I informed Home Office about my separation... and now what?

[ainhoashqiptare]

Hello,

I'm a Spanish woman married to an Albanian citizen.

He was granted with a EEA family permit and after that with a Pre Settled Status according to the EU Settlement Scheme.

I am seriously considering to get divorce from him as everything is going bad living together (I do not want to put examples in here but if needed I can do it) so I would like to know if divorcing from him will make that he loses his granted rights from that moment on.

We married in Albania, and our marriage is known in Spain so I do not know how difficult can be the divorce if applying for it.

I have a lot of doubts and this is not what I wanted at all but I should consider it as a serioius option as this has been like a fake marriage to me so far.

Thanks.

[ainhoashqiptare]

I wrote "like a f.a.k.e marriage", not a bad quality one, but this removes the word.

[kamoe]

I would like to know if divorcing from him will make that he loses his granted rights from that moment on.

In the event of a divorce, he will need to either leave the UK or apply for another visa. So he will lose his rights, but will not have to leave the UK immediately. Not sure how much time the HO allows the non-EU ex-spouse to arrange for alternative visas, but they advise to apply as soon as possible after termination of marriage.

Now, this is the key part of the answer: He could apply to retain his residence rights if you have been married for more than 3 years, and have lived in the UK while still married for at least 1 year. If either of these conditions is not fulfilled (e.g. if you have been married for a very short time, or your marriage ends before you complete 1 year of residence in the UK), then he cannot apply to retain his rights and would have to either apply for an alternative immigration route independent of your relationship, or leave the UK.

I see from a previous post that you arrived in the UK in March 2019, which means you have lived in the UK for about 5 months, so there is a possibility for "the 1-year of UK residence while married" requirement not to be fulfilled.

However, I'm not at all very aware of how a divorce process works, but if both parties are not cooperating, I believe this can drag on for a long time. If your relationships ends in bad terms, it could take you more than a year to get it all finalized. The key detail here is that you need to have a decree absolute for your marriage to be considered to have come to an end. Simply starting legal procedures, or leaving him (physically separating) does not count as a termination of the marriage, so if you were to start legal procedures today, all he needs is a particularly slow process, and complete 6-7 more months of legal marriage to you to be able to -at least apply to- retain his rights.

[Zerubbabel]

Also, make sure the doesn't access your EEA id or passport.

If needed, declare them lost and get a new ones from your Embassy.

Without copies of your valid IDs it will be difficult if not impossible for him to claim any right. There is a guy in this forum who went to court and it didn't work.

I have even better for you and much faster than a divorce: leave the UK. Leave the UK now and inform authorities you are leaving for good (HRMC, HO... etc).

https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk

If you stop living in the UK, whatever residence card he may have will drop dead the second your flight takes off (even if you are still married)

Then come back in a few months when you know that he is no longer around.

And careful with whom you marry next time!

[daku]

Also, make sure the doesn't access your EEA id or passport.

If needed, declare them lost and get a new ones from your Embassy.

Without copies of your valid IDs it will be difficult if not impossible for him to claim any right. There is a guy in this forum who went to court and it didn't work.

I have even better for you and much faster than a divorce: leave the UK. Leave the UK now and inform authorities you are leaving for good (HRMC, HO... etc).

https://www.gov.uk/tax-right-retire-abroad-return-to-uk

If you stop living in the UK, whatever residence card he may have will drop dead the second your flight takes off (even if you are still married)

Then come back in a few months when you know that he is no longer around.

And careful with whom you marry next time!

Good thing you have James Bond here giving legal advice on how to survive on the run...

[Zerubbabel]

There is nothing I share here that qualifies as legal advise or meant to be perceived as legal advice.

I am sharing opinions based on my experience.

She doesn't need to live on the run. She can just cease to exercise Treaty Rights in the UK by leaving for Spain.

(Hope you are not the aforementioned husband )

[sfljiaf]

I am seriously considering to get divorce from him as everything is going bad living together (I do not want to put examples in here but if needed I can do it) so I would like to know if divorcing from him will make that he loses his granted rights from that moment on.

Is your aim for him to keep his residence rights, or for him to have to leave the country?

In the event of a divorce, he will need to either leave the UK or apply for another visa. So he will lose his rights, but will not have to leave the UK immediately. Not sure how much time the HO allows the non-EU ex-spouse to arrange for alternative visas, but they advise to apply as soon as possible after termination of marriage.

Are you sure about this? With pre-settled status there seems to be some conflicting information out there. See for instance this post: https://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-r ... l#p1811940
In that case, they had been married for over 3 years, but from the quoted home office correspondence, it sounds like that might only be relevant once the (ex-) family member applies for settled-status.

