EEA to ILR

[Raj1729]

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post on this forum. I have tried a few solicitors from a couple of big firms about my case but my situation from what they suggested is dead in the water. So I decided to put this post up and see if anybody at all can understand my situation or atleast see things from my perspective. I have a very complicated immigration history for 15 years with a mixture of student visa, to work permit and then to a family member of an EEA national to now with no status as I have an appeal pending at the tribunal. Any advice on this matter would be very helpful as my life is just hanging in the balance with no clear prospects what so ever. Here it goes:

Oct 2003 – Came to UK on a student Visa for doing a post grad course in Systems Engineering

Jan 2005 – Student Visa Extended to help me complete my course

Jan 2006 – Student Visa extended to see that I am here for the graduation

Feb 2006 – Graduated with a Post Graduate Diploma

Feb 2007 – Applied for a work permit

Apr 2007 – Work permit refused and the case went to the appeals court

Aug 2007 – Won the case against Home Offices decision and I was issued with a work permit (Supposed to be for two years)

Oct 2007 – My passport Never arrived as informed by the home office.

Feb 2008 – After continuously chasing found out the Home office lost my passport

Aug 2008 – Managed to get a new passport from the Indian high commission

Oct 2008 – Work Permit finally stamped on my passport but for only one year

Oct 2009 – Applied for a Family Member Residence Stamp as I have been cohabiting for 3 years with an EEA partner exercising her treaty rights. Informed Home Office about this and also provided all the evidence.

Apr 2010 – My then partner completed her 1 year on WRS

July 2010 – Withdrew my FMRS - Residence Stamp application to make a fresh application for FMRC - Residence Card (My status here is already a family member to my partner as she is exercising treaty rights)

Sep 2010 – Applied for Family Member Residence Card – Fresh Application

Jan 2011 – Was granted 5 year residence card as a Family Member of an EEA national as an unmarried partner valid until Jan 2016

Jan 2014 – We split up after being together for over 7 years

Oct 2014 – Approached xxxxxxxxxxxxx with my immigration history and all the details. Agreed to submit an ILR application as I have been in UK for over 10 years and also my visa is not yet expired and is valid until Jan 2016

Jan 2016 – xxxxxxxxxxx Applied for an Article 8 application on Human Rights grounds instead of the 10 year ILR as discussed and agreed previously. Got that totally wrong somehow when the solicitors dealing with my case changed at the last minute.

Apr 2016 – Home office refused my Article 8 application on human rights grounds as I have not been in UK for 20 years. Home office told me to leave with in 5 days with no right to appeal.

May 2016 – Changed solicitors and Applied for ILR under 10 years.

Mar 2017 – Refused on the grounds that I am an overstayer as my relationship broke down in Jan 2014 (even though my visa is valid until Jan 2016)

April 2017 – Gave me an option to appeal

Oct 2017 – Awaiting on a pending appeal date to come through with hardly any chance to win.

Business Case:
The situation is even more complicated as I have two successful businesses in the UK with one employing over 25 British nationals and is accredited by British Standards Kitemark for the quality of our processes and operations with a turnover of over £2.5M.

There is over £250K worth of assets invested across my businesses in the last 4 years.

Pay a decent amount in wages, PAYE, NI Contributions, Pensions, Private Health benefits, Non domestic rates etc. We also put young people through training through various apprenticeships to bolster future work force with a skill set.

Personal Case:
I moved to UK when I was 21 and since then lived here for 15 years. Though I am not born here my education, my cultural and moral values (liberal atheist), my relationships, my social life, my friends, the previous jobs I held and my current businesses are all here. I lived with my parents in India and never had a job as I was at the uni before I left and moved to UK, so I don’t have an identity there. All my contributions all these years, my NI Number, health history, credit history, bank accounts, loans/credit cards etc are all here.

I have no idea what to do. Home office says that I can run my businesses from India remotely which is very unlikely as it is hands on job with me being at the office everyday and doing what an owner and a managing director should do.

Because home office stated that I am an overstayer, if I do have to return to India I need to serve a 12 month ban before I can even apply for any application.

I have massive plans for the next 3 years with a businesses plan to reach £8M in sales turnover across my businesses with a prospect of employing over 35 people. I have the support of our local MP and all my friends and business partners and colleagues.

Wonder if anybody here have any suggestions or came across similar cases.

[CR001]

Kindly refrain from naming solicitor firms or persons on the forum.

