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From my understanding, my non-EU husband is allowed to travel with me (British citizen, living and working in France since 2010) to the UK without a visa or family permit, because he holds an article 10 residence card stating 'family member of...'.

Does this rule apply when traveling to London from Paris via Eurostar? I have read various comments from people saying that the Eurostar is not considered an official port of entry to the UK and so the border agents will not allow article 10 residence card holders to enter. Bear in mind that these comments are from 2013.

We plan to travel at the end of February with our 5-month-old baby (British passport holder). We will be taking our multilingual French marriage certificate as proof he is my spouse, and a letter from my employer (stating I am employed but currently on maternity leave) and my work contract as proof I have been exercising, and still exercise, my treaty rights in an EU member state.

If anyone has any experience from a previous trip, some reassurance would be welcome.

Thank you for any advice or answers.

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3 Answers 3

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Any border checkpoint is "official", so what those people said was wrong.

By default, your husband only needs to show his passport and Article 10 card, so although you should definitely bring the other documents in case they question your relationship, don't present them all upfront to avoid paper clutter.

So in essence, you'll be fine.

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  • "by default": by what default? The UK clearly expects people traveling with article 10 cards to be able to prove their relationship when entering the country.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 16:24
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    @phoog Be able to on request, but you're not expected to present a marriage certificate automatically. Confirmed to me on the phone by the UK Border force as well as by a user here on TS.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 17:37
  • Anyone who appears at the border hoping to use an article 10 card without proof of relationship risks delays and indeed refusal of entry. The police rarely check my driver's license, but I never drive without it. Note the word "need" in Evidence you need to bring in addition.... So "by default" he need not show it, but he does need to have it.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 20:28
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    @phoog "So "by default" he need not show it, but he does need to have it" Which is essentially what I said
    – Crazydre
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 21:00
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A follow up to my question

We travelled at the end of February via Eurostar from Paris to London without a problem.

The border agent said that we "were really supposed to have a Family Permit" and we politely replied that given my husband's Article 10 residence card, he no longer needed a Family Permit. The border agent then asked me if I worked and lived in France and if we were married. I responded yes and she stamped my husband's passport for entrance into the UK. We were not asked to show any documents.

Hope this information is useful to anyone wishing to travel with an Article 10 residence card.

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  • What kind of stamp did he get? Article 10 card holders aren't meant to be stamped at all.
    – Crazydre
    Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 13:06
  • It is a stamp that says 'Admitted to the UK under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016' and another stamp with the date and the number of the border agent.
    – BB123
    Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 13:20
  • @BB123 the 2016 regulations mentioned on that stamp in fact state that officers must not stamp the passports of those with "qualifying EEA state residence cards" or words to that effect. So the border agent was obviously not familiar with the application of those regulations to such people.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 14:57
  • She actually called her superiour who then brought the stamp. I wasn't aware the stamp wasn't necessary but on reflection we were quite happy/reassured my husband had some kind of official proof in his passport that he had been lawfully admitted to the UK.
    – BB123
    Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 15:19
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    It's not so much that the stamp isn't necessary as that the immigration officers violated the regulations by applying it, as well as violating the EU directive on which the regulations are based. If I recall correctly, the regulations use the exact words "must not." It has little practical consequence for you, however; as far as I can tell it's a quirk of European legal reasoning. Perhaps @Coke has more thoughts on the matter.
    – phoog
    Commented Mar 17, 2018 at 20:10
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I was denied boarding the eurostar in Brussel midi even though am holding an article 10 residence permit.

the officer asked relationship proof and we showed our Belgian legal cohabition certificate. the officer said that's not recognise for British. so he denied boarding even if it was only one day travel. my girlfriend is polish and I am from ivory coast Africa. we are living together in Belgium for 3 years.

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  • Perhaps you should take this up with SOLVIT.
    – phoog
    Commented Sep 10, 2018 at 17:29

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