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Hi all! I am a Hong Kong national currently on a Tier Two General visa and my spouse is an EEA national. He's been living in the UK for about a year, whereas I moved here before him and have been here for 2+ years. It looks like I'm eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme and should get pre-settled status if I apply. If I'm looking to receive ILR after 5 years of continuous residence, does getting pre-settled status change when the 5 years start from?

ie. Currently, I'm 2+ years into the 5 year count, but once I get pre-settled status, would the counter start instead from either i) the date per our marriage certificate or ii) the date I get pre-settled status, thereby erasing the last two years I've spent on the Tier 2 visa?

Any insights would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

And just to clarify, we've been married for 6+ months.

Hi there.
The law is very clear about it. The count starts whenever you started residing in the UK, not when you got any certain card or scheme.

Regards,
Joaquín

I hope you're right! When I called in to the authorities (ie. the UK Visa people) some months back with a similar question - "how does shifting from Tier 2 to an EEA residence card because of spouse affect the 5 years count" - I was told that it would restart the count from the date I get my EEA residence card. Got the same reply from several lawyers I consulted, so it doesn't seem like the law applies the same way in all instances.

Your time under the eea rules starts counting from when your eu spouse arrived in the UK and started excersing treaty rights.

Your time before spouse arrived in the uk doesn't count. Note this applies if you were already married when they arrived. If you married sometime after they arrived, it starts counting from date of marriage if married in the uk.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 26, 2019 6:47 am

Your time under the eea rules starts counting from when your eu spouse arrived in the UK and started excersing treaty rights.

Your time before spouse arrived in the uk doesn't count. Note this applies if you were already married when they arrived. If you married sometime after they arrived, it starts counting from date of marriage if married in the uk.

Got it - so in this case, since we married in the UK after he arrived in the country, the date on the marriage certificate takes precedence over the date he arrived in the UK, and would be when the counter starts for me for the 5 years continuous residence. Thanks a lot!

Correct. Your time would start from the date of marriage.

Ok this is what makes the application process so confusing and frustrating. Sharing this for others who are in the same situation - I called the official EU Settlement Scheme hotline today and spoke to two representatives. One call to ask and the second call to confirm what I had been told. Luckily I placed that second call... the first rep told me that they would in fact take into account the fact that I'd already been in the U.K. for two years (provided I submit evidence of my being here for this time on the Tier 2 visa) and so assuming I get presettled status after applying through the EU settlement scheme, I would be only three years away from settled status.

On the second call, the rep told me the 5 year counter would re-start from the day I get presettled status. When I told him this contradicts what I'd been told by the first rep, he went and doubled checked with a supervisor and came back with the following response: the count towards the 5 years would start from the date my spouse moved to the U.K. (Provided I can give evidence of being in a relationship with him then). Since he's been here for about one year, I am four years away from settled status here as of today. Three people, all from the official hotline but three different responses. I might call a third time just to be sure the last answer from the supervisor is the correct one...Sigh.

Small update: I did call a third time and they confirmed the last answer they gave (ie. in my case, it's from the date that my spouse arrived in the UK, which is sometime before we got married because I was already in the UK and we were already in a relationship at the time of his arrival)

Hello all, I'm a non-EU citizen currently on Tier 2 (General) visa here and I just applied for pre-settled status via the EU settlement scheme as my spouse is an EEA citizen also living here. After scheduling the biometrics appointment online, I was told to upload documents. The section "mandatory documents" was blank - I'm guessing that means I don't have to bring any mandatory docs, is that correct or normal?! I will of course bring my passport and my Residence Permit card (but I doubt the latter matters in this case).

Second question: there's also a section to upload "optional documents" and you're free to upload across several categories. Can anyone confirm if I *MUST* upload the same 10 documents I'd uploaded to the Home Office website, the ones I provided as part of my settlement scheme application? This point isn't clear.

Thanks in advance!

Just bring your passport that’s all

The page you saw is for biometrics under U.K and EU Category so if you apply tier 1 - 4 you need to bring more documents

I went yesterday and they only asked for passport
And a letter you receive from biometric department

“ was already in the UK and we were already in a relationship at the time of his arrival) “

You can only count from your marriage date if married in the UK. Even if you lived here longer then that

Do not believe everything what they say . They don’t have a clue .

Thanks for the clarification.