Oct 2008 – Work Permit finally stamped on my passport but for only one year

Oct 2009 – Applied for a Family Member Residence Stamp as I have been cohabiting for 3 years with an EEA partner exercising her treaty rights. Informed Home Office about this and also provided all the evidence.

Apr 2010 – My then partner completed her 1 year on WRS

July 2010 – Withdrew my FMRS - Residence Stamp application to make a fresh application for FMRC - Residence Card (My status here is already a family member to my partner as she is exercising treaty rights)

Sep 2010 – Applied for Family Member Residence Card – Fresh Application

Jan 2011 – Was granted 5 year residence card as a Family Member of an EEA national as an unmarried partner valid until Jan 2016

You were an overstayer from the date your work permit expired in October 2009 to the date your RC was granted in January 2011. You don't have 10 years legal residence.

July 2010 – Withdrew my FMRS - Residence Stamp application to make a fresh application for FMRC - Residence Card (My status here is already a family member to my partner as she is exercising treaty rights)

As an unmarried partner you are an extended family member and you have no automatic rights under the EEA rules and Section 3C protection under the immigration rules does not apply to EEA route partner applications.

Jan 2014 – We split up after being together for over 7 years

Your rights under the EEA rules again were terminated at this point as an unmarried partner (extended family member) and you became an overstayer.

[Raj1729]

Thanks for taking time to reply to my post.

I honestly feel like I am getting penalised for not getting married. If I was married I am somehow a Family Member instead of what I was, an extended family member. Also I have different rights and magically I am not an ovestayer. I am sorry but it sounds like a farce. I have no intention of getting married in my life. I am an atheist and marriage is more like an old age religious ritual and makes no sense to me. 7 years is a lot longer than what most marriages last these days. Either married or not I was in a durable relationship with joint bank accounts and mortgage. Being a son or daughter is a biological relationship and there is no question about about him/her being a Family member but how come marriage has such an over bearing weight in the eyes of the law? I just cannot believe that because things didn't work out so suddenly I dont exist? What am I meant to do with all my life in here just disappear into thin air because I decided that relationship is not for me? But if things didnt work out and if I was married then somehow I am not overstayer and I have rights?

So looking at my case what do you suggest is a good way to move forward. I was informed that being an overstayer carries a ban of 12 months before I can apply for any visa. Also I need to make an out of country application too.

[CR001]

FLR(FP) Private life is the only option I can think of once all your appeal options are exhausted.

[Raj1729]

FLR(FP) Private life is the only option I can think of once all your appeal options are exhausted.

Again thanks for your reply here. Please can you suggest a good immigration law firm that would take up my case and go through all the complexity of it? Hopefully they may come up with some solution / compromise for me and so that I dont get penalized for not getting married.

Also another thing I would like you to throw some light on is about me being an overstayer a couple of times. From your very first reply to my post I gathered that every time I send my passport away for a visa stamping the time it stays with the home office to respond after the visa expiry date is also considered as an over stayed time. I am wondering how will I been an overstayer if my passport is with the home office all along being considered for a visa or held by the home office because of an appeal? I understand why I am an overstayer after my relationship broke but I am not sure why I would be an overstayer since I sent my passport away to the home office? Or why I would be an overstayer when I applied for a work permit before and it was granted?

Thanks for answering questions from my prev posts. Appreciate your help.

[CR001]

Again thanks for your reply here. Please can you suggest a good immigration law firm that would take up my case and go through all the complexity of it? Hopefully they may come up with some solution / compromise for me and so that I dont get penalized for not getting married.

Members are not permitted to name solicitor companies on the forum.0

Also another thing I would like you to throw some light on is about the status of overstayer. From your very first reply to my post I gathered that every time I send my passport away for a visa stamping the time it stays with the home office after the visa expiry date, that my status is an overtsayer?

Where exactly did I say that? Read my initial response again to understand what I said. Which 'visa stamping' period are you referring to here?

I am wondering how will I been an overstayer if my passport is with the home office all along being considered for a visa or held by the home office because of an appeal? I understand why I am an overstayer after my relationship broke but I am not sure why I would be an overstayer since I sent my passport away to the home office? Or why I would be an overstayer when I applied for a work permit before and it was granted?

Your current appeal? Simply sending your passport to HO does not give you legal status. I am not sure what you are actually asking here, your post is not clear. You were an overstayer from the date your work permit expired as I have already stated.