EUSS/EEA family permit vs residence permit

I am an EU citizen with EUSS settled status in the UK. My non-EEA wife is outside the UK, applying for the EU/EEA family permit (FP):

https://www.gov.uk/family-permit/eu-set ... ily-permit

As I understand, the FP is more of an entry clearance to join me in the UK (after our marriage) which is valid only for 6 months. So, before it expires, we must apply for a residence permit.

Can somebody clarify which route would that be? "UK residence card" seems to be EEA(FM) which will cease to be valid after Brexit:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... ligibility

Instead, she would need to apply via EUSS:

https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-ci ... ss-citizen

Is my understanding correct? Does it mean that she will need to submit all the documents twice (for FP and then again, upon arrival to the UK, for the residence permit)? Will she get a BRP with EUSS?

It is not clear to me why the residence card could not be obtained with a single application.. or could it?

Thanks.

Hi,

I am\was going through the same procedure myself.

Yes, you are right that the first step is either EEA FP or EU Settlement visa (not sure re the name). I applied for the first one as this is within EU rules and it was more straightforward.

I received 6 months entry clearance, which gave me the right to enter (multiple) to UK, and other rights basically the same as my husband (EU citizen) has in UK.

Second step is to apply for something longer in UK. They say that as a wife of EEA citizen (direct family member) I'm not obliged to apply for residency card, but this is easier to prove my status. At the end of the day, yes, you need to apply as once 6 months period is over, your wife will unlikely be allowed on the plane to UK without physical proof of her right to be in UK. I assume possible problems with work too.

Now, at the moment there are 2 routes for application:

1) old - EEA2 card (and later apply for pre-settled status)
2) new - EU settlement scheme card

There is a topic here summarizing all pros and cons of both. Most important for me is that new option is UK immigration law only, thus is not giving me any freebies re EU Schengen travelling.

Set of papers for EEA and EEA2 are not quite the same (but has a lot of common re sponsor info). For EEA the main focus is to prove your relationship is geniune, whereas for EEA2 I was focusing on confirmation of my address in UK (and the fact that we live together with my husband).

Yes, your wife will get a BRC in both cases.

I hope it helps

Thanks, it helps!

Can you point me to that topic summarizing the pros and cons?

I understand that the EEA2/EEA(FM) route is based on the EU regulations and its residence card is recognized by other EU states. However, this route will be closed after Brexit and it is not clear yet whether the UK-issued cards will be valid or recognized by the EU.

agnetha007 wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 10, 2019 6:13 pm

Thanks, it helps!

Can you point me to that topic summarizing the pros and cons?

I understand that the EEA2/EEA(FM) route is based on the EU regulations and its residence card is recognized by other EU states. However, this route will be closed after Brexit and it is not clear yet whether the UK-issued cards will be valid or recognized by the EU.

This is the topic that I was referring to:
eea-route-applications/eea-rc-pr-vs-pre ... 81827.html

I decided to apply for the "old" EEA2 route as it gives me the option to travel to Europe with my husband visa free. Well, for now at least, we'll see what future brings.