PR status

[yana1981]

Dear all,

I am a Chinese girl that has made the UK home and
would like to pursue citizenship through naturalisation. Please kindly advise whether I am on the right track. Your help is very much appreciated!

I came to the UK in summer 2004 with my French
boyfriend on a student visa, and studied until autumn 2006 (finishing with a Masters degree). I then applied for EEA2 (“resi cardâ€

[thsths]

I am not married with my boyfriend, but we have been together for 5+ years and both live and work here.

I plan to apply for Permanent Resident status in summer 2009 (after five years).

Now this is an interesting question. Since you are an extended family member, the European right of free movement does not strictly apply to you. You did get a residence card, so I think you are legally entitled to this status now. But upon closer inspection I did not find any section of the law that would give you the right of permanent residence. Since the law is new, there are no precedents yet, although you may find cases determined under the previous legislation.

And even if you can get Permanent Residence, I am not sure about the time line. The law says "legally residing in the UK with the EU citizen for 5 years". So this should include your time on a student visa, although the UK and EU law do not usually work together very well.

Next issue: the rules for naturalisation are about to change, and it is going to be much more difficult, expensive and time consuming. The changes may apply as early as next year. So I think you should just try to get PR as soon as possible.

-My employer considers sending me abroad for up to 5 months (coming back before I intend to apply), would this be seen as negative?

Under European law the answer is no: a single absence of up to 6 months does not affect your eligibility. But I am not sure whether EU law applies, so this may be up to the judgement of the case work. I would try to avoid this if possible.

Does it help if my boyfriend applies for Settlement as well at the same time?

It is a good idea, but I don't think it has any influence on your situation. It may help if you were to get married.

Tom

[yana1981]

Thank you very much for your post. I just phoned the case worker and they mentioned that I do have the right to be considered for PR as an extended family member.

However, the period of temporary absence is unclear to me as the case worker said that I shouldn’t live in countries other than UK at all during the 5 year period. Only in certain cases e.g. holiday, will I be allowed to leave the country.

- Does anyone who have similar experience could clarify this period of “temporary absenceâ€

[thsths]

Thank you very much for your post. I just phoned the case worker and they mentioned that I do have the right to be considered for PR as an extended family member.

That does make sense, but I would take that information with a grain of salt. Since the law is new, they do not currently have any applications from extended family members for PR. By the time you can apply, they may possibly decide on a different interpretation of the law.

Are the rule of naturalization are about to change?

It is possible, but not certain yet, and the details are still very hazy. See http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... tizenship/ . The main problem is that there is no mention at all of immigrants already in the UK. It claims that their status would not be affected, however, from past experience with the Home Office that seems extremely unlikely.

So your road to PR is reasonable clear, but naturalisation could be completely different by the time you get there.

From what I learn, as long as I don’t leave the UK for a continuous period of two years or more, I won’t lose my PR status. Would it be possible to apply for British Citizenship in summer 2011(2 yrs later after getting PR) ?

You will keep PR, but naturalisation will probably require that you have lived in the UK for a few years without significant breaks. Although as I said, the details are subject to change.

Tom

[sakura]

[quote]I came to the UK in summer 2004 with my French
boyfriend on a student visa, and studied until autumn 2006 (finishing with a Masters degree). I then applied for EEA2 (“resi cardâ€

[yana1981]

I and my partner have been together for 3 years outside the UK and so far lived together in the UK for 4 years.

We will apply for PR in summer 2009. What we are not sure about is the naturalisation process.

When can we apply for British citizenship?

In the IND website, EEA family members should have held permanent residence status for 12 months before applying for naturalisation.
[b]If we move to live abroad after getting PR for a year and come back to the UK, will we still be eligible to apply for a british citizenship?[/b]

Many thanks for any input you may have.

[John]

Wouldn't her period for PR begin in 2006? Since she came on a student visa and, not being married to a citizen of an EU country, would be considered an extended family member under the UK's interpretation (of 2-years cohabitation), wouldn't the period be 2006-2011?

I agree with that, PR will be obtained in 2011, 5 years after the Residence Card was issued in 2006.

[yana1981]

Hi John,

From what I read in the website http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/euciti ... ropeanlaw/
Under Permanent Residence topic, it states that
"After you have lived in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of five years you can apply for confirmation of your permanent residence."

Since we moved to UK together in 2004, do I understand right that we can apply in 2009? not from the date my residence card was granted.

Would be great if you could advise me on naturalization question.
Many thanks.

[John]

You need to take into account that when you moved from the UK immigration route to the EU immigration route, you re-started your immigration clock.

I agree that is not clear from the wording you have quoted.

[yana1981]

Hi John,

Could you pls confirm that I will be eligible to apply for PR in 2011 not 2009 as I initially thought? This will affect our decision as we might relocate rather than waiting for 3 more years to be able to apply for PR and I also got a good job offer abroad this year.

Many thanks,
Yana

[yana1981]

Hi,

Just to back up my point on time line for EEA4 application, my partner (EEA national) arrived to UK in 2004 and he would have been exercising his treaty rights for 5 years in 2009. In 2009 he can apply for EEA3. Logically, won't it be possible that I could apply EEA4 at the same time?

