Non-EU national with EU Settlement Scheme discontinues his/her marriage to the EU sponsor

Hi Everyone just want to share the information regarding

A Non-EU national who has been granted leave under the EU Settlement Scheme discontinues his/her marriage to the EU sponsor.

Got this from Home office hope it will help some of our members.


1. A Non-EU national who has been granted leave under the EU Settlement Scheme discontinues his/her marriage to the EU sponsor. Am I correct to assume that this would not affect the legal immigration status of the sponsored individual?

2. In addition to the following question, is there a requirement to inform the Home Office of the fact that a divorce is taking place?

3. When the said Non-EU national decides to apply for naturalisation would there be any consequences of the fact that the relationship to the original EU sponsor has ended?

4. If the divorce is not an obstacle, then is the residency requirement still set at 5+1 years?


Your request has been handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”). I confirm that the Home Office holds the information you have requested.
Section 21(1) of the Act exempts the Home Office from having to provide information to a requestor where it is reasonably accessible to them.
As the information is available in guidance published by the Home Office, I consider it is already reasonably accessible to you. Consequently, s.21(1) of the Act exempts the Home Office from being required to disclose this information. However, under my duty under s.16 of the Act, I will provide some further advice in response to the questions you raise:


1. A Non-EU national who has been granted leave under the EU Settlement Scheme discontinues his/her marriage to the EU sponsor. Am I correct to assume that this would not affect the legal immigration status of the sponsored individual?

If a person has been granted settled status (i.e. indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK) under the EU Settlement Scheme, their status will not be affected if their marriage to an EEA citizen is terminated.
However, paragraph EU4 of Appendix EU to the UK’s Immigration Rules states that a person with pre-settled status (i.e. limited leave to enter or remain under the EU Settlement Scheme) must either:
• continue to meet the eligibility requirements for that leave which they met at the date of application (except for any which related to their dependency as a child, dependent parent or dependent relative); or
• meet other eligibility requirements for limited leave to enter or remain in accordance with paragraph EU14
in order for their residence to count towards a five-year continuous qualifying period for applying for settled status.
Where applicable, this includes any requirement to be a family member of a relevant EEA citizen. If the marriage or civil partnership has ended, a non-EEA national former family member will only continue to meet the requirements for holding their pre-settled status where they satisfy the requirements for retaining a right of residence.
Further information on these requirements can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... r-guidance.


2. In addition to the following question, is there a requirement to inform the Home
Office of the fact that a divorce is taking place?


There is no requirement for an individual to inform the Home Office that a divorce is taking place. It remains the responsibility of the individual to ensure they have a lawful basis on which to remain in the UK.

3. When the said Non-EU national decides to apply for naturalisation would there be any consequences of the fact that the relationship to the original EU sponsor has ended?


The British Nationality Act 1981 requires an applicant, under section 6(2), to be married or in a civil partnership with a British citizen on the date of application. If that relationship has not been formally terminated, they can still apply under 6(2).
A person who is not married to a British citizen can apply under section 6(1) if they meet the residence requirements based on a period of lawful residence in the UK of five years including being settled, and without excess absences.

4. If the divorce is not an obstacle, then is the residency requirement still set at 5+1 years?


Guidance on applying for citizenship if you have settled status (or another form of indefinite leave to enter or remain) can be found below:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-in ... -to-remain

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to foirequests@homeoffice.gov.uk, quoting reference 59132. If you ask for an internal review, it would be helpful if you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.
As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request would be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you were to remain dissatisfied after an internal review, you would have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the FOIA.
Yours sincerely
European Migration Policy Team
BICS Policy and International Group