EEA Family Permit (unmarried partner) to EUSS pre-settled status

Dear people,

My question is regarding of applying EU settlement scheme from EEA family permit as an unmarried partner.

Below are some background information of me and my partner:

• I’m a Taiwanese national and my partner is a Portuguese national with EU settled status.

• We have a joint account since 01/2017.

• Relationship timeline:

• 1. 01/2016-08/2017 (1.5 year) cohabited in UK
  2. 208/2017~ my partner in UK and I relocated to Taiwan for work and a family issue. But we met each other 3 times every year
  3. 05/2019 we handed marriage notice in UK when I was working with Tier 2-ICT and the last day to get married is 31st May 2020
  4. 11/2019 we got officially engaged (with a ring) in Japan

I got my EEA family permit as an unmarried partner in February and the expiry date is 3rd Aug 2020 in Taiwan, even though we were being apart and didn’t cohabited for two years. I was planing to fly to UK in April, get married in May and apply for EU settlement scheme which were also stated in my application of EEA family permit.

However, considering the COVID-19 situation, I would like to postpone my flight to UK to maybe June or July. Then, I will need to give the marriage notice again since the previous notice only allow us to get married before 31st May. But then, I might not have enough time to give notice and get married before the permit expires.

Some have suggested me to apply for EU pre-settled status as an unmarried partner first and plan for the wedding after. However, to apply EU pre-settled status as an unmarried partner and prove the durable relationship, HO website states to provide evidences of either living together for the past 2 years, joint finance or children, which I am not sure if my status above are sufficient enough to prove this (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settleme ... eu-citizen). Even though some said if I got my EEA family permit as an unmarried partner, I shouldn’t have worried if I couldn’t apply EU pre-settled status. But I’m still not 100% sure of it.

So my question is, based on my situation above, will it be sufficient enough to prove our durable relationship to apply for EU pre-settled status?
If so, which documents should I provide other than EEA family permit when applying for EU settlement scheme?

Any comment are highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ann

annwu wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:44 pm

If so, which documents should I provide other than EEA family permit when applying for EU settlement scheme?

The same documents you supplied to get your EEA FP.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:35 pm

annwu wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:44 pm

If so, which documents should I provide other than EEA family permit when applying for EU settlement scheme?

The same documents you supplied to get your EEA FP.

And maybe similar documents covering also the additional month that has passed since.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:35 pm

annwu wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:44 pm

If so, which documents should I provide other than EEA family permit when applying for EU settlement scheme?

The same documents you supplied to get your EEA FP.

Thanks Kamoe. So do you think my case should have a good chance?

The documents I submitted for my EEA FP are so many that might take up to 70 pages. I was using the scanning service of VFS in Taipei. I'm not sure if all these documents are small enough to be uploaded to the EU settlement scheme application website :/

annwu wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:45 pm

The documents I submitted for my EEA FP are so many that might take up to 70 pages.

You probably did not need most of what you submitted.

You have a limit of about 12 documents for the EUSS, so be selective.

What was the bulk of the 70 pages, if I may ask? Really just take a few of each kind of document, you do not need every single piece of evidence, just evidence that is evenly spread over the two previous years.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:27 pm

You probably did not need most of what you submitted.

You have a limit of about 12 documents for the EU Settlement Scheme, so be selective.

What was the bulk of the 70 pages, if I may ask? Really just take a few of each kind of document, you do not need every single piece of evidence, just evidence that is evenly spread over the two previous years.

Hi Kamoe, the below are the list of documents I provided,

CONSET LETTERS AND PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP
1. Tenancy agreement evidence of cohabitation (01/2016-08/2017)
2. Council tax evidence of cohabitation (06/2016-08/2017)
3. Marriage notice approval letters (06/2019)
4. Joint account balance of the past 6 months (07/2019-12/2019)
5. Relationship timeline
6. Photos (01/2016-11/2019)
7. Travel documents (while being in long distance relationship)
8. Cards and postcards (while being in long distance relationship)
9. Shared spreadsheet (it's a google spreadsheet we shared out schedule and plans)
10. WhatsApp chat log (while being in long distance relationship)

I must say the chat log and travel documents take half of the total pages. When I submitted my EEA FP, I've attached all evidence through the entire relationship. I'm not sure it's because of that so I was granted with the permit. So I'm afraid the evidence of the past 2 years as in a long distance relationship can be challenged since the viewer can't see the whole picture...

Hi Kamoe,

Thanks for the information.

I'm currently holding EEA Family Permit as an unmarried partner and entered the UK in end-Aug 2020. The EEA FP expires in end-Dec 2020.

Just wondering if I can apply for directly EUSS by using my EEA Family Permit as the core evidence. My lawyer suggested me to apply for EEA (EFM) RC first and then EUSS pre-settled status. After seeing your post, I'm a bit worried and I'm not sure if the EEA Family Permit is sufficient enough as we didn't cohabitate for the past 2 years. Thanks in advanced!

Best wishes,
Ann

Hi all,

I'm non-EU national currently holding EEA Family Permit as an unmarried partner, despite the fact that my EU fiance and I didn't cohabitate for the past 2 years. I used the EEA FP to enter the UK in end-Aug 2020 and it will expire in end-Dec 2020.

Just wondering if I can apply for EUSS directly by using my EEA Family Permit as the relevant document, plus joint account statement and marriage notice. But I'm not sure if these evidences are enough as we didn't cohabitate for the past 2 years.

Meanwhile, my lawyer suggested me to apply for EEA (EFM) RC first and then EUSS pre-settled status. But I'm a bit worried since we are running out of time to get the EEA (EFM) RC before 31 Dec 2020 as stated in one post in the forum (eea-route-applications/world-of-caution ... l#p1940659). Please can anyone advise or if someone has been through the same situation.

