I have applied for pre-settled status using the online EU settlement application process as the non-EU spouse of an EU national. My wife's status is complicated (she was born in Northern Ireland and holds an Irish passport and identifies as Irish). We have returned from Australia to live in NI and I submitted my application in early Dec. 2019. I completed my biometrics and received my COA in mid December 2019. That's it, nothing since.
I've phoned the Home Office at least 8 times since February but feel like I'm getting nowhere.
That is, until I said I wanted to make a formal complaint, around the middle of May. I received what read like a standard pro-forma response to the complaint, stating that they are still completing checks on my application, sorry for delay etc etc.
However, a few days later, just last week, they emailed me asking for additional information regarding my wife's parents' status at the time of her birth;
- Mother & Father's DOB;
Places of birth;
Nationalities;
Marital Status;
We are now concerned that the Home Office will use my wife's parents' status as a reason to reject my application. Both of them were born in N Ireland.
We have heard about the Emma de Souza case which is similar to ours (her spouse is American and she successfully fought an initial decision to deny her the right to apply for settlement for him, as an EU citizen herself) She fought and was successful in her argument that she had the right to identify as Irish under the Good Friday Agreement and didn't need to renounce British citizenship before re-applying as Irish.
We are wary still, because even though Mrs de Souza has got what she wanted, I read a BBC article stating that this law is effective from August 2020 until June 2021. Perhaps my application will not have this new change applied?
Does anyone have any insight in to mine or similar cases or have any experience of same?
Please excuse such a long first post - thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and respond!
