Tier 5 to EEA Fm residency permit?

[Damurrman]

Hi all, I'm a Canadian living in England with my EEA fiancée. I have a tier 5 YMS visa, expiring in 5 months.
Is there a way of getting a residency permit through the EEA FM route while I'm in England?
My fiancee has lived here for just over 3 years, she's working and a student, originally from Romania.
Thanks for any info, my goal is to not have to leave the UK as we both prefer it to our home countries.
This might be a question suited for an EEA FM forum, but thanks anyways for any advice

[kamoe]

Is there a way of getting a residency permit through the EEA FM route while I'm in England?

You can apply for Residence Card within the UK as the unmarried partner of a EEA national if you have lived together for more than 2 years. Look at the "Extended Family members" section in the official guideline page here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-resid ... ligibility

[Damurrman]

Thank you! We've only lived together for a year and a half, and my visa runs out at 23 months, so I must leave before the 2 year mark unfortunately.
If we were to bring our wedding date sooner to a couple of months from now, would I be able to apply as a married partner? Thanks a bunch for helping

[kamoe]

If we were to bring our wedding date sooner to a couple of months from now, would I be able to apply as a married partner? Thanks a bunch for helping

There is no time requirement of how long you have lived together to apply as a married couple. However, as you would be getting married shortly before a visa expires, you might be invited for an interview to check that your relationship is genuine and that you are not getting married just to be able to stay in the UK. But this is only a possibility, if you submit evidence of your cohabitation for 1.5 years, and letters of support from your friends, I don't believe it would be seen as sham marriage (of the likes of having just met their spouse, etc).

[Casa]

You can only give notice to marry at a Home Office designated Registry Office. As a foreign national, the Registrar is legally bound to notify the HO who can then extend the registration period from 28 to 70 days in order to interview you both separately before the wedding can go ahead, should they choose to do so.

It's the HO who make this decision, not the Registrar.

[kamoe]

You can only give notice to marry at a Home Office designated Registry Office. As a foreign national, the Registrar is legally bound to notify the HO who can then extend the registration period from 28 to 70 days in order to interview you both separately before the wedding can go ahead, should they choose to do so.

It's the HO who make this decision, not the Registrar.

Thanks Casa. I was thinking purely on the application itself. But obviously, there is also this. To be able to get married in the first Place, the HO will be notified and can investigate.

[Damurrman]

Thank you guys for the tips. I have lots of proof of our genuine relationship, with plenty of potential support letters from our friends and roommates, so I'm not worried about that. If they approve the marriage, how long is the EEA residency application process usually? Thanks again for the info, here's hoping it all works out on time.

[kamoe]

how long is the EEA residency application process usually?

Between a few weeks and two months. But best accurate answer is by checking the timelines here: eea-route-applications/eea-fm-eea2-time ... 11252.html

But you might want to consider Settled/Pre-Settled status instead, in place from the end of March 2019: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families
I am assuming the EEA route will cease to operate from then on (but this is only my assumption).

[kamoe]

But best accurate answer is by checking the timelines here: eea-route-applications/eea-fm-eea2-time ... 11252.html

Sorry, that's from last year. 2019 timelines are here: eea-route-applications/permanent-reside ... 73779.html

[Damurrman]

Thanks a ton for the help! I'll check out the links