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switch from family of eea to another category

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:26 am
by ni3oni3o
hi

i came about 9 months ago on a marriage visa (am not an eea citizen) to marry my gf (eea citizen) who lives and works in UK, after marriage I got my residence as a family member of eea citizen vaild until 2015 and of course this permit allows me to work in UK. I decided to top my bachelor degree with a masters degree from one of the listed universities in UK and i will finish the course on sep 2011. although we havent been married for long we mutually feel its not working for us and thinking of ending the marriage. I had a decent life where i lived before and i didnt really need to come to uk to live and work but since am here i want to know what are my options to stay and work here if we went through with the divorce? my wife is willing to delay the divorce until i find an alternative but it wont be fair to her to make her wait 5 years! it wont be fair for both of us. can i switch from this residency category to anyother category before i file for divorce? I am financially secure and my qualifications are desirable in UK's job market.

thanks

Re: switch from family of eea to another category

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:45 am
by Nimitta
ni3oni3o wrote:hi

i came about 9 months ago on a marriage visa (am not an eea citizen) to marry my gf (eea citizen) who lives and works in UK, after marriage I got my residence as a family member of eea citizen vaild until 2015 and of course this permit allows me to work in UK. I decided to top my bachelor degree with a masters degree from one of the listed universities in UK and i will finish the course on sep 2011. although we havent been married for long we mutually feel its not working for us and thinking of ending the marriage. I had a decent life where i lived before and i didnt really need to come to uk to live and work but since am here i want to know what are my options to stay and work here if we went through with the divorce? my wife is willing to delay the divorce until i find an alternative but it wont be fair to her to make her wait 5 years! it wont be fair for both of us. can i switch from this residency category to anyother category before i file for divorce? I am financially secure and my qualifications are desirable in UK's job market.

thanks
You do not have to wait for 5 years. It is enough to live 1 year in UK and be married for 3 years. So, you need 2 years and 3 months to wait.

Read here http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=46386

Another option is another marriage. Other options are much more difficult.

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:11 pm
by Directive/2004/38/EC
Marriage is not initially an easy state, especially when you have just gotten married and you are both figuring out what it means for each of you and where you want it to go.

Work with your spouse and see what you can make of what you have. Don't give up on it too quickly!