[kamoe]

In the event of a divorce, he will need to either leave the UK or apply for another visa. So he will lose his rights, but will not have to leave the UK immediately. Not sure how much time the HO allows the non-EU ex-spouse to arrange for alternative visas, but they advise to apply as soon as possible after termination of marriage.

Are you sure about this? With pre-settled status there seems to be some conflicting information out there. See for instance this post: eea-route-applications/eea-pre-settled- ... l#p1811940
In that case, they had been married for over 3 years, but from the quoted home office correspondence, it sounds like that might only be relevant once the (ex-) family member applies for settled-status.

Not sure what you are trying to say, but I'll try to guess:

1. If you mean that if the husband already has PR or Sellted Status this is not relevant as their rights cannot be lost, then yes, that is correct. But we know that they have been in the UK for only 5 months, so this is not their case, and they'll have to apply for RoR.

2. If you mean that this only applies for the EEA route and not the Settlement Scheme route (or vice-versa), then no, the guidelines are legislation-agnostic and the advice to apply either for a visa or leave the UK after a divorce is the same regardless of the immigration rotue: https://www.gov.uk/visas-when-you-separ ... ly-stay-uk

Apply to stay in the UK
If your visa is based on a relationship that’s ended, you must either:

leave the UK
apply for a different visa to stay in the UK

[sfljiaf]

I meant the 2nd one. It seems that some people have gotten responses from the EU Settlement Scheme resolution centre stating that pre-settled status would not be revoked in case of a divorce. It's only at the end of the five years that the ex-family member might not be able to apply for settled status (unless marriage lasted more than three years).

See also these posts: eea-route-applications/eea-pre-settled- ... l#p1779781
eea-route-applications/eea-pre-settled- ... l#p1783391

But, I'm not 100% convinced either, there are also some posts in that thread claiming the opposite, or showing responses from home office stating the opposite. Just wanted to point it out though.

[kamoe]

I meant the 2nd one. It seems that some people have gotten responses from the EU Settlement Scheme resolution centre stating that pre-settled status would not be revoked in case of a divorce. It's only at the end of the five years that the ex-family member might not be able to apply for settled status (unless marriage lasted more than three years).

Oh, I see what you mean. It's true that that's what could be interpreted. Strange. I have a feeling this is either a massive miscommunication form the Resolution Center, or a loophole created by the rush to put in place the Settlement Scheme. If this is indeed true, this gives more rights to ex-spouses of EEA citizens than to ex-spouses of UK citizens, all under UK law. Makes no sense, and opens up a can of worms and opportunities for abuse.

[ainhoashqiptare]

Hello!
I'm a Spanish citizen married to an Albanian citizen. We came here in the UK through a EEA Family Permit and we were granted with a Limited Leave to Remain for 5 years according to the EU Settlement Scheme.

On 3/7/2020 I informed Home Office about the separation because of a current infidelity and bad behaviour (threats, shoutings, lack of socialising, belittlement, money arguments, etc). I wrote an e-mail to StatusReviewUnit@homeoffice.gov.uk telling all the required data and the reasons of separating.

I expected to receive some answer from Home Office, but I am still waiting for it.

Do you know if Home Office should inform about the receipt of the e-mail? Has this immediate effect on my husband's status in the country? Now that he is in Albania with his new lover, will he be refused to enter here in the UK?

I would like to know similar examples happened to you, if you don't mind.

Thanks.

[CR001]

Topics Merged.

HO do not keep you informed of everything at each step. You also only emailed them on Friday and it is unreasonable to expect any reply (if they do) by the next Monday.

There is also a specific form you need to complete about the end of a relationship. Did you do this?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... nsent-form

You were also advised last year when you asked the question. Suggest read the replies above again.

[ainhoashqiptare]

Topics Merged.

HO do not keep you informed of everything at each step. You also only emailed them on Friday and it is unreasonable to expect any reply (if they do) by the next Monday.

There is also a specific form you need to complete about the end of a relationship. Did you do this?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... nsent-form

You were also advised last year when you asked the question. Suggest read the replies above again.

Sure, I sent the form along with the e-mail, but I expected, at least, a confirmation of receipt. Anyway, I just wanted to know more information about what's next but, as you suggested me to check the previous answers, I don't find a right answer, just contradictory answers - probably come from lots of changes in the new EU Settlement Scheme and in Immigration Laws.

I know that probably this is not related to the immigration issue but I also applied for divorce online 2 days ago, so I don't know if Home Office should also know that I started divorce procedures.

I also read that in some pages that the non EEA spouse will have his residence shortened to 60 days to look for another way to stay in the UK and also here in this forum I read that if he was granted with residence for 5 years he will have this being separated / divorced or not. Anyway, that is not the important thing for me.

