EU settlement scheme - no biometrics, got COA

i am non-EU family member with an EU-FM residence card.
i applied for the EU settlement scheme on 21 Janaury, 2020 using my residence card on the home office androind app. and was offered settled status based on NI record as it goes back 5 years but married only 3 years ago.

i was sent a COA the next day via email and nothing else ever since. no biometrics email or option at the time of application.

is this normal? will i be required to submit biometrics or because i applied using my biometric residence card there wont be any need for that.

There won't be any biometric as they have already been captured on your current EEA card.

It's common to wait 3-4 months to get a final decision. The CoA is automatic but the final decision will go to a caseworker.

Check the timeline section.

real_fun wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:06 am

i was offered settled status based on NI record as it goes back 5 years but married only 3 years ago.

I'd like ot add that you will likely get Pre-Settled Status, as time spent outside of the EEA residence card does not count.
I had over 7 years of NINO records, was offered Settled Status, but in the end only got Pre-Settled status, since only 3 years on EEA RC.

3 to 4 months is such a long time to wait considering my EU partner got settled status in 3 days.
is there any point in applying for the EEA (PR) application in the hope they would consider time spent cohabiting before marriage towards the five years qualifying period or am i day dreaming.

He is not correct regarding Home office response.
HO will decide your application within two months.
Most of the applications are taking roughly two months.
I don't know why these moderators try to disappoint the people who are waiting for their decisions from Home office.

Zynmalikkkk wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 11, 2020 10:56 pm

He is not correct regarding Home office response.
HO will decide your application within two months.

I invite you to revise your understanding. Kindly consider the below as widely proven facts:

1) Each case is different
2) The fact that there is a general average estimate of the waiting time frame for applications is no guarantee that that is exactly how long a given application will take.

therefore,

3) You cannot guarantee to anyone when their application will be decided. All you can do is contest the average proven estimate.

Most of the applications are taking roughly two months.

Even if this is the most accurate and current average, again, as per the logic before, this gives you no sufficient grounds to guarantee to the OP that their application will take two months.

There is one specific reason for this: The OP application is not representative of "most applications", in fact, it belongs to a very specific case that has been identified: The case of non-Eu family members of EU citizens who have spent more than 5 years in the UK but less than 5 years as the family member of a EU citizen. There is substantial evidence collected from last year's posts, that applications with this profile took the longest to be decided.

I waited for 5 months to get my application decided.

I don't know why these moderators try to disappoint the people who are waiting for their decisions from Home office.

1) no moderator has posted on this thread. Those are green names. Blue names are respected gurus.
2) both moderators and respected gurus improve the conversations on this forum by providing accurate and expert information, and correcting misinformed statements.
3) both moderators and respected gurus never aim to disappoint, but to keep expectations reasonable for the members who need accurate information. If that disappoints, that's life; but at least the OP is better informed than before the disappointment!

In this case, and judging from the collective wisdom and experience of all the relevant messages amassed in recent months, although no one can guarantee what their outcome of their application and time-frame will be, it is not unlikely is that the OP gets Pre-Settled status, and that they wait more than 3 months, and they need to prepare for that eventuality. Advising them the opposite, given the information available, would be irresponsible.

call it a miracle but got confirmation of settled- status this morning via email.
went to the website to check and it has my picture with the indefinite leave to remain status. they are calling it indefinite leave to remain. wow..

real_fun wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 11, 2020 1:41 pm

is there any point in applying for the EEA (PR) application in the hope they would consider time spent cohabiting before marriage towards the five years qualifying period or am i day dreaming.

Did you have an EEA RC as an unmarried partner before your marriage? That will explain that time being counted towards your five years.

no EEA RC as an unmarried partner but provided cohabitation evidence covering every single month until the marriage day which seems to have worked.
i did not receive any phone calls or further emails from the HO just an email confirming the final decicion.

@Kamoe: although i must say that next month i would have completed 10 years long and legal stay any ways so a pre-settled status would not have affected me that much. although i desperately wanted to avoid the thousands of pounds in fee for the ILR application under the immigration act. thats why was even thinking to take a chance and apply for the legacy EU(PR) route but no need for that now. whooofff

@kamoe: just realised i already completed the ten year period as you can apply upto 28 days before the actual arrival date so i am eligible since the start of this month for ILR any ways.

real_fun wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:22 am

@kamoe: just realised i already completed the ten year period as you can apply upto 28 days before the actual arrival date so i am eligible since the start of this month for ILR any ways.

Congratulations for your settled status!! You said you had a residence card but only got married 3 years ago. What kind on permit did you have before? I thought time spent in EU law wasn’t counted for 10 years residency.

LineLove85 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:33 am

real_fun wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:22 am

@kamoe: just realised i already completed the ten year period as you can apply upto 28 days before the actual arrival date so i am eligible since the start of this month for ILR any ways.

Congratulations for your settled status!! You said you had a residence card but only got married 3 years ago. What kind on permit did you have before? I thought time spent in EU law wasn’t counted for 10 years residency.

