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World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Use this section for any queries concerning the EU Settlement Scheme, for applicants holding pre-settled and settled status.

Moderators: Casa, push, JAJ, ca.funke, Amber, zimba, vinny, Obie, EUsmileWEallsmile, batleykhan, meself2, geriatrix, John, ChetanOjha, archigabe

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kamoe
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World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by kamoe » Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:37 pm

I am writing this out of concern for people considering the unmarried/durable partner route, specially those still unfamiliar with the specifics of that route, and who might find themselves in a bit of a limbo after December 31st 2020.

NOTE: This excludes partners of people from Norther Ireland, since these applicants do not need to hold a EEA RC in order to apply to the EUSS, and are given an option for alternative evidence of family relationship. All other applicants do need the EEA RC:

I have sufficient ground to believe that unmarried/durable partners wishing to apply for the EUSS might not be eligible to apply at all, if they do not already have a EEA RC or if they have applied for it just recently.

This is due to a peculiar characteristic of the EEA RC issued to unmarried/durable partners: For unmarried partners, the start date of the family relationship is the date the EEA RC is issued, not the day when they started seeing each other, nor the date when they completed two years of cohabitation.

This might not be intuitive to grasp, but you can think of the EEA RC as a sort of stand-in for a marriage certificate: For married couples the start date of the family relationship is not the date they started seeing each other, nor the date they first moved in together; it is the date they got married. So for unmarried couples, the accepted date of start of relationship follows the same logic, it is the date when an official stamps a seal of approval on their relationship. This is exactly what happens when the Home Office case worker looks at the evidence, accepts it, and the EEA RC card is issued.

According to the more recent timelines, the processing time for EEA applications is reported to be between 6 and 7 months. This means, that any new application submitted today, not yet submitted, or submitted very recently, is unlikely to have an outcome in 2020. And this means, that any EEA RC issued as a result of a new or very recent application is likely going to date the start of the relationship to 2021.

But in order to be eligible to apply for the EUSS, the family relationship needs to have started before December 31st 2020.

See the problem?

I took the time to write to the EU resolution centre, asking the very specific question of eligibility of non-EU citizens who become the famliy member of a EU citizen in 2021 when having lived in the UK before 2020 (This will affect both couples getting married in 2021 and unmarried partners getting their cards issued in 2021). The answer is, as expected, the following:

NOTE: mentions of alternative evidence other than a EEA RC are intended for partners of people from Northern Ireland only. Regretfully this is not made clear in this message.
Dear XXX,

Thank you for your email enquiry dated 4 September 2020 about what the EU Settlement Scheme is and who should apply.

We understand that you wish to know if non-EU applicants can apply after 31 December 2020 as family members of a relevant EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.

In order to apply the relationship needs to have existed prior to the end of December 2020.

They will need to provide proof of their relationship to the EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member - for example, a birth, marriage or civil partnership certificate, or a residence card.

If they do not have a residence card or marriage/civil partnership certificate they can still apply providing they can provide alternative proof of relationship.

For more information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settleme ... eu-citizen

The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021. To apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, they must be resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, after which the new UK immigration system will come into force.

However, some may be able to join their EU family member in the UK after 31 December 2020 in certain circumstances. Please find more information by scrolling to the bottom of the page at https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-ci ... atus-means.

More information about the new UK immigration system will be available from January 2021. You can sign up for email updates at: https://gov.smartwebportal.co.uk/homeof ... id2=F68F68

To keep up to date with developments on the EU Settlement Scheme, you can check GOV.​UK, or sign up for email updates on:
https://gov.smartwebportal.co.uk/homeof ... id2=627DF7

Should you require further information about the EU Settlement Scheme, please go to https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families or alternatively, contact the EU Settlement Resolution Centre by phone on 0300 123 7379 (from inside the UK), 0203 080 0010 (from outside the UK) or by submitting a further question using the online enquiry form https://eu-settled-status-enquiries.ser ... v.uk/start

UKVI is keen to continually review and improve its service to our customers. To help us to do so, we would be grateful if you could complete our customer survey https://homeoffice.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe ... DBhhKZnDW5

Please note we cannot deal with any enquiries/replies sent directly to this mailbox.

