Time limit on Surinder Singh rule?

I'm just curious: what is the time limit for a person to bring a family member over to the UK on the Surinder Singh rule?

If you are, for instance, a French national living in the UK, you could have been here for decades and as long as you have your French passport, you can bring your spouse/family member over to the UK on an EEA FP.

If you are a British national, coming back from another EU country and bringing your family members with you- that's okay, too, you do the same as above.

What if you are a British national who'd lived and worked in France, and had been back in Britain for years- would you still be allowed to sponser a spouse/family member under the EU rules?

Somehow, I think not, but I'm not sure why.

I think the reason why not relates to the fact that the family member was not exercising EU Treaty Rights, when you were exercising EU Treaty Rights. That is, as I understand it, in order for Surinder Singh to apply, you have got to have been exercising EU Treaty Rights, and been economically active, and at the same time your family member has been there with you, and thus is also exercising EU Treaty Rights, on the back of your rights.

Platinum wrote: What if you are a British national who'd lived and worked in France, and had been back in Britain for years- would you still be allowed to sponser a spouse/family member under the EU rules?

Not unless you had become a French citizen in that time period.

If you are, for instance, a French national living in the UK, you could have been here for decades and as long as you have your French passport, you can bring your spouse/family member over to the UK on an EEA FP.

If you are a British national, coming back from another EU country and bringing your family members with you- that's okay, too, you do the same as above.

I thought the rules for UK citizens as apposed to Eu citizens were different for bringing their spouse to UK?

Im british does that mean I can bring my albanian spouse back to UK on the EEA FP which we are getting from Greece as we currently residing in Greece without having to apply at the British embassy?

I thought UK had opted out of this free movement business.

That is, as I understand it, in order for Surinder Singh to apply, you have got to have been exercising EU Treaty Rights, and been economically active, and at the same time your family member has been there with you, and thus is also exercising EU Treaty Rights, on the back of your rights.

That does make some sense, John. I guess that's the correct way to look at it. I knew it wouldn't work- I just couldn't figure out why not.

xhesika, yes, it does mean you can bring your Albanian spouse back to the UK with you under EU rules, if you've both been living in Greece. I am married to a UK citizen and we've moved back to the UK from Ireland using the Surinder Singh rule. You do still have to apply for an EEA FP from the British Embassy, though.

Platinum wrote:

That is, as I understand it, in order for Surinder Singh to apply, you have got to have been exercising EU Treaty Rights, and been economically active, and at the same time your family member has been there with you, and thus is also exercising EU Treaty Rights, on the back of your rights.

That does make some sense, John. I guess that's the correct way to look at it. I knew it wouldn't work- I just couldn't figure out why not.

xhesika, yes, it does mean you can bring your Albanian spouse back to the UK with you under EU rules, if you've both been living in Greece. I am married to a UK citizen and we've moved back to the UK from Ireland using the Surinder Singh rule. You do still have to apply for an EEA FP from the British Embassy, though.

Platinum........I love you!! thankyou for your answer, it was what I have been searching for, for weeks! its nice to hear a success story too

xhesika wrote:Im british does that mean I can bring my albanian spouse back to UK on the EEA FP which we are getting from Greece as we currently residing in Greece without having to apply at the British embassy?

Yes, you should be able to, if you have been in Greece for at least 6 months, and you have been working there (or exercising other community rights). It may take some convincing, but you should get the EEA FP in the end.

I thought UK had opted out of this free movement business.

The UK opted out of Schengen, which is the abolishment of internal boarder checks, combined with an alignment (and simplification?) of visa policies. But the right of free movement is one of the four freedoms that form the heart of the European union. It goes all the way back to the treaty of Rome, although there have been refinements over time. There is no way to opt out of this.

thsths thankyou for your reply, I think today has been a good day so far! i have been searching on here for weeks and today two replies come at once...... sorry host lets not hijack this poster's topic, I have my own topics somewhere on this board although beats me as to where they are!!!

xhesika wrote:thankyou for your reply, I think today has been a good day so far! i have been searching on here for weeks and today two replies come at once

Just to give you a pointer for further information: the right of a UK citizen to use the European right of free movement to get family members back into the UK was established in the court room. The case is called "Surinder Singh", after the claimant, and therefore the procedure is usually called the Surinder Singh route. It is now part of the official procedures, so it should not be too difficult.

I wonder if there are other E.U countries that have officially recognised this rule in their manuals/rule book?

As far as I know, it's supposed to be recognized across the EU. Whether or not they do...well that's another story lol.

For example, there's nothing about it on the INIS site, (unlike the UK site which explains it in a good bit of detail) so about 8 months or so ago, I emailed the DOJ about it. They said they would pass along my inquiry to the EU section, but I never got a reply back.

thsths wrote:Im british does that mean I can bring my albanian spouse back to UK on the EEA FP which we are getting from Greece as we currently residing in Greece without having to apply at the British embassy?


Yes, you should be able to, if you have been in Greece for at least 6 months, and you have been working there (or exercising other community rights). It may take some convincing, but you should get the EEA FP in the end.

Can your spouse get a Greek passport?

You definitely can use the EEA rules if you have been living in Greece for the required time, but you do need to be aware of the longer waiting time towards British citizenship, which means no British passport in the meantime etc.