Immigrationboards.com

Hello All,

Appreciate forum members helping out people in need of advise.

I am in below situation currently:

I am non-EU spouse of EU citizen. My husband has settled status.

I have a BRC card and pre-settled status. I will complete 2-years outside UK on 30th June 2021. It is also deadline for applying settlement scheme. I understand my pre-settled status might get automatically cancelled due to my absence after June 30th.

I want to know:
1. What should I do if I want to travel to UK in October/Nov 2021 because I have some personal constraints and cant travel before 30th June
2. Should I re-apply for settlement scheme after 30th June or before that ?
3. Will I be able to use BRC card to travel with my expired pre-settled status in Nov?
4. What will be the safest way to re-enter UK?

I tried searching forum for advise on similar topic but couldn't find.

Please advise.

Thanks.

After two years of absence your status is lost.

What your options are after that depends on your spouse. Have they also been absent for two years?

Thanks for quick reply !

He will complete 1-yr out of UK in September 2021

Just wondering if Spouse's absence matters.

Should I apply for pre-settled status before it expires?

Thanks.

BrightUser20 wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 13, 2021 12:00 pm

Should I apply for pre-settled status before it expires?

What is the purpose of your travel and will your husband be travelling with you?

Yes. Most probably husband will travel along OR he might go a month before me.

I wish to join him there.

BrightUser20 wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:19 pm

Yes. Most probably husband will travel along OR he might go a month before me.

I wish to join him there.

Given you intend to come to the UK joining or accompanying a EU citizen with Settled Status, you have a valid reason to (re)apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

One view would be that since you left the UK, are about to lose/or already lost the status you had, and want to come back, you are starting a fresh status request. In that sense, it could be argued that you need to apply for a EUSS Family Permit as a "joining family member"...

... but Family Permits are there for the purpose of facilitating entry to the UK, not for giving status. People still have to apply to the Settlement Scheme after obtaining a Family Permit. Historically, many people have not needed the facilitation of entry provided by the Family Permit (because they already live in the UK, or don't usually need a visa), and can enter the UK without. Therefore, if you were able to apply directly to the Scheme abroad before you come to the UK, then you would not need a Family Permit.

I've been reading and re-reading the procedures and requirements, and there does not seem to be anything stopping anyone with a valid UK-issued biometric card from applying to the EU Settlement Scheme from abroad in lieu of the EUSS a Family Permit. The one factor determining if you are entitled to apply from abroad appears to be simply if the app can scan your document:

You must use the EU Exit: ID Document Check app to verify that you’re entitled to apply from outside the UK.

So people in your situation have two options for re-acquiring valid status:

1. Apply for the EUSS Family Permit from abroad, then apply for the EU Settlement Scheme (Pre-Settled Status) once in the UK
2. Apply for the EU Settlement Scheme directly from abroad using the app with their current biometric card

Just wondering if Spouse's absence matters.

It does. If your spouse had broken their continuous residence before their Settled Status was granted, or exceeded his absence allowance (5 years for Settled Status), that will be it for the both of you. You would not be able to come back under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Should I apply for pre-settled status before it expires?

You are not applying to "extend" or "prevent your status from getting lost"; you can't do that if you do not come back before your two years allowance is up. There is no way around it.

Since you are not in the UK, you can only apply for a new status from scratch (your previous accrued residence in the UK will be wiped out, and your clock will restart). In that sense, wether you apply before or after your current status is lost, doesn't matter. The only difference is, the sooner you apply, the sooner your new 5-year clock will restart, and the sooner you will be eligible to apply for Settled Status further down the line, if that's your intent.

Thanks Kamoe! Appreciate your response.

From gov website, I understand 30th June 2021 is deadline for most applications.

If I am travelling after June 30th, for e.g: in Oct, any idea if applying for settlement scheme from outside UK will be open that time?

I have this confusion: whether the deadline is for all applications or settlement scheme will be open after 30th June for non-eu family members to apply.

If it will be open, then it would be better to apply for it before travelling.

Please advise.

BrightUser20 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:31 am

Thanks Kamoe! Appreciate your response.

From gov website, I understand 30th June 2021 is deadline for most applications.

If I am travelling after June 30th, for e.g: in Oct, any idea if applying for settlement scheme from outside UK will be open that time?

I have this confusion: whether the deadline is for all applications or settlement scheme will be open after 30th June for non-eu family members to apply.

If it will be open, then it would be better to apply for it before travelling.

Please advise.

You are confused because you are trying to apply rules and deadlines that were written for typical cases to your very specific and atypical situation.

Focus on the two options you have:

1. EUSS Family Permit: no deadline

2. Pre-Settled again: potential deadline of June 30th, but it's difficult to tell for sure if the system will
treat you as a new applicant since you have been away; or as a previous applicant since your status hasn't technically expired. It's a very unique case that I doubt has any written roules around.

What you do is up to you, I'm afraid there's little chance anyone can tell you how all this applies to your case, and there's only one way to find out.

All I can say is the EU Settlement Scheme isn't going to "close" to applications on June 30th, since many people will still need to upgrade from Pre to Settled after that date, and the process is the same. My guess is it's only going to prevent applications from people who haven't applied before. That being said, again, your case is unique, and there's no guarantee it will let you apply.

And in any case, yes, if you travel in October, obviously you need to apply for either of the two options above before traveling, since your current status will by then have expired.

Hello @kamoe, others interested,

Just to update, I had re-applied using the mobile app before 30th June, the application got through and I got a reply 2-3 days back, the reply is generic and just provides links to the verify your immigration status i.e. checked your settled / pre-settled status. The photo is updated, date of expiry of pre-settled status is same.

They haven't replied anything specific to my case just generic guideline like:

When travelling to the UK or travelling from the UK we recommend you travel using the document you used to apply to EUSS. If you are travelling on a different document, then you should update your UKVI account to add that document. You can do this by either using the ‘Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details’ service at https://www.gov.uk/update-uk-visas-immi ... nt-details or by signing-in and using the ‘update details’ function of the View and Prove service at https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status. For example, if you applied using your passport and you are planning to travel using your national identity card, you should ensure that both documents are registered to your UKVI account. If you have not received confirmation before you travel that details of your new document have been successfully updated, you should, where possible, also carry the document with which you applied to the EUSS, to avoid unnecessary delays at the border.



Thanks.