Yours sincerely,

F. Martin
EU Settlement Resolution Centre

UK Visas & Immigration
My posts express what I believe are the facts, based on the best of my knowledge, about the topics discussed in this forum. They do not constitute immigration advice.

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Zerubbabel
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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by Zerubbabel » Fri Sep 11, 2020 4:53 pm

Very interesting analysis indeed. I share your concern about this category.

I am EEA. When I married with my non-EEA wife, we've been together for 5 years already. But as far as her immigration status is concerned, the clock starts from the day we sign the Marriages Register. Once that document is issued, we can start talking.

For unmarried couples, seeing each other, knowing each other or being boyfried/girlfriend doesn't open any recognition for the purposes of immigration until an EEA EFM card is issued.

So what happens if someone applies now and gets that card on Jan 30, 2021? My take is that person won't be able to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme.

However, it's possible that by then the Home Office realises this and opens a specific window for this category for as long as people can demonstrate they were in the UK before Dec 31, 2020. But I won't county on it.

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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by Obie » Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:42 pm

The settlement scheme is open till 30th June 2021.

So extended family member who receives residence card in Jan 2021 can apply under it.

The withdrawal agreement makes provision for those extended family member who are dependent or members of the same household to qualify if they applied for facilitation of residence before 31 Dec 2020.
Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors

kamoe
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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by kamoe » Sat Sep 12, 2020 8:47 am

Thanks Obie.
Obie wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:42 pm
The settlement scheme is open till 30th June 2021.

So extended family member who receives residence card in Jan 2021 can apply under it.
Why?

I understand the above applies only if the family relationship started before December 31st 2020. And I understand the start date of the family relationship will be Jan 2021 if they are an unmarried partner and their EEA RC card was issued in Jan 2021. Unless I am misunderstanding what you mean?
The withdrawal agreement makes provision for those extended family member who are dependent or members of the same household to qualify of the apply for facilitation of residence before 31 Dec 2020.
So, does the above mean that there is a way for people to request to expedite the issuing of their EEA RC, to make sure this is issued before Dec 2020, on withdrawal agreement grounds? :?:
My posts express what I believe are the facts, based on the best of my knowledge, about the topics discussed in this forum. They do not constitute immigration advice.

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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by Wochee » Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:25 am

Obie wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:42 pm
The withdrawal agreement makes provision for those extended family member who are dependent or members of the same household to qualify of the apply for facilitation of residence before 31 Dec 2020.
kamoe wrote:
Sat Sep 12, 2020 8:47 am
And I understand the start date of the family relationship will be Jan 2021 if they are an unmarried partner and their EEA RC card was issued in Jan 2021. Unless I am misunderstanding what you mean?
For the benefit of other Internet users arriving here last-minute:

The important post-transition rights guaranteed in the Withdrawal Agreement will be implemented -- specifically, through the changes to the Immigration Rules that take effect on 31 December 2020 at 23:00 GMT, especially in Appendix EU and Appendix FP, and also in Appendix FM.

Under the changes, if the UK-issued "relevant document", such as the EEA family permit or residence card, was issued after 31 December at 11pm based on an application submitted before that time, the durable partner is regarded as having held the document since before 31 December.
Annex 1 - Definitions

durable partner

(a) the person is, or (as the case may be) for the relevant period was, in a durable relationship with a relevant EEA citizen (or, as the case may be, with a qualifying British citizen or with a relevant sponsor), with the couple having lived together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years (unless there is other significant evidence of the durable relationship); and

(b)(i) the person holds a relevant document as the durable partner of the relevant EEA citizen (or, as the case may be, of the qualifying British citizen or of the relevant sponsor) for the period of residence relied upon; for the purposes of this provision, where the person applies for a relevant document (as described in sub-paragraph (a)(i)(aa) or (a)(ii) of that entry in this table) as the durable partner of the relevant EEA citizen or, as the case may be, of the qualifying British citizen before the specified date and their relevant document is issued on that basis after the specified date, they are deemed to have held the relevant document since immediately before the specified date ...
You can find this version by googling (Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 813). It's on the page labelled 83 (actual page 85 of the 'web accessible' PDF and page 87 of the 'print' PDF).

