From EEA Family Permit to Pre-settles status or EEA(FM)?

[aaron0309]

Re: EEA (FM) vs. Pre-settled status

Hello, all

I’ve been finding very useful information here that helped me a lot arriving and settling in the U.K., so thank you all in advance!

I am American married to a French student in the U.K. We got married last year, and I came to the U.K. after successfully getting a Family Permit on 15 May, 2018 (FP validity: 15/05/2018 - 15/11/2018).

I started working full time in mid-August. I was lucky and able to confirm with my employer that they recognize EEA Family Permit as a work authorization document. While I am not too worried that they will ask me to leave my job after my Family Permit expires (15/11/2018), I know that it’s always a good idea to apply for a residency certification especially in the huge uncertainty caused by Brexit.

But knowing that the new settled and pre-settled status scheme is opening later this year, I am just so tempted to just wait until the scheme opens and apply through that route rather than the EEA route, especially since my partner is a student, and his CSI documents are in French, and it is very annoying and expensive to translate (his insurance documents are very vague and general as it is in conjunction with the French social security system).

Also I currently hold a very expensive insurance (the most premiums and comprehensive plan) as I wanted to make sure that my EEA FM application will be successful. So if the new settled status scheme is really in place, it looks like the non-EEA national partner doesn’t have to hold CSI?

Could anyone please confirm the above is true? If it is, I am just going to downgrade my insurance plan or just discontinue.

My second question is...should I still apply for EEA FM? I don’t think my employment will be jeopardized during the period between my Familt Permit expiring and me applying for the pre-settled status. And when traveling outside I can enter the U.K. border with my marriage certificate as long as U.K. is still within the EU?

[NikiGio]

Also I currently hold a very expensive insurance (the most premiums and comprehensive plan) as I wanted to make sure that my EEA FM application will be successful. So if the new settled status scheme is really in place, it looks like the non-EEA national partner doesn’t have to hold CSI?

The HO have advised that CSI will not be a requirement for Settled Status. However, have a look at this article from the Free Movement blog:

https://www.freemovement.org.uk/compreh ... -needs-it/

Where it says:

The Home Office said on 26 January that:

We will not require students and self-sufficient people living here to prove that they have held comprehensive sickness insurance when they apply for settled status in the UK. Students and self-sufficient people living here can still be granted settled status even if they have never held this.

There are two issues here. One is that, as the European Commission emphasises, this is not a legal requirement of its deal with the UK. It is a unilateral offer and the Home Office might change its mind in future. Another is whether this waiver also covers people who have not lived here for five years, and are therefore applying for “temporary” rather than “settled” status.

If you can afford it, I would probably continue paying your CSI until you gain Settled Status - although that may be overly-cautious and waste money. Hard to say at this point.

And when traveling outside I can enter the U.K. border with my marriage certificate as long as U.K. is still within the EU?

Americans are non-Visa nationals, so in theory you can request entry without a Visa, based on being the spouse of an EU citizen. Also technically, if you present evidence that you are married to an EU national on arrival and that the EU national is exercising treaty right and living here, they should grant you entry. If you choose to do this, he should be either travelling with you or waiting for you at the airport ready to answer questions. The difficulty may be with persuading an airline before you travel to return to the UK, because you'd have no valid residence card or visa for the UK. You should take your marriage certificate with you and a letter from your husband's University, all to facilitate entry in case needed. You could also seek another EEA (FP) while abroad given they're free, but that would mean doing the paperwork and would depend on how long you're away for. Would your husband travel with you? If so, this would also makes things easier.

My second question is...should I still apply for EEA FM? I don’t think my employment will be jeopardized during the period between my Familt Permit expiring and me applying for the pre-settled status.

Mmhhh harder to advise on this. To apply for EEA (FM), you need to be abroad. If you're in the UK, you need to apply for a Registration Card via the EEA route, which would mean translating your husband's French national insurance certification. Does he have an EHIC card issued by France? This would be enough for the EEA-route application.

In theory, you would be not be covered from next month until whichever time you gain Settled Status...could be risky, could not be risky with regards to your employment and travel. The HO have said that the first phase of the Settled Status applications would start at the end of this year - but we're already in mid October and no word yet...

Not sure if I've helped or confused you more!

[NikiGio]

Mmhhh harder to advise on this. To apply for EEA (FM), you need to be abroad.

Sorry - correction on the above. I meant to say:

"To apply for EEA *(FP)* you need to be abroad".