EEA Family Application for Non EU National

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Hi,

I'm a non EU national currently residing in the UK and about to get married with my Fiance (EU national with UK pre settled status) in early 2021. Can someone help me understand -

1. Diff between EU family permit and EU settlement scheme family permit?

2. Are my parents (in laws of EU national) eligible to apply for pre settled status?

3. Which route should i apply through (EU Family or EU settlement)

4. Do i need to be married legally in order for my Fiance to sponsor my parents? We have been living together for 2 years and can demonstrate that.

Thanks for your responses and help.

[kamoe]

I'm a non EU national currently residing in the UK and about to get married with my Fiance (EU national with UK pre settled status) in early 2021.

What is your current status? On what basis are you currently residing in the UK?

1. Diff between EU family permit and EU settlement scheme family permit?

They both serve roughly the same purpose: to allow non-EU family members to smoothly enter into the UK.

However, they have different criteria to qualify. For instance:

EU Settlement Scheme FP

• requires that the EU sponsor has already Pre-Settled or Settled Status

• does not require to prove dependency of parents/parents in law

EEA FP

• allows for unmarried partners and other extended family members (dependent parents, siblings, nephews and nieces)

• requires to prove dependency of parents/parents in law

The above is not an exhaustive list. As a rule of thumb, if the EU has already status under the Settlement Scheme, then the usual is to apply for EU Settlement Scheme FP. But the best one for a given person will all depend on individual circumstances.

2. Are my parents (in laws of EU national) eligible to apply for pre settled status?

Not before you are legally married, and there is a deadline for this: December 31st 2020. So if you are getting married in 2021, they will not qualify.

3. Which route should i apply through (EU Family or EU settlement)

Are you talking about you or your parents?
In any case, The Deadline of December 31st also applies to you. If you are not legally married by December 31st 2020, and do not already have a EEA RC as the unmarried partner of your fiancee, you might likely not be eligible either.

4. Do i need to be married legally in order for my Fiance to sponsor my parents?

Yes.

We have been living together for 2 years and can demonstrate that.

Unmarried relationship do not extend to consider parents in law.

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Thanks,

I'm on T2G. I want to apply for my family to move to UK.

What's a EEA RC?

To my understanding the EU settlement family scheme is valid till Jun-21. Why do I have to be married before 31-dec-2020 as my EU partner will anyways be the sponsor and their rights are applicable even after Dec-20.

Even the EU settlement scheme is till Jun-21.

Please let me know if i misunderstood something.

[kamoe]

What's a EEA RC?

A residence card issued to non-EU family members of EEA nationals. Basically, what as issued before Brexit was a thing.

You could apply to be issued one as the unmarried partner of a EEA national (EFM Extended Family Member route), but clock is ticking. Given the transition period ends on Dec 31st 2020, it is assumed applications for these will close end of December.

Without this card, and being unmarried at the end of December 31st, you might find yourself in limbo, and ineligible to apply for the Settlement Scheme yourself. Read this post. You will probably not be issued a card in 2020, which is problematic, but according to the respected opinion of @Obie at the end of that post, you might be eligible if you at least apply.

I'd say, forget your parents for now, focus on being eligible yourself first!

To my understanding the EU settlement family scheme is valid till Jun-21.

That is true if and only if the below 2 conditions are met:

1. The EU national started residing in the UK before Dec 31st 2020.
2. The family relationship started before Dec 31st 2020.

Family relationship starts date it's either
-EEA RC issue date, for unmarried partners; or
-wedding date, for married parters, and parents in law.

If unmarried and no card, the relationship does not exist.

Why do I have to be married before 31-dec-2020

Because then condition 2. would not be met.

as my EU partner will anyways be the sponsor and their rights are applicable even after Dec-20. Even the EU settlement scheme is till Jun-21.