Best wishes,
Ann

annwu wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 24, 2020 5:20 pm

I'm currently holding EEA Family Permit as an unmarried partner and entered the UK in end-Aug 2020. The EEA FP expires in end-Dec 2020.

For the purposes of the Settlement Scheme, your Family Permit puts you in a better position than someone who only has leave under other immigration routes, like the Tier system (work and study visas, for example). I wrote this post mainly to caution those people, who have never held any document issued under EEA rules.

I understand that from the moment you are issued even a Family Permit, you can call yourself a family member, as your unmarried partner relationship has been recognized/received a seal of approval from the Home Office. I should have clarified that in my post: Recognized start date of unmarried partner relationship is the date of issue of any EEA document issued on the basis of that relationship, be it a Residence Card or a Family Permit.

You should be fine.

Just wondering if I can apply for directly EUSS by using my EEA Family Permit as the core evidence.

From the information available, it looks like you can: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settleme ... eu-citizen

If you’re their unmarried (durable) partner

You must hold a relevant document issued to you under the EEA Regulations on the basis that you’re the durable partner of an EEA or Swiss citizen or person of Northern Ireland.

A relevant document here includes:

a family permit
a residence card

The above is listed under "Documents you must provide to show evidence of your relationship" so my interpretation is that a Family Permit can be presented as the core evidence.

You cannot apply through the app though, since you do not have a biometric card. You would need to select another option (I think "Online+post" is called. The application will guide you).

My lawyer suggested me to apply for EEA (EFM) RC first and then EUSS pre-settled status.

This made sense last year, as the EEA (EFM) RC card would still be valid for at least a year and would have given you some benefits, like the ability to visit EU countries without a visa. For a while and up until January this year I generally made the case for applying for it, whenever people asked if it was worth it.

But as of the third quarter of this year, and considering the waiting line seems to be long, no one is likely not get this card in 2020 if they apply now. Which means you will not benefit from it at all before it is already expired.

The other benefit of having this card is that you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme via the app. But... the inconvenience offsets the benefits, since to get the EEA RC you would need to give biometrics, and go through all the wait, which is not too dissimilar to applying directly to the EU Settlement Scheme.

After seeing your post, I'm a bit worried and I'm not sure if the EEA Family Permit is sufficient enough

Again, my post was not directed towards people who already had some form of EEA-issued document.

we didn't cohabitate for the past 2 years.

I understand unmarried partner applications are treated on a case-by-case basis, and it is not absolutely necessary to have cohabited for two years to be granted the card. I take that your case was strong enough for the Home Office to grant you the Family Permit with less than 2 years, so as long as you provide evidence that you still continue to cohabitate, and evidence of yours and your partner's identity and nationality, and providing the Family Permit, there is no reason they would U-turn in a decision they already made.

Just out of curiosity: How long did it take you to get a Family Permit, and in which country you got it? As you can guess, obtaining a Family Permit abroad (if waiting times are shorter) might be a solution for people affected by the possible limbo scenario above.

annwu wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:45 pm

Just wondering if I can apply for EUSS directly by using my EEA Family Permit as the relevant document, plus joint account statement and marriage notice. But I'm not sure if these evidences are enough as we didn't cohabitate for the past 2 years.

As per my comments on your other post, seems like answer is Yes.

Full answer in the other post here.

Thank you very much for the reply, Kamoe! I've read most of your posts and found them very helpful.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 25, 2020 7:45 am

This made sense last year, as the EEA (EFM) RC card would still be valid for at least a year and would have given you some benefits, like the ability to visit EU countries without a visa. For a while and up until January this year I generally made the case for applying for it, whenever people asked if it was worth it.

But as of the third quarter of this year, and considering the waiting line seems to be long, no one is likely not get this card in 2020 if they apply now. Which means you will not benefit from it at all before it is already expired.

The other benefit of having this card is that you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme via the app. But... the inconvenience offsets the benefits, since to get the EEA RC you would need to give biometrics, and go through all the wait, which is not too dissimilar to applying directly to the EU Settlement Scheme.

My lawyer hasn't replied my email of asking whether it's better to apply for EUSS directly for two days. Not sure if it's because he won't get the fee if I decided to apply for EUSS but not EEA (EFM) RC . Anyway, I think I'll wait to receive my marriage notice confirmation letter first and apply for EUSS pre-settled. Thank you for the advice once again.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 25, 2020 7:45 am

Just out of curiosity: How long did it take you to get a Family Permit, and in which country you got it? As you can guess, obtaining a Family Permit abroad (if waiting times are shorter) might be a solution for people affected by the possible limbo scenario above.

I applied from Taiwan. I actually applied twice and received the EEA FP twice. I applied the first one in Jan and it took less than 15 working days. However, as the covid pandemic hit Europe hard, my flight got cancelled twice and I couldn't fly to the UK before the first EEA FP expired. Then, I applied for the second on in June and it took less than 15 working days again. My understanding of the process is that my passport was posted to Manila by VFS and all scanned documents are reviewed online from Sheffield. Hope this will help.

Thank you very much!

Merging the two topics so that all the responses are in one thread/topic.

Hi guys,

Just a follow-up question. So I've applied for the EUSS pre-settled and received CoA two days ago. However, I still find it a bit confusing. Does that me I can still work and stay in the country after my EEA family permit expires on 22/12/2020 while I am still waiting for the decision? Thanks in advanced.

Yes, you can still live and work in the United Kingdom after your family permit expires. I will like to ask, which method did you use to apply? Is it with the app or online+post and did they request that you send them the original passport or a photocopy, thank you.