Enter to UK with EEA wife as non EAA [duplicate]

I am from Turkey and I am married to a Spanish woman. We live in Spain and I have Family Resident Card issued by the Spanish authorities. We are going to the UK for a 4-day trip. I applied for an EEA family permit but was told that it can take more than 4 weeks to be issued. Our trip is in 20 days.

My wife said that, if I don't receive before we leave, we can go to the airport, taking our marriage document with the official translation, and try to travel without the visa. She believes that I have the right to travel with her anywhere in the EU and they can't refuse me entry.

Is this accurate or is it a big risk? She claims that I could be stopped at the border, but they have to let me enter after questioning me.

Best Answer

This answer assumes that you are holding either Article 10 or 20 residence card.

As a holder of residence card either under Article 10 or 20 of directive 2004/38 known as "Free Movement Directive" you are indeed free to travel to any EEA member country as long as your EEA family member, in this case your wife, accompanies you and you have appropriate documents with you. What you need to bring is evidence that you have the right of admission under EU law, which means that you must bring with you:

your residence card
your passport
evidence of your ties to an EEA national you are travelling with, in your case that will be a marriage certificate

It is also worth adding that you can travel without being accompanied by a family member from EEA as long as you can bring supporting evidence that this person is lawfully in the UK already.

To also clarify some of your worries, the police is usually not involved in immigration matters - the border security is. And if they think that there is something not right they may indeed detain and question you to clarify anything they may find suspicious. That is also why it's best to apply for the family permit well before travelling, as application costs nothing and it reduces the possibility of that happening.

With a bit of luck your family permit will arrive before you depart, but if not then as long as your situation is genuine and you carry the required documents you shouldn't have any problems at the border.

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Can I travel with my non-EU spouse to UK?

Travel to the UK If you have UK Settled or Pre-Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you can continue to enter the UK with a valid passport or identity card. Your non-EU family members who also have UK settled or pre-settled status can enter the UK with a valid passport.

Can EEA family member travel to UK?

If you're an EU , EEA or Swiss citizenEU , EEA and Swiss citizens can travel to the UK for holidays or short trips without needing a visa. In other cases, find out if you need to apply for a visa to enter the UK .

Can I enter UK with ID card after Brexit?

From 1 October 2021 you need a valid passport to travel to the United Kingdom (UK). If you become a UK resident on or before 31 December 2020, you can continue to use your ID card to travel between the Netherlands and the UK until at least the end of 2025.

Can I travel alone to UK with EEA Family Permit?

As Aviatrix says, under EU law a non-EU dependent relative of an EU national (such as a spouse) can travel alone to meet that relative if they are already in the UK. That applies if the dependent has an EEA Family permit or an Article 10 / Article 20 card supplemented by a marriage certificate.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Vlada Karpovich, Peter Fleming, Thành Đỗ, Bulat Khamitov