I am a Canadian citizen and my (unmarried) partner is a dual US/EU citizen. She will be starting graduate school in London at the end of September. I just received my EEA Family Permit today and I have a few job interviews lined up already. However, I read on some other forums that employers are unlikely to hire people with on an EEA Family Permit, and that as an unmarried partner, I am unlikely to receive a COA with a right to work (though some posters have said that unmarried Family Permit holders should receive right to work with their COA). I am currently considering a few options and would like some advice/clarification on the best way to proceed.
Option 1: Apply for a Biometric Residence Permit and hope that the COA gives me the right to work within a week or so.
Question: do I have to wait until my partner has officially started school (exercise treaty rights) at the end of September to apply or can I apply as soon as we arrive in the UK at the end of August while she "prepares" for school?
Option 2: Leave ASAP for the UK and apply for Pre-Settled status under the Settlement Scheme and hope to receive COA/Residence Card before I receive a job offer.
Questions: - What's the normal processing time for COA and Residence Card for unmarried non-EEA?
- Will the COA in this case be more likely to give me the right to work vs. COA for BIO RP?
Option 3: Apply for both Settlement Scheme and BIO RP and hope for the best.
Option 4: Re-apply for a Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) and apply for pre-settled status after 2 years (not sure if that's allowed).
Any help would be really greatly appreciated - thanks!!