Not if condition 2 is not met.
Check conditions here:

If you’re overseas and a family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen living in the UK
The deadline for you to join your family member in the UK is 31 December 2020 (or 31 December 2025 if your partner is Swiss and you get married or form a civil partnership after 31 December 2020).

If you’re not living in the UK by the deadline, you’ll still be able to apply if all of the following are true:

• your family member has either settled or pre-settled status

• your relationship began before 31 December 2020

• you remain a close family member, for example a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner, a dependent child or grandchild, or a dependent parent or grandparent

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Great thanks.This is very clear.

One last question, if i apply as unmarried partner, would this affect my T2G visa category as i'm near my ILR completion.thanks

[kamoe]

if i apply as unmarried partner, would this affect my T2G visa category as i'm near my ILR completion.thanks

No impact whatsoever. The EEA route and the Tier route are not mutually exclusive. As such, on person can have one permit on one, and a visa in the other, perfectly valid and simultaneously.

Note that this is a very specific condition of the soon-to-be extinct EEA route: In general terms one cannot have two separate visas under UK immigration rules at the same time (the latter will cancel the former). But EEA is EU law, not UK law, so this does not contradict the rule, and a permit or visa in each can coexist.

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Thanks a lot.

Honestly i am eligible for ILR anycase in few months. I would happily apply for EEA card if my parents have any possibility of coming through that route. What do you suggest?

[kamoe]

Honestly i am eligible for ILR anycase in few months.

Which costs £2,389.
Applications for Settled Status, on the other hand, are free.

I would happily apply for EEA card if my parents have any possibility of coming through that route. What do you suggest?

Again, there is no provision for parents in law of unmarried durable partners, which is what the EEA card would attest. So no, that would not open any avenue for your parents.

Unless you get married in 2020 (which you cannot do in the UK given the timeline), your parents will only qualify to immigrate to the UK through the more restrictive and expensive route of parents of settled persons/British citizens, not through the EU Setlement Scheme.

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thanks. Yes settled is free. But my fiance has 3 years remaining for pre settled whereas I can apply for ILR in 6 months.

Thanks for all your help. I wasn't aware that i need to start the relationship before Dec-20 otherwise would have explored this route.

[kamoe]

Yes settled is free. But my fiance has 3 years remaining for pre settled whereas I can apply for ILR in 6 months.

It's always a balance between what works best for you: time, or money.

I too, was eligible for ILR at least two years before I was eligible for Settled Status. But the striking price of ILR defined it all for me. I found it made no difference to acquire it then or in two years time. But maybe it does make a difference to you, and in the end, the decision is of course yours.

Thanks for all your help. I wasn't aware that i need to start the relationship before Dec-20 otherwise would have explored this route.

I hear your pain. I was very well aware, but let too much time pass, and when inquired about ceremony dates in September (thinking I had enough time), I was only offered dates in 2021 given the notice requirement of 70 days and the queue of people inquiring. Too late for my parents.

Good luck.

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And is there any possibility of them coming after Jun 21 if i prove their dependency (which is assumed till Jun21). ?

[kamoe]

And is there any possibility of them coming after Jun 21 if i prove their dependency (which is assumed till Jun21). ?

If you are asking if proving their dependency removes the condition of the family relationship (your wedding) starting before December 31st 2020, the answer to that is, of course, No.

If you are asking what alternatives there are for their immigration into the UK, accepting the fact they they are not eligible for the Settlement Scheme, the answer to that is, as I already said, if you are able prove their dependency, then once you get your Settled Status they might be eligible to immigrate as dependent parents of an established person (again, NOT under the Settlement Scheme since they are not, and will not be, eligible for it, for reasons already discussed at length).

I'm afraid that is a more restrictive and expensive immigration route. As far as I know, outside of the EU rules it is not enough to prove dependency. You also need to proof they need your day-to-day care, or that the care they need cannot be provided in their country of residence. Not an expert on this, and it would really be a question for the Immigration for Family Members section, not this one.