresponding parts and this is essentially how I submitted my appendix.

Sample cover letters: Letter 1, letter 2, letter 3

Identity

1. Completed Family Permit application form for Non-EU’s name GWF…
2. EU’s passport (copy of biometric page) passport no. XX
3. Non-EU’s passport (copy of biometric page) passport no. XX
4. Marriage documents:
   a) Original marriage certificate in language (Country of issue, date)
   b) Spanish translation of marriage certificate
   c) English translation of marriage certificate
   d) Family book (copy of front page and bio page)

Residence cards and proof of residence

5. EU’s Spanish residence card
6. Non-EU’s Spanish residence card
7. EU’s original NIE (date) NB I also sent a previous version with my old address
8. Non-EU’s original NIE (date)
9. Town hall registry documents (empadronamiento)
   a) EU (individual and historic) NB the empadronamiento histórico shows all previous addresses where you have been registered with dates
   b) Non-EU (individual and historic)
   c) Family registry NB the empadronamiento familiar shows everyone who is registered at that address
10. Letter from Landlord, name
11. Current flat rental contract NB we stayed an extra month (13 in total) so our landlord wrote up a letter explaining this as well
12. Electricity bills (date-date) Company name
13. Water bills (date-date) Company name
14. Internet bills (date-date) Company name
15. Letter from ex-landlord, name NB to show how I came to be living there, why and for how long

Banking

16. Bank account openings
    a) EU’s NB I kept my own account and paid all bills from that
    b) Joint bank account for both EU and Non-EU

Work documents

17. EU’s Social Security number certificate
18. Non-EU’s Social Security number certificate NB even though he didn’t work we got him the number
19. Work report (Informe de vida laboral) from Social Security office
20. Tax declaration for 2014
21. Job documents NB this was x3 as I’d had 3 jobs
    a) Letter from owner Name
    b) Contract
    c) Payslips (date-date)
    d) Contract extension of hours
    e) P45

Health documents

26. Social security (public) health documents
    a) Non-EU’s entitlement to public healthcare certificate
    b) Social security letters and cards for both EU and Non-EU
    c) Registration with local doctors for both EU and Non-EU
27. Private healthcare documents
    a) Policy contract with Company name for both EU and Non-EU and cards
    b) EU’s medical reports
    c) Non-EU’s medical reports

Voluntary work and language exchanges

28. Letter from Name – voluntary work at Company name
29. Letter from Name – language exchange partner
30. Letter from Name – language exchange partner

Other documents

31. Gym memberships for EU and Non-EU
32. Library cards for EU and Non-EU
33. Bus cards for EU and Non-EU (Company name(s))
34. Receipts for laptop and TV channel tuner
35. Mobile phone contract for name
36. Courier receipt for return of passport and original documents

Self Employment

37. Social security certificate date
38. Invoices (date- date)
39. Tax returns

Things to bear in mind:

• Print your cover letter and appendix within the same document as some people have been told not to hand in their appendix or cover letter at Teleperformance.
• Photocopy everything you have and keep a digital record as well in case something gets lost.
• The only originals they SHOULD take are Non-EU passport, marriage certificate and translation. The other documents can be photocopied.
• If you can, number pages (especially ones you’ve written yourself) page 1 of 2 etc
• The EU partner cannot enter the Teleperformance building. If the Non-EU is not confident in English or Spanish then practise with them beforehand as some officers don’t take all of the documents you want to submit. Be forceful and if they say that a document is not needed tell them “I would like to submit all documents”.
• Quote your GWF reference number on documents and letters (where you can)
• The Family Permit is FREE, if you come to the end of the application and it tells you to pay you have chosen the wrong option at the beginning of the process.