Egyptian married with Eu citizen, having already EU Residence Permit, can i travel to UK without visa? What about working there?

Question

My name is Adliy Romany. I was born in 1983 and my nationality is Egyptian. I am an Engineer and I worked from more than 11 years abroad my country. Now I live in Romania, because I am married to a Romanian woman and also I have Romanian Residence Permit for living and work.

After our marriage, my wife, received a job offer in the UK. She wants to relocate to this country as she has already free access to live and work there, because she is EU citizen. So, I must relocate and settle down with her also.

Romanian officials, from Romanian Government, told us that I can travel with her to UK, due to the fact I possess a residence permit of working and living released by an EU country and I don't need anything else.

With this assurance, from the Romanian government, I contacted British Airways, to check ticket prices and availability, and they told me that only documents i need (more than passport) are Romanian Residence Permit and marriage certificate in original.

But, to be 100% percent sure, I called at British Embassy in Romania and they told me that I can't travel like this and I will need a Join Partner Visa, but I can't apply to them directly and also I will need some documents to support my application, like: proof of my wife's working contract (which I don't know if she will sign before travelling or once she arrives in the UK), proof of address in the UK where we will live (and, I sadly discovered, that we can't rent a place until we are actually there; so I can't have it before), bank statement, marriage certificate, etc. (which I can provide).

Now, I am very confused and I don't know who is right and who is not and also what I can do.

I need to travel with my wife (we can't be separated), I need to be legal (to have right to work), because with my experience it's a big chance I can find work there.

So, please, kindly, tell me if I need visa to travel there or not and, in case I need visa, for which kind of visa should I apply.

Answer 1

Both are soemwhat wrong, in different ways.

Contrary to what the Romanian official told you, you do need a visa to enter the UK.* Because your wife is Romanian and you live in Romania, what you have is probably a regular Romanian residence permit, not a residence card for "members of the family of an EU citizen" (or "article 10 residence card"). You can therefore be required to apply for a visa to enter the UK, depending on your citizenship (Egyptian citizens need one). However, if, for some reason, you do have an article 10 residence card (e.g. because you previously lived with your wife in another EU country), then you should be able to accompany your wife to the UK without a visa.

But the advice from the British embassy was not very helpful. Whether you need a visa or not, since your wife is an EU citizen and EU law still fully applies to the UK in spite of the recent referendum, you are covered by the EU freedom of movement. This means that the right visa for you is the EEA family permit. That's good because it should be easier to obtain and is much cheaper than, e.g., the 'family of a settled person' visa (i.e. 0 vs. GBP 1000+).