Can I apply for settled status?

I was originally married to an EU national and had 5 years visa from 2013 to 2018. the married did not work out and we got divorced. I met someone else and we got married. My second spouse is also from EU and when my 5 years visa was about my lawyer advised me to apply for another 5 years visa based on my second marriage. So we did and they gave me another 5 years visa. When UK left Europe, I applied to the EU settlement scheme in 2021 and they gave me only pre-settled status. When I queried it they said that I have been with my second wife for less than 5 years and so not eligible for settled status. I told them that when I applied the application suggested that I will be getting settled status based on my NI history and being in the country legally for more than 7 years but they said that I have to wait until 5 years has elapsed after my second married before I can qualify for settled status. has anyone been in a situation like this? Does anyone know if they are correct in what they said because the Gov website says you qualify for settled status if you have been continuously residing in the UK for more than 5 years which I have been legally.

You need to complete five years on pre-settled status - not sure you can take periods from immigration visas to make up the five years required for Settled Status. Others with more insight will probably comment further on the options that may be available to you.

lolobobo2022 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 09, 2022 1:44 pm

I was originally married to an EU national and had 5 years visa from 2013 to 2018. the married did not work out and we got divorced.

Do you mean you had a EEA residence card as the family member of a EU national between 2013-2018 by virtue of that marriage?
When did you get divorced?

I met someone else and we got married.

How long were you divorced for? (how much time between your divorce and your second marriage?)
What was your immigration status during that time? Did you have another visa?

My second spouse is also from EU and when my 5 years visa was about my lawyer advised me to apply for another 5 years visa based on my second marriage. So we did and they gave me another 5 years visa.
When UK left Europe, I applied to the EU settlement scheme in 2021 and they gave me only pre-settled status. When I queried it they said that I have been with my second wife for less than 5 years and so not eligible for settled status.

Sounds correct, since you need to have been in the UK as the family member of a EU national for a continuous period of 5 years, but you broke that period when you got divorced. Hence your clock restarted when you remarried another EU national.

I told them that when I applied the application suggested that I will be getting settled status based on my NI history

The system tells that to everyone who applies and who has a NI record of 5 years or more, but that doesn't mean you are eligible for Settled Status. It only means what it says in the tin: That you have been in the UK for more than 5 years. But that is an automatic system, and it does not know you got divorced, or what other visas you held since. So a human has to verify if you are indeed eligible for Settled Status, and once that happens, it tells you your real entitlement.

and being in the country legally for more than 7 years but they said that I have to wait until 5 years has elapsed after my second married before I can qualify for settled status.

Correct.

has anyone been in a situation like this?

Yes, me, and many other people here. When I was given Pre-Settled Status I had already spent over 8 years in full time employment and paying taxes in the UK. So when I applied, the system said it looked like I was entitled to Settled Status. But I knew they would come and say "Actually no, it's just pre-Settled" because 5 out of those 8 years have ben under the Tier system, not as family member of a EU national. I got pre-settled and had to wait a further 3 years to get Settled.

In your case, I don't know if you had any other type of visa, under the Tier system, or otherwise, but in any case you did break your continuous residence period as a family member because you got divorced (Actually, I fear you might actually have overstayed your status, your EU residence card would have become invalid upon your divorce).

Does anyone know if they are correct in what they said because the Gov website says you qualify for settled status if you have been continuously residing in the UK for more than 5 years which I have been legally.

Those texts oversimplify the rules and are extremely misleading. They assume that whoever is reading the page is obviously a EU national, and don't clarify that different rules apply for non-EU family members of EU nationals (non-EU family members cannot cannot rely on any period of residence, it has to be a period of residence where they were the family member of a EU national).

I think the important issue you should sort out is:
During your first marriage from 2013 to 2018, did you and your first spouse both have lived in UK for more than 5 years? If yes, I think you can perhaps try to apply for a settled status based on your first marriage.
You may need to prove: the date you became married with your first spouse, the date your spouse and you moved to UK, 5 years continuous residence for both of you before you got divorced. If during your first marriage, both of you have lived more than 5 years in UK, I think you may get a settled status based on previous 5 years residence in UK.
The reason why you couldn't get settled status in your application is you only provided evidence related to your 2nd marriage, which has been less than 5 years.
But if everything is ok with you and your second spouse, I think you can just relax and apply for settled status later when your second marriage becomes qualified. Your first marriage may be a backup plan should your second marriage go wrong.

I was originally married to an EU national and had 5 years visa from 2013 to 2018. the marriage did not work out and we got divorced. long story short, I met someone else and we got married. My second spouse is also from EU and when my 5 years visa was about to end my lawyer advised me to apply for another 5 years visa based on my second marriage. So we did and they gave me another 5 years visa. When UK left Europe, I applied to the EU settlement scheme in 2021 and they gave me only pre-settled status. When I queried it they said that I have been with my second wife for less than 5 years and so not eligible for settled status. I told them that when I applied the system suggested that I will be getting settled status based on my NI history and being in the country legally for more than 7 years but they said that I have to wait until 5 years have elapsed after my second married before I can qualify for settled status. has anyone been in a situation like this? Does anyone know if they are correct in what they said because the Gov website says you qualify for settled status if you have been continuously residing in the UK for more than 5 years which I have been legally.

You asked the same question a year ago and were already given advice

Topics merged

Nothing changed for you and kamoe's advice is still relevant. System is oversimplified and don't take into account you being remarried/your previous visas/etc.