The important thing is that Home Office - as part of UK institutions - knows that I am separated and, in some way, if this could offer me protection from my husband.

[CR001]

Until you are officially divorced and the decree absolute is granted to you, he can remain in the UK. The advice below given on 8th September 2019 is still valid. As you have both now lived in the UK for more than 1 year he could apply for retained rights of residence, provided the one year living in the UK is met AND being married for at least 3 years. I cannot see anywhere that you stated how long you have been married for in total.

A divorce can take a few months.

I would like to know if divorcing from him will make that he loses his granted rights from that moment on.

In the event of a divorce, he will need to either leave the UK or apply for another visa. So he will lose his rights, but will not have to leave the UK immediately. Not sure how much time the HO allows the non-EU ex-spouse to arrange for alternative visas, but they advise to apply as soon as possible after termination of marriage.

Now, this is the key part of the answer: He could apply to retain his residence rights if you have been married for more than 3 years, and have lived in the UK while still married for at least 1 year. If either of these conditions is not fulfilled (e.g. if you have been married for a very short time, or your marriage ends before you complete 1 year of residence in the UK), then he cannot apply to retain his rights and would have to either apply for an alternative immigration route independent of your relationship, or leave the UK.

I see from a previous post that you arrived in the UK in March 2019, which means you have lived in the UK for about 5 months, so there is a possibility for "the 1-year of UK residence while married" requirement not to be fulfilled.

However, I'm not at all very aware of how a divorce process works, but if both parties are not cooperating, I believe this can drag on for a long time. If your relationships ends in bad terms, it could take you more than a year to get it all finalized. The key detail here is that you need to have a decree absolute for your marriage to be considered to have come to an end. Simply starting legal procedures, or leaving him (physically separating) does not count as a termination of the marriage, so if you were to start legal procedures today, all he needs is a particularly slow process, and complete 6-7 more months of legal marriage to you to be able to -at least apply to- retain his rights.

[ainhoashqiptare]

Until you are officially divorced and the decree absolute is granted to you, he can remain in the UK. The advice below given on 8th September 2019 is still valid. As you have both now lived in the UK for more than 1 year he could apply for retained rights of residence, provided the one year living in the UK is met AND being married for at least 3 years. I cannot see anywhere that you stated how long you have been married for in total.

A divorce can take a few months.

I would like to know if divorcing from him will make that he loses his granted rights from that moment on.

In the event of a divorce, he will need to either leave the UK or apply for another visa. So he will lose his rights, but will not have to leave the UK immediately. Not sure how much time the HO allows the non-EU ex-spouse to arrange for alternative visas, but they advise to apply as soon as possible after termination of marriage.

Now, this is the key part of the answer: He could apply to retain his residence rights if you have been married for more than 3 years, and have lived in the UK while still married for at least 1 year. If either of these conditions is not fulfilled (e.g. if you have been married for a very short time, or your marriage ends before you complete 1 year of residence in the UK), then he cannot apply to retain his rights and would have to either apply for an alternative immigration route independent of your relationship, or leave the UK.

I see from a previous post that you arrived in the UK in March 2019, which means you have lived in the UK for about 5 months, so there is a possibility for "the 1-year of UK residence while married" requirement not to be fulfilled.

However, I'm not at all very aware of how a divorce process works, but if both parties are not cooperating, I believe this can drag on for a long time. If your relationships ends in bad terms, it could take you more than a year to get it all finalized. The key detail here is that you need to have a decree absolute for your marriage to be considered to have come to an end. Simply starting legal procedures, or leaving him (physically separating) does not count as a termination of the marriage, so if you were to start legal procedures today, all he needs is a particularly slow process, and complete 6-7 more months of legal marriage to you to be able to -at least apply to- retain his rights.

We married on February 2019, so we have been married just one year and a half. Also, according to Home Office page, when telling about the Marriage Breakdown, the non EU spouse should find a way to stay in the UK. Or they will have shortened his stay in UK to 60 days for looking for a way to stay here.

However, for me, the most important thing, as I said before, it is not if he can retain rights, or going on using his 5 years settlement, but if Home Office will offer any kind of protection to me as I separated from him and I filed a divorce petition for bad behaviour towards me.

[CR001]

However, for me, the most important thing, as I said before, it is not if he can retain rights, or going on using his 5 years settlement, but if Home Office will offer any kind of protection to me as I separated from him and I filed a divorce petition for bad behaviour towards me.

Home Office won't offer any protection to you. Once you inform them of a relationship breakdown, they likely only inform your spouse of any next steps. They don't keep you updated and certainly don't offer your protection. You would need to follow other avenues if you feel you need protection, i.e the police or a lawyer to get a restraining order.