EEA PR refusal - Shall I appeal?

[pellier]

Hello all,

Finally our EEA PR application has been decided after 6 months, and my EEA partner got the permanent residency but myself non-EEA got refused on the basis of EEA Regulations 26 @ 7.3.

I am a Non-EEA citizen living with my girlfriend/EEA citizen since October 2009.
June 2013, my girlfriend got her residence certificate (EEA1 app) and I got an EEA family permit visa (unmarried) (EEA2 app) valid for 5 years expiring in 2018.

Since we have been living together for 7 years continuously and legally in the UK, we thought we would not need to wait until 2018 to apply for EEA PR. (HO also confirms in refusal letter that we are in a genuine e and subsisting partnership since 2009.) So we applied for EEA PR last February, got the result last Tuesday. As said, i got the refusal whereas my partner got the permanent residency.

HO said as we are an unmarried couple, which is in extended-family member category, my timeline as family member starts from Jun 2013 when I got my first EEA family visa.

“As you were issued with a Residence card on Jun 2013, then pursuant to Regulation 7 (3) of the Regulations, you would not be eligible for permanent residence until June 2018”

Here is the Regulation 2006 @ 7 (3) (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006 ... ion/7/made)

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a person who is an extended family member and has been issued with an EEA family permit, a registration certificate or a residence card shall be treated as the family member of the relevant EEA national for as long as he continues to satisfy the conditions in regulation 8(2), (3), (4) or (5) in relation to that EEA national and the permit, certificate or card has not ceased to be valid or been revoked.

It seems to me, this is a statement to prevent any discrimination against extended family members. This does not seem to mean that the extended family members are to be disregarded as a family member before getting issued a residency card. However, I am not an expert and English is not my native language.

What do you think? Shall I appeal against the decision or shall I wait until 2018 as HO suggested?

How long would the appeal process take? Any idea?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[noajthan]

HO is expecting you to hold an EFM RC in order to apply for confirmation of PR.

Applying for permanent residence
Under regulation 8 of the regulations you cannot consider an applicant to be the extended family member of an EEA national until they have been issued either a:

• registration certificate, or
  residence card

See HO guidance on this matter:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf
- page 32+

[pellier]

Thank you very much noajthan for your reply, really appreciated it.

Yes now i can see that there is no point of appealing, and actrually should not have applied in the first place (:

[noajthan]

Thank you very much noajthan for your reply, really appreciated it.

Yes now i can see that there is no point of appealing, and actrually should not have applied in the first place (:

Unfortunate your enthusiasm got the better of you.
At least you have your EFM RC and you may take another shot at PRC in 2018.

Don't let partner naturalise before then as your partner cannot be your sponsor if a BC. Make sure you get your PRC in the bag.

However, you will also have to keep a close weather eye on the timing of the final Brexit exit;
it means partner (and you) will have to see who blinks first (you, her or HO) in terms of getting PRC, applying for citizenship versus UK leaving EU for good.

You may just make it if Article 50 is not triggered until 2017 and UK then leaves sometime in 2019 or thereabouts.