Immigrationboards.com

This is my timeline – please I really need your help…

September 2009 entered UK as student
Extended student visa from May 2011 to January 2012
Tried to extend again however was refused because I could not pay tuition fee
Did not have stay from January 2011 to September 2013
In September 2013 applied for EEA family member visa
Initially refused but appealed but it took them until April 2015 to grant visa.

Last year I applied for Citizenship since I have had my visa for more than 5 years but was refused because I was illegal within the 10 years.

I would like to understand if I can apply for passport already next year (2023) since I had my document in home office already in 2013 but it took home office more than 1.5 years and numerous calls, emails and involvement of MP to decide on the visa.
Or do I have to really wait until I reach 10 year of having visa in my passport?

Thank you in advance.

What was your relationship to the EU citizen?? Married partner, unmarried partner, extended family member.....??

Hi, thank you for your quick response.

Married partner since 2019

What was the basis of your application then in 2013?? Unmarried partner??

Yes, unmarried partners co-habiting for more 2 years.

Then your legal status in the UK only starts from the date your EEA family RC was granted in April 2015.

Any application for British citizenship before April 2025 is likely to be refused due to your overstay status between January 2011 and April 2015.

An unmarried partner if an eu citizen has nonlegal stay unless they have an EEA RC and simply having an application with UKVI doesn't give you legal stay as an unmarried partner.

I applied in 2013 but it took the Home Office 2.5 years to issue visa. I thought when you apply and you have application at the HO, you are no more an overstayer/illegal immigrant?

you are no more an overstayer/illegal immigrant?

No, this is not correct, especially not if you applied as an unmarried partner if an eu citizen.l under the EU rules.

Your legal status is only valid from the date the unmarried partner EEA RC was granted

Thank you so much for help. I sincerely appreciate your time.

Benzer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 24, 2022 2:02 pm

I thought when you apply and you have application at the HO, you are no more an overstayer/illegal immigrant?

If you made an in-time (while you had an existing leave to remain/visa) application to extend the leave to remain/visa under the Immigration Rules, such an application would extend the existing leave to remain and you could remain legally within the UK (though you would lose the status if you left the UK). Merely making an application when one is already an overstayer does not impact or change your overstayer status in any way.

Your application was not in-time, as you made the application months after your student visa had expired AND EEA applications were made under the EEA Regulations, not the Immigration Rules. The latter point means that even if you had applied in-time as the durable partner of an EEA citizen, you would have become an overstayer anyway.

You only regained legal residence in the UK after the grant of the EEA Residence Card in 2015, as CR001 has advised. You should reapply after the 10th anniversary of the issue to you of the EEA Residence Card in 2015.