All legal residence counts for ILR based on 10 years long residence. However, if using EEA/EU route time, there is substantial evidence that must be submitted to prove the EU citizen was a qualified person exercising treaty rights.

real_fun wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:49 pm

call it a miracle but got confirmation of settled- status this morning via email.
went to the website to check and it has my picture with the indefinite leave to remain status. they are calling it indefinite leave to remain. wow..

Real fun

Can I ask u pls did u submit documents when u was unmarried partner how many months did u submit thank u

i submitted documents proving cohabitaion covering each month until marriage day and just a marriage certificate. thats it.

no id of eea partner or anything else. just linked our applications together.

real_fun wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:25 am

i submitted documents proving cohabitaion covering each month until marriage day and just a marriage certificate. thats it.

no id of eea partner or anything else. just linked our applications together.

Please note that this is no guarantee that anyone doing this will be granted Settled Status.

It seems to me like this is an exception and not the rule, as from virtually most posts on this forum, time spent outside of the EEA route does not count towards the 5 years required for Settled Status. Even providing proof of cohabitation the fact remains that the OP was not the family member of their EU sponsor prior to their marriage. Cohabitation time would only be relevant in the context of an application for unmarried partner RC, in which case, only at the time of issuing the card would the OP become a family member of their sponsor. Also, them already completed 10 years in the UK is irrelevant, since they are not applying for ILR under the general immigration route, this is independent from the Settlement Scheme.

That being said, I'm puzzled. This is very strange and I have raised a query with the Resolution Center, as this means that either this is an isolated error on the part of the case worker... or a bunch of us who were granted pre-=Settled Status are actually already eligible for Seltted Status.

For further info, this is the main reason I was given for Pre-Settled Status:

You were issued with a relevant document as the durable partner of your relevant EU citizen on 01 February 2016 and therefore your UK
residence as a family member of an EU citizen commenced on this date for the purposes of the scheme.

Obviously, to qualify as durable partner in 2016 I had already submitted evidence of cohabitation for at least two years, and yet that time did not count. I'm going to raise the issue nonetheless, but I have a feeling they'll say cohabitation time prior to the issuing of a RC does not count.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:42 am

real_fun wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:25 am

i submitted documents proving cohabitaion covering each month until marriage day and just a marriage certificate. thats it.

no id of eea partner or anything else. just linked our applications together.

Please note that this is no guarantee that anyone doing this will be granted Settled Status.

It seems to me like this is an exception and not the rule, as from virtually most posts on this forum, time spent outside of the EEA route does not count towards the 5 years required for Settled Status. Even providing proof of cohabitation the fact remains that the OP was not the family member of their EU sponsor prior to their marriage. Cohabitation time would only be relevant in the context of an application for unmarried partner RC, in which case, only at the time of issuing the card would the OP become a family member of their sponsor. Also, them already completed 10 years in the UK is irrelevant, since they are not applying for ILR under the general immigration route, this is independent from the Settlement Scheme.

That being said, I'm puzzled. This is very strange and I have raised a query with the Resolution Center, as this means that either this is an isolated error on the part of the case worker... or a bunch of us who were granted pre-=Settled Status are actually already eligible for Seltted Status.

@Kamoe Let us know when they reply, I got pre settled as I’ve been married for 4 years and 2 months even tho I moved here almost 10 years ago. I believe it was an error and the OP is very lucky!!

LineLove85 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:45 am

@Kamoe Let us know when they reply, I got pre settled as I’ve been married for 4 years and 2 months even tho I moved here almost 10 years ago. I believe it was an error and the OP is very lucky!!

As expected, the EUSS Resolution center completely dodged the question of the OP case, diverting their answer to something I did not ask and already know: when I would be eligible for Settle Status myself: 5 years after the establishment of my relationship with my EU sponsor (in my case, the date my EEA card was issued), regardless of any cohabitation time before that, and regardless how long I have been in the UK.

So yes, it does seem like the OPs outcome is a mistake.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 20, 2020 4:34 pm

5 years after the establishment of my relationship with my EU sponsor (in my case, the date my EEA card was issued), regardless of any cohabitation time before that, and regardless how long I have been in the UK.

Did they use the phrase "establishment of relationship"? That can be taken several ways, and might explain the inconsistency. There's also been at least one tribunal or court ruling that time before counts towards the qualification for PR, so its occasionally being counted does not surprise me.

Richard W wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:07 pm

Did they use the phrase "establishment of relationship"? That can be taken several ways, and might explain the inconsistency. There's also been at least one tribunal or court ruling that time before counts towards the qualification for PR, so its occasionally being counted does not surprise me.

They say: "You will be eligible to apply for Settled status in February 2021, five years from the date your relationship to your EU Sponsor was accepted by us."

Richard W wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:07 pm

There's also been at least one tribunal or court ruling that time before counts towards the qualification for PR.

Can you share details?

kamoe wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:14 pm

Richard W wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 20, 2020 5:07 pm

There's also been at least one tribunal or court ruling that time before counts towards the qualification for PR.

Can you share details?

Yes!

The judgement is recorded at SSHD v. Idrissa Kamagate and it was discussed at topic eea-route-applications/eea4-pr-applicat ... 38512.html . We don't know whether the OP ultimately succeeded in his application. I suspect not.