I am a French citizen. I want to bring my family for a quick visit to the UK during the weekend, but I have an elderly mom who is not an EU citizen. She has a Schengen visa and I can't leave her behind alone at home. How can I easily get her a visa to the UK?
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Easily or not we cant tell, but the case looks simple. I think you have good chances – Hanky Panky Aug 30 '17 at 05:46
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1The Schengen will not work and unless she has an EEA document (I assume she does not), she should apply for a Standard Visitor Visa. It's easy as long as she has some evidence to show and your sponsorship evidence is in good order. Be sure to have her (i.e., you) read this https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66104/should-i-submit-bank-statements-when-applying-for-a-uk-visa-what-do-they-say-ab – Gayot Fow Aug 30 '17 at 06:22
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@GayotFow if she is dependent on the French citizen or the French citizen's spouse, she qualifies for an EEA family permit, and she should apply for that instead. In that case, no bank statements are needed per se. (Evidence of dependence is needed, however, which could be bank statements.) – phoog Aug 30 '17 at 16:10
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@phoog yes, I think so too, but then cannot understand the basis for the question, i.e., why she doesn't have any EEA documentation already. – Gayot Fow Aug 30 '17 at 16:24
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@GayotFow perhaps she doesn't live in France, but is just visiting there. Or perhaps her application for a residence card is pending (I understand they can take a while). – phoog Aug 30 '17 at 16:37
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@phoog if she doesn't have the FP in time for the holiday, it's not going to happen. I suppose this question is unclear, but if you want to create a sort of generic answer, ping me and I'll up vote it. Your call dude :) – Gayot Fow Aug 30 '17 at 16:48
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If your mother is dependent on you or your spouse, she is eligible for an EEA family permit to travel to the UK with you. The EEA family permit is free of charge and should be issued more quickly than a standard visitor visa.
If you are traveling by train or ferry, you can also try presenting proof of your relationship and her dependence on you at the border. This follows from The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, at 11(4):
(4) Before an immigration officer refuses admission to the United Kingdom to a person under this regulation because the person does not produce on arrival a document mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2), the immigration officer must provide every reasonable opportunity for the document to be obtained by, or brought to, the person or allow the person to prove by other means that the person is—
(a) ...
(b) a family member of an EEA national with a right to accompany that EEA national or join that EEA national in the United Kingdom;
(c) ...
(emphasis added)
That is obviously a riskier proposition, but if you don't have a couple of weeks for an EEA family permit application, it might be worth trying.
This answer will cease to be valid if the UK leaves the freedom-of-movement scheme, as seems likely.
