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I am not from EU. I have Spanish partner and we live in Spain and, because of our official relationship, I have a Spanish family resident permit. We are going to travel to the UK together for tourism. I am confused whether I need an EEA family permit or not.

I will not live there and I'm going to travel with my partner. I was told that I don't need a visa, that showing our civil union document will be sufficent. Is this correct, or do I need a visa to enter the UK?

enter image description hereThank you so much for your answer. Let me give you more detail.

I hold Turkish citizenship.

My resident card exactly says that Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen " tarjeta de familiar de la union.

my case is like For example, a non-EEA spouse of a German national living in Germany will usually hold a residence permit issued under German domestic law. Therefore, a United Kingdom EEA family permit is required for travel and entry to the UK , therefore I should consider that I need to EEA Family Permit even if for touristic trip with my partner.

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This answer assumes that you are not a citizen of any country whose nationals are allowed to travel to the UK without a visa. If you are a citizen of such a country, then you of course don't need a visa, but in that case you probably wouldn't have asked this question.

Your civil union document will not by itself exempt you from a visa. You can use it in combination with your residence card, however, if and only if your residence card says that it is the "residence card of a family member of an EU citizen" or words to that effect.

Because your card does say that, as shown in the image you've added, you can use it to travel to the UK without a visa. To do so, you should follow the procedures on the page about entering the UK as the holder of an article 10 residence card. Salient bits:

An Article 10 residence card should feature the wording “Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen”.

Another document, “Permanent Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen” issued under Article 20 of the Directive is also acceptable.

Documents issued on any other basis, for example (biometric) residence permits issued under the national law of another Member State are not acceptable and do not exempt the holder from the requirement to obtain an EEA family permit.

For example, a non-EEA spouse of a German national living in Germany will usually hold a residence permit issued under German domestic law. Therefore, a United Kingdom EEA family permit is required for travel and entry to the UK.

Also:

A valid, genuine Article 10 (or Article 20) residence card allows the non-EEA national family member of an EEA national to travel to the UK without the requirement to obtain an EEA family permit.

However, in order to be admitted to the UK you will need to demonstrate that you have a right of admission under EU law. Without evidence that you have a right of admission, you will not be allowed to enter to the UK on the basis of your residence card.

Finally:

In order to be admitted to the UK, we would expect to see the following in addition to your valid residence card:

  • your valid passport
  • evidence that you are the family member of an EEA national (for example, your marriage certificate or birth certificate)
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  • The example is confusing. I would expect the non-EEA spouse of the German national living in German NOT needing to have a UK EEA family permit.
    – Paul Praet
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 19:10
  • @PaulPraet it's not my example; it's the UK government's example. In any event, I don't see what is confusing about it; a non-EEA spouse of a German living in Germany normally won't have an article 10 or 20 residence card. Without one, such a person needs an EEA family permit to travel to the UK under freedom of movement with the German citizen.
    – phoog
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 19:23
  • Why wouldn't the spouse have such a card ? I am a Belgian national living together with my Chinese wife in Belgium. Her Belgian ID card clearly mentions she is 'a relative of a EU citizen'.
    – Paul Praet
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 20:32
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    @PaulPraet because the directive does not concern family members of EU citizens living in their own countries. These come under national law. See service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/305289 about family "von Deutschen oder Ausländern" (of Germans and foreigners) vs service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326235/concerning "von Bürgern der EU (außer Deutschland) und des EWR" (of citizens of the EU (except Germany) and the EEA). (Italy and Spain and, I guess, Belgium, at least, choose to extend these rights to their citizens' families, but many countries, including Germany, do not.)
    – phoog
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 20:38
  • OK. So when my wife and I go to the UK, she only needs to bring her Belgian ID card and some proof of our marriage ?
    – Paul Praet
    Commented May 12, 2017 at 20:59

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