And yes, I have to say they do sound like they haven't the faintest clue even though they sound confident when giving you the answer. When you tell them their answer contradicts their colleague's answer, they come back after consultation with a supervisor with a third answer that neither of you have raised. So who actually has an idea? Time will tell...

gini852 wrote: ↑

Thu May 02, 2019 7:04 am

Small update: I did call a third time and they confirmed the last answer they gave (ie. in my case, it's from the date that my spouse arrived in the UK, which is sometime before we got married because I was already in the UK and we were already in a relationship at the time of his arrival)

Hi gini852,
I wonder if you clock has resetted.

We are in a similar situation.

I'm EU, my husband is non-EU with Tier 2 visa.
We have been married for 12 years.
We'll have 5 years in the UK in February 2020 and we don't know if we should apply for the settlement scheme.
We don't want his clock to reset for the residency.

Did you get more info about this type of situation?
Thanks.

Please ask EU settlement team. They will be able to give you right answer

https://eu-settled-status-enquiries.ser ... r-question

Hi Mats,

Based on the answers the Home Office has given me so far, if you apply for the scheme here your clock should have started from the time you both arrived in the UK about 4 years ago - so if you're accepted for pre-settled status you should be only a year or so away from getting settled status. But if I were you I'd call them directly and check as well. Hope that helps.

askmeplz82 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 12:36 am

Please ask EU settlement team. They will be able to give you right answer

https://eu-settled-status-enquiries.ser ... r-question

Hi, I have called the EU settlement team on a weekly basis, sometimes twice a week for the past two months.
They always give me conflicting information. Sometimes they say yes, others say no, others "don't know, you should call the Visa department".
Then, I called Visa department and they said they don't deal with EU settlement and I should call them again.
So, no one knows.

That's why I'm trying to find from other people experiences to see if they have a similar case like mine and what they have decided to do.

gini852 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 7:39 am

Hi Mats,

Based on the answers the Home Office has given me so far, if you apply for the scheme here your clock should have started from the time you both arrived in the UK about 4 years ago - so if you're accepted for pre-settled status you should be only a year or so away from getting settled status. But if I were you I'd call them directly and check as well. Hope that helps.

Believe me, I have called them a lot and like you, I am always getting different answers.
I know I will get pre-settled and that's fine.
Our problem is, what will happen to my non-Eu husband?
We don't want him to reset his clock if he changes for Tier 2 to EU settlement scheme.

Hi Mats, my EU spouse just heard back from the Home Office re: his application. As expected, they gave him pre-settled status BUT the letter stated the status starts from the date of the letter - this comes a bit of a surprise considering he's been in the UK for a year and we'd given them proof for that. So if his pre-settled status starts from now then I think it would affect the non-EU spouse's application since their pre-settled status can't possibly start any earlier. I think your spouse would run a great risk in applying for the scheme because it could well restart his clock, based on how they're treating the EU citizen applications, never mind the non-EU ones like your spouse/myself.

so quick CONGRATULATION

gini852 wrote: ↑

Sat May 11, 2019 8:44 am

Hi Mats, my EU spouse just heard back from the Home Office re: his application. As expected, they gave him pre-settled status BUT the letter stated the status starts from the date of the letter - this comes a bit of a surprise considering he's been in the UK for a year and we'd given them proof for that. So if his pre-settled status starts from now then I think it would affect the non-EU spouse's application since their pre-settled status can't possibly start any earlier. I think your spouse would run a great risk in applying for the scheme because it could well restart his clock, based on how they're treating the EU citizen applications, never mind the non-EU ones like your spouse/myself.

Hi Gini852,

Actually, that's not entirely correct.
Yes, settlement scheme can't be backdated. However, once your partner has 5 year in the UK, he can update his pre-settled status to settled. He doesn't need to wait 5 year with the presettled.
You can check this with HO. I did it.

I have presettled status and I will update it as soon as I get my 5 year here in a couple of months.

I have called the HO last week and they reassured me my husband will not lose his continuity. It doesn't matter if he had the EU family permit. The only thing that matters that we can prove he's married to me (EU citizen) and his legal residency.

Oh that's great news for you guys! Yeah, it's pretty confusing when they actually start counting the 5 continuous years because they give me a different answer each time I call the HO. Hope you're right though. Guess time will tell...