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Hello,

I have just sent my documents to the HO via post - applying for an EEA residence card as an unmarried partner of an EU citizen. It says online that these residence cards expire on the 31st of December 2020, but you can apply to the EU settlement scheme up until the 31st of June.

Does this mean that I will still be able to use the (expired) residence card to apply to the settlement scheme past the 31st of December 2020?

Also, I am currently on a Tier 4 visa which expires in January 2021. If my residence card application is still being processed beyond the validity of my Tier 4 visa, Is it still legal for me to stay in the UK up until I've received a decision on the residence card and use it to apply to the EU settlement scheme?

Essentially I'm asking if the following scenario is possible:

EEA Application for RC: 15th August 2020
Tier 4 expires: 15th January
Stay beyond January 15th as I'm still waiting for the RC which I will use to apply to the settlement scheme before the end of June 2020 (even though the RC has expired??)[/b]

I hope I haven't mumbled too much and someone can help me.

Thank you

Hello

Married partners would have the right to stay pending their application even if the previous visa expires. Non married partners don't have that privilege.

The risk is if someday you apply for citizenship, they refuse arguing that you were not legal from X to Z dates. Ensure you don't work during this time!!!

I don't like the keywords "Tier 4, unmarried partners". I have seen a few refusals with this pattern. If you are students "seeing each" other without any joint commitment such as joint bank account, rental contracts on your both names, bill with both names... etc, your application may have some difficulties.

not_Lara wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 4:32 pm

Also, I am currently on a Tier 4 visa which expires in January 2021. If my residence card application is still being processed beyond the validity of my Tier 4 visa, Is it still legal for me to stay in the UK up until I've received a decision on the residence card and use it to apply to the EU settlement scheme?

No, it will not be legal for you to stay in the UK if your Tier 4 expires and your Residence Card has not yet been issued. EEA RC is not a visa application under UK law, but a confirmation of rights under EU law, so contrary to other scenarios of UK visa applications your application and the time you are waiting for its outcome does not cover your stay as legal. In other words, you would be an overstayer.

The right thing for you to do if it looks like your RC will not be processed on time, is to go back to your country of origin, or any country you can comfortably travel to, apply, and wait for the outcome in, before your Tier 4 expires, and apply there for a 6-month Family Permit (given transition period deadlines actually you need to do this before December 2020). Nothing stopping you from doing this while your RC application is under consideration, it will not cancel it out, and this is usually processed in priority and much quicker than a RC. I have done this myself (processed within a week in my country, although processing times vary among countries). In fact, this is the recommended course of action by the HO when applicants need to leave the UK after having applied to a RC and before the RC outcome is decided.

I have been living with my partner for 3 years so I have tenancy agreements and council tax bills showing this. This was submitted with my residence card application. Basically you are saying that if my RC is still being processed beyond my current Tier 4 visa, that I will be an overstayer? My lawyer has told me that my current Tier 4 status will be extended until a decision has been made on the RC - she is wrong?

Also, If I were to receive the card in January, would I still be able to use it to apply to the settlement scheme? On the HO website it says they expire December 31st, however on Citizen's Advice it says that as long as I've applied for the RC before December 31st I can use the card to apply to the settlement scheme until the end of June 2021. There appears to be contradictory guidance.

Thank you so much for your help!

not_Lara wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:38 pm

I have been living with my partner for 3 years so I have tenancy agreements and council tax bills showing this. This was submitted with my residence card application. Basically you are saying that if my RC is still being processed beyond my current Tier 4 visa, that I will be an overstayer? My lawyer has told me that my current Tier 4 status will be extended until a decision has been made on the RC - she is wrong?

Unfortunately, lawyer is wrong.

Basically you are saying that if my RC is still being processed beyond my current Tier 4 visa, that I will be an overstayer?

Yes, you will be an overstayer.

My lawyer has told me that my current Tier 4 status will be extended until a decision has been made on the RC - she is wrong?

Yes, she is wrong.

Also, If I were to receive the card in January, would I still be able to use it to apply to the settlement scheme?

Now that I think of it, the important question is not wether you can apply with the card, but wether you will be eligible to apply at all.

I do not want to worry you unnecessarily, but you need to be aware of the possible implications of you not having a card before December 31st 2020, and err on the side of caution, and prepare some alternative.

Because you are unmarried, you are NOT yet the family member of your EU partner. You will become their family member only once the card is issued. This means that if the card is not issued before December 31st, you might not be able to apply later for the EUSS, since family members need to have joined their EU family member in the UK before December 31st 2020, or prove their family relationship started before that date. Since without the card you are not family members, it could be interpreted that neither of those condition is fulfilled if the card does not exist before December 2020.

In a way, as an unmarried partner, you can think of the EEA RC card as a marriage certificate: it is what makes your relationship legally eligible for immigration purposes, and the starting date of that legally enabling relationship is the date it was issued (not the date you started seeing each other).

Please note that this is only my interpretation of the requirements as they are written now, and does not mean this is how will apply for people in your case. It might be that you can apply with your EEA RC in January, and it might mean that there are some considerations due to covid-19, but I would not count on it.

If you were to get married before December 2020, then none of the above would be an issue.

The other alternative is to request your documents, evidence, and passport back (which pretty much means cancelling your RC application), go back to your country or another country where you are able to, and apply there well in time to receive a Family Permit before December 2020. If I am not mistaken, because EEA FP are also issued under EU law, and issued after consideration of pretty much the same evidence as a RC, the date the Family Permit is issued would be counted as the date you became their family member.

Obviously, I would give it a month or two before making any decision to see if there is a chance your RC is issued this year. But if it looks like it will not, then best to at least consider one of the alternatives above.

Thank you so much for your help.