NL Civil union -> EEA family permit

[mikee]

Hello All,

I'm looking for some advice for our situation. We'd like to take the next step in our relationship soon and that would be living together in the country I'm currently based at which in this case is going to be the Uk. Being apart is just so hard after being together for two years; having daily talks and videochats; Having lived together.

Our situation:
- I'm an dutch citizen (EU)
- My employer whom I have worked for about a year is setting up a new office in London, where I will be based. I'm working as an Engineer.
- I have a good salary and I have plenty of savings to support us.

- She is a Chinese citizen (Non EU/ non EEA)
- She has a bachelors degree in Marine science and is currently working as a team-leader / manager for an international fitness chain in her homecountry.
- She speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

- We met in China (I was based there until march 2018)
- We have been together for 2 years
- We have taken multiple trips to EU and Non EU countries
- We have met each others family multiple times
- We have lived together for 2-3 months in the beginning of 2018 in my appartement in China. I went back to my homecountry for family and work reasons. This has been te situation ever since. Once I get the go-ahead from my employer (they are still setting up things in the UK) I and the rest of the remote working team will move to London.

What we want:
We want to take our relationship to the next level which consists of her permanently moving in with me in the country that I'm residing. So we can evolve our relationship and build a future together. She is not the lazy type so she would not want to sit at home and just do housework. She want's to be a fully functioning member of society so to say.

How to do it:
I am not sure about this part. There seem to be a few routes that are possible. But since we are not married some of them might be difficult.

The EEA family permit / visa talks about a durable relationship and mention living together for two years as a criteria. Although we spent a lot of time together we won't be able to comply with the two year cohabitation requirement.

From my research it seems that an UK family visa is a viable option. But I do not know if this is the most straightforward option.

If anybody has advice or of anybody has been in a similar situation I would like to hear your story and any tips you might have.

Kind Regards,
Mike

[secret.simon]

In order to move to the UK as an unmarried partner, either for a family visa under the UK Immigration Rules (for which she is not eligible anyway) or a family permit under the EEA Regulations, she must have been in a relationship akin to marriage with you for at least two years. That means that you must provide proof of joint bank statements and other joint financial commitments (tenancy agreements, mortgage, etc). Being boyfriend/girlfriend does not cut it.

The alternative is of course to get married. If she is married to you, her right to reside in the UK will arise from the marriage itself.

But there is no boyfriend/girlfriend visa to take the relationship to the next level. Either the two of you are already at the level of a marriage or a relationship akin to it (in which case she gets a family permit) or the two of you are not (in which case she does not get a family permit).

She can of course apply for a Tier 2 work sponsored visa or a Tier 4 study/higher education visa on her own. But your relationship will be irrelevant for those visa applications anyway.

[mikee]

Thank you for the reply. We have talked about marriage before but we later talked about getting a civil partnership agreement. But from what I read that is not a thing for non-same sex couples in the UK.

Regarding marriage, I read all these things about being accused of a sham marriage etc. But as long as you can proof that you have been in a long lasting relationship this would not be an issue correct ?

Also does it matter where you get married ?

Thank you for your (quick) response!

[mikee]

After doing some research I'm wondering if this method would be successful for an EEA family permit (non-marriage).

My partner joins me in the Netherlands and we enter a civil union (heterosexual).
We then apply for an EEA family permit (non-marriage) for the UK and fulfill the durable
relationship part by this regulation:

Moving abroad with your civil partner
Where civil unions are considered equivalent or comparable to marriage, they give you the same rights for immigration purposes: your registered partner will be entitled to come with you if you settle in these countries.

If you want to move to an EU country which does not recognise registered partnerships at all, your partnership will be considered as a duly attested long-term relationship. Your host country must facilitate the entry and residence of your partner.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/f ... dex_en.htm

Would this work?

[Richard W]

Also does it matter where you get married ?

Not in British law. However, you should ensure that your marriage would be valid in Dutch law - there's a doctrine that the marriage would only count for EU law if it was valid in Dutch law.

[Richard W]

The OP should note that residing together in the UK may not count for anything much under EU law - the cut-off date for stays in the UK for Surinder Singh (I'm not sure whether it's the same as the Belgian route or just very similar) could well be March 2019.

[mikee]

I'm personally not set on the whole marriage thing because of the following reasons:
She has never lived outside of china before; She has no friends in the UK at that point; no family. no work etc.
Basically what we need to find out is if she "feels at home" in the UK. Getting married (or something like it) will make things more difficult for both of us, if I / she feels that it is not working out.

My personal opinion is that if living in the UK does not work out that she should go back to China and that we should end our relationship. As I have lived in China for several years I know that in my heart I could never feel at home / feel comfortable to live there. We have spoken about this quite early in our relationship.

The negative side of that story is that it- might/will put extra pressure on the succeeding part. And by that it might make the move / getting used to the UK / feeling at home there more difficult.

She is totally not the type that want to sit at home and do nothing and with me having a full time job at that point I can't be there to "hold her hand" during the weekday.

So I was thinking if something like doing an additional study or charity work would be the solution.
Since this 1. Allows her to stay with me, 2. Allows her to experience and integrate into the UK society 3. in case of a study allow her to gain valuable job skills, 4. she will have something to do during the workweek.

But from some quick research it seems that unpaid volunteering is limited to 30 days in total. So studying something and possibly doing some volunteering once per week might be something that could work out.

I do not mind marriage in the longer term but for now I think this will just add unnecessary stress for both of us. It also has major legal implications; especially if it turns out that the situation is only acceptably by one of us.

Any tips or thoughts are always appreciated.