Any inputs are more than welcomed.

cheers.

[John]

Yana, I confirm that, on the facts as stated, you will get PR status in 2011, five years after the grant of your Residence Card in 2006.

Your boyfriend getting PR status in 2009? Well yes, but that does not help you at all, well not as regards getting your own PR.

Can I ask, why the rush to get PR status? What is the eventual aim here?

[sakura]

Hi,

Just to back up my point on time line for EEA4 application, my partner (EEA national) arrived to UK in 2004 and he would have been exercising his treaty rights for 5 years in 2009. In 2009 he can apply for EEA3. Logically, won't it be possible that I could apply EEA4 at the same time?

Any inputs are more than welcomed.

cheers.

He would obtain PR in 2009, but your timeline is different and people don't obtain these things together. It comes automatically after completion of five years.

It's a tricky one. You don't mention how long you lived together outside the UK. But since you are an unmarried partner/extended family member, the notion of 'automatic' treaty rights might not apply (as easily as it would for a married couple, for example). Your initial period here (from 2004) was under the UK immigration route (student visa)...you didn't apply as an extended family member until 2006 and were not considered under the EU immigration route until then, so I would think that your PR would be granted in 2011.

It's a tricky one because there is no real outline on 'extended family members' such as unmarried couples - it is, at the moment, left to each country to decide.

I'd have to add that I'm not an expert on this matter!! This is just the little pieces of information that I have read.

[yana1981]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your advice regarding PR app. The reason I am rushing to know is because I have a job offer abroad this year. I know that if I am taking the job offer abroad and leave the UK with my partner, it would be difficult for us to return here again if we wish e.g. we need to reapply for residence card, etc. So I and my partner come to the conclusion that if it is only a year that we will be qualified for PR, we will wait and stay here. Otherwise, we might just leave UK now and return later.

There are two more questions which I'd like to ask for helpful advice as follows:
- If we leave the UK now, stay abroad for a few years and return to UK later, do we need to live 2 years together again in the UK before I can apply for a residence card (EEA2) or we can just apply right away?
( my partner has so far lived with me for 7 years, 3 years outside the UK and 4 years in the UK)
- If we decide to continue our stay in UK and submit my EEA4 application along with my partner's EEA3 application in 2009, would my EEA4 application be refused?

Thank you so much for helping us out on this!
Cheers,
Yana

[yana1981]

One more fact is that we are planning to get married later this year. Any advices are more than welcomed. Thanks load.

[JAJ]

One more fact is that we are planning to get married later this year. Any advices are more than welcomed. Thanks load.

Then it means you don't need to wait an extra year after PR to become naturalised British.

But I don't know if it can make any difference to your timeline to get PR - you may need to find a good immigration lawyer to discuss further.

[yana1981]

Hi JAJ,

Thank you for your message. Can you clarify what do you mean by "I don't need to wait one extra year after PR...do you mean I can apply for citienship right away soon as I obtained PR"?

Cheers,
Yana

[JAJ]

Hi JAJ,

Thank you for your message. Can you clarify what do you mean by "I don't need to wait one extra year after PR...do you mean I can apply for citienship right away soon as I obtained PR"?

Yes - if you are married to a British citizen and have PR, together with at least 3 years legal residence.

Of course the rules could always change in the future.

[Ben]

Hi JAJ,

Thank you for your message. Can you clarify what do you mean by "I don't need to wait one extra year after PR...do you mean I can apply for citienship right away soon as I obtained PR"?

Yes - if you are married to a British citizen and have PR, together with at least 3 years legal residence.

Of course the rules could always change in the future.

OP's boyfriend / future husband is French.

For what it's worth, I agree that your immigration clock was probably reset in 2006, when your immigration status changed from UK to EU. I can't find anything definitive though, so a good immigration lawyer may be an idea, as JAJ suggested.

But in any case, if your intention is to marry later this year, I can't see why obtaining PR status or even British citizenship is such an urgent issue for you. As the spouse of an EU citizen, you enjoy the same rights of free movement as your spouse, while moving together throughout the EU.

[JAJ]

OP's boyfriend / future husband is French.

French but planning to become British, it seems.

But in any case, if your intention is to marry later this year, I can't see why obtaining PR status or even British citizenship is such an urgent issue for you. As the spouse of an EU citizen, you enjoy the same rights of free movement as your spouse, while moving together throughout the EU.

There is a lot to be said for having independent rights of movement, and a passport that doesn't require a visa to go pretty much anywhere.

[tasha75]

French but planning to become British, it seems.

But he's only moved to the UK in 2004 therefore won't be able to naturalise till at least 2010.

[yana1981]

Hi,

Thanks for all messages. You guys are rock!! Point is I don't really know my rights in term of immigration after marriage. My bf (future husband) mentioned that there is nothing changed in term of movement between countries e.g. I still need schengen visa if I am travelling around Europe, also my passport will be the same.

Doesn't sound right to me. Anyone knows of good resource where I can read more so I can realise which rights I do have.

Thank you so much again.