EEA family permit application for unmarried partner

[symphonyinyellow]

Hello everyone,

I am an EU citizen and I want to immigrate to the UK with my Turkish partner. We have been together for 21 months. We lived in my country in the beginning in my parents home for 5 months. We only spent 3 months apart but after that, we moved to another EU country where we worked and lived together for 9 months. We went to travel in Asia for 2 months. Right now, we are in Turkey and we came across EEA family permit for an extended family member.
Please note, we are a same-sex couple looking to move to the UK in hope to live peacefully with more rights.

In my country being a same-sex couple is a sensitive subject as well as in Turkey.

I want to ask for your advice about the necessary documents to apply for EEA extended family permit.

1- Should I ask my parents to write a declaration that my partner stayed with us? Do they need to go to a notary to get a stamp on the letter?

2-As, I stated we lived together for 9 months in another EU country (Greece). The lease agreement is only on my name and I only have a printed copy of it from the official website of Taxinet. Is a printed copy enough? I am afraid it's impossible to get a stamped copy from them.

3-Also, we have a document stating my partner was staying in the same apartment from Greece.
We have our address on our bank accounts proving we were staying at the same address. Also, paper from our mobile company stating the same address.

4- In Asia, we stayed in Airbnb, is it a good proof?

5- My other concern is about my passport. Is it enough if I give them a certified copy? Do they need a stamp from my embassy on the copy?
I have double citizenship. Should I just give them one of my ID? Can it be an issue for them if I have double citizenship?

6-Should we send our original copies when we apply?

I've never applied for anything like this so I'm so confused and stressed about the process. I want to hire a lawyer but I am afraid to waste my time and money.

I hope you can answer some of my concerns. Thank you in advance!

[kamoe]

I want to ask for your advice about the necessary documents to apply for EEA extended family permit.

Before you prepare any application and embark in any procedure, you need to first make sure you actually qualify for the EEA FP. Note that it is not sufficient to simply live together: you need to also prove that your relationship is 'akin to marriage'. This means, that for a period of two years you have shared financial commitments, for example, a joint bank account, bills in joint names, joint tenancy, or the care of a child. I'm afraid that, if apart from sharing a residence you have led otherwise financially independent lives, then your relationship, although genuine, might not be considered 'akin to marriage', and thus you might not qualify for the FP.

Question for you is, have you had any joint financial commitments during (most of) the last 24 months?

1- Should I ask my parents to write a declaration that my partner stayed with us? Do they need to go to a notary to get a stamp on the letter?

This can help, but is not as strong as evidence as officially documented proof (like utility bills or bank statements) that each of you lived at this address during the same period of time. This is usually proven through physical correspondence addressed ideally jointly to the both of you, or independently to each, but that match the same period of time. If you do not have bills or joint account, other pieces of correspondence can count towards proving common residence (like postcards or wedding invitations addressed to the both of you) but note that this is not as strong evidence, as does not prove joint financial commitments.

2-As, I stated we lived together for 9 months in another EU country (Greece). The lease agreement is only on my name and I only have a printed copy of it from the official website of Taxinet. Is a printed copy enough? I am afraid it's impossible to get a stamped copy from them.

You will need to provide additional evidence that your partner also lived at that same address during that same period of time (e.g., letters sent to him to that address). Otherwise, not of much use.

3-Also, we have a document stating my partner was staying in the same apartment from Greece.
We have our address on our bank accounts proving we were staying at the same address. Also, paper from our mobile company stating the same address.

Yes, as explained above, this helps to prove common residence, but again, if these are addressed to each of you independently and not in joint form, you are still missing the joint financial element that defines a relationship that is 'akin to marriage'.

4- In Asia, we stayed in Airbnb, is it a good proof?

Is your AirBnB profile a single or a joint profile ("John and Tim" vs "John")? In other words, officially, who rented the apartment? You as a couple, or only one of you? In any case, this could be seen as proof that your relationship is genuine, but not necessarily that you have joint financial commitments.

5- My other concern is about my passport. Is it enough if I give them a certified copy? Do they need a stamp from my embassy on the copy?

As far as I'm aware, the original is necessary unless fully justified by impending circumstances.

I have double citizenship. Should I just give them one of my ID? Can it be an issue for them if I have double citizenship?

Which two nationalities do you hold?

If at all it is helpful, and if you decide you do meet the requirements to qualify for a EEA FP, take a look at this old post of mine, about how to prepare an unmarried partner application (it's virtually the same for a Residence card or a Family Permit).

[symphonyinyellow]

Thank you very much for replying! I really appreciate it!

I wanted to add some detail that might prove that we have a relationship akin to marriage.

We have proof that my partner paid for the rent each month when we were in Greece. She transferred the rent to the landlord's account each month and added my name on the transaction. So, both of our names are visible on the transaction's bill.

We have proof that we paid for each other's tickets and accommodation when we went for the holidays and to visit our families.

In January 2019 my partner lost her job, and I took care of her financially for 3 months. She didn't spend money from her bank account, she was using my bank card. I am thinking that we can show the bank transactions to prove this.

Both of our names appear on the Airbnb booking, but we don't have a joint account.

Can these details be relevant for the financial commitment?

At the moment, we are in Turkey and I need my passport in case authorities want to see my identification and the entry stamp.

I have Hungarian and Romanian citizenship. My partner and I lived together in Romania, Greece, Thailand, and Turkey. We had to find a way to be together that's why we moved so many times. We want to settle down in the UK because we don't have a future in Turkey.

[kamoe]

Your case is certainly not a typical one, but this does not mean you cannot try. The good news is that a Family Permit is free and usually treated in priority, and given both to same-sex and opposite-sex couples so nothing stopping you from giving it a try.

You need to prove two things:

1) That you have lived together for the past 24 months (usually this is the minimum length, but occasionally, if evidence is compelling enough a little less than 24 could be accepted. The closer to 24 months, the better).

2) That you have or have had joint financial commitments throughout those 24 months.

The easiest way to meet the above is usually supplying 6 joint bills, or joint bank statements, addressed jointly to the both of you at the address you share (or 12 if addressed individually to each of you), that are spread evenly over the previous 24 months, and that come from 3 different sources (as per official guidance).

Now, this doesn't mean that if you do not have the above you cannot meet the requirement; only that you will have to prepare alternative evidence that addresses each point individually.

I would think it is best to follow the general guidance and supply 6 pieces of evidence for each point above:

-6 letters, or postcards, addressed jointly to the both of you, from three different people, or institutions. If you do not have 6 documents that are addressed to the both of you jointly, then provide 6 addressed to each of you, so 12 in total. Make sure the dates of correspondence sent to one of you corresponds to more or less the same period of time of correspondence sent to the other (to prove you lived there at the same time).

-6 invoices, or bank statements, that are equally spread over the 24-month period above, and that prove that one of you was dependent on the other or that you both contributed to common expenses (travel, shopping, etc).

Lastly, try and supply the evidence above in a way that covers all countries you have lived in.

I cannot guarantee that the outcome of your application will be positive, but again, nothing stopping you from trying.

Good luck.