On that page you will also see a link for the Explanatory Memorandum to the Statement of Changes, which includes the policy background on this.



In addition, the changes also:
  • add a new description of how a "joining family member" of an EEA national in the UK with pre-settled status or settled status (or someone eligible for either) should themselves apply for EUSS (Appendix EU: EU2A, EU3A, EU11A, and EU14A),
  • prohibit EUSS application from within the UK by persons in visitor status (EU11A and EU14A),
  • make an EEA national family member of an EEA national in the UK with pre-settled status or settled status (or someone eligible for either) also eligible for an EUSS family permit (Appendix EU (Family Permit): FP6)
  • amend the general rules on family visas to make pre-settled persons -- persons with limited leave under Appendix EU -- eligible to sponsor a person who became a spouse or civil partner, etc. after 31 December 2020 (Appendix FM)
For more explanation, google (FreeMovement Changes to EU Settlement Scheme affect deadlines and family reunion), and then enter that URL at Archive [dot] org for the full version of the article from November 5.


Finally, the recent Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (Statutory Instrument 1209), preserve much of the important parts of the EEA Regulations 2016 through the grace period ending on 30 June 2021.

This includes regulation 12 of the EEA Regulations 2016, concerning the issuance of EEA family permits. So, in theory, it's additional proof that EEA family permits will continue to be issued and honoured until 30 June.


@kamoe -- apologies for the wall of text on several sub-topics, but I know that you answer many peoples' questions here on these related issues, so I wanted to place the information all in one spot.

@ All readers -- none of this is legal advice, of course. This is only general information. Consult with a British immigration lawyer for legal advice about your situation.

Thanks.

kamoe
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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by kamoe » Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:39 pm

Wochee wrote:
Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:25 am
@kamoe -- apologies for the wall of text on several sub-topics, but I know that you answer many peoples' questions here on these related issues, so I wanted to place the information all in one spot.
@Wochee Thank so much for this, and no need to apologise. You seem to have answered many of our unanswered or misunderstood questions. I'll refer to this for sure!
My posts express what I believe are the facts, based on the best of my knowledge, about the topics discussed in this forum. They do not constitute immigration advice.

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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by geezerpl » Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:39 pm

Wochee wrote:
Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:25 am

Finally, the recent Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (Statutory Instrument 1209), preserve much of the important parts of the EEA Regulations 2016 through the grace period ending on 30 June 2021.

This includes regulation 12 of the EEA Regulations 2016, concerning the issuance of EEA family permits. So, in theory, it's additional proof that EEA family permits will continue to be issued and honoured until 30 June.
If that's the case (saved EEA regulations) why they removed an option to accompany EU sponsor to the UK in 2021 under the EEA Family Permit ? They removed info about it from the specific website on 15/01
Does it mean the initial period of residence ceased to exist or something else ?

Could you please comment on the 30/06 deadline for EEA FP while the validity of these permits is also set to 30/06/2021 and on the mess related to EUSS Family Permits (apparently unmarried partners now eligible but the application form does not support it and info on the website only says "close family members")

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Re: World of caution for unmarried/durable partners [except partners of people from Northern Ireland]

Post by geezerpl » Tue Feb 16, 2021 4:48 pm

Wochee wrote:
Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:25 am

Under the changes, if the UK-issued "relevant document", such as the EEA family permit or residence card, was issued after 31 December at 11pm based on an application submitted before that time, the durable partner is regarded as having held the document since before 31 December.
What about durable partners who applied for the EEA FP in January 2021 and were granted permits in Jan/Feb ?
Are they going to be regarded as if their relationship with EU nationals started in 2021 and therefore they will not be eligible for the EUSS pre-settled status ???
In such case family permits would become just visit permits valid till 30 June 2021...

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