Non eu marriage breakdown

Hi,

I am a Non EU national with a EU settled status, I am currently going through a divorce with my EU national wife. The questions I want to ask are, will the divorce affect my Settled status in the UK and do I need to notify the home office regarding our divorce?

Thank you

Hello,

You have a Settled Status. It's like having a "permanent residence". That residence doesn't depend on you being married, having an employment or anything of that nature. You can stay in the UK on your own right married or not.

You don't need to inform the Home Office.

Hello Zerubbabel,

Thank for your reply.

The reason why I posted the questions above was because I was recently questioned by the border force officer regarding my status, and he said that it was dependent on my spouse and my status will only last till the end of 2024 as per expiry date of my BRC. I explained the reason behind the expiry as proving immigration status will be digital and I was totally ignored. Your reply really gave me peace of mind.

Thank you once again.

It is worth noting that UK Border Force officers are not always familiar with the finer details of UK immigration rules. EU Settled Status is a form of ILR - Indefinite Leave to Remain. There is no dependent concept for ILR - if you have it you are basically free from immigration time restrictions - the officer explained it incorrectly, the card expiring doesn't mean the status expires.

I don't why, it seems a classic question they ask at the border.

My wife has a Settled Status and literally every time she lands at Heathrow, they ask the same questions: how come you have this status? Are you married? And sometimes: are you still with your husband/sponsor?

These questions make no sense as she could be divorced, separated or anything else, that doesn't affect her settled status.

But as alterhase58 said, many aren't familiar with immigration law and seem just to say random things to engage conversation more than anything else.