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Hi everyone

I've been reading many posts regarding using EEA2 RC to travel to other EU countries, which i found many positive answers, but there is a slight twist to my situation so I am not 100% sure.

My partner is Polish, and we lived in the UK for over 5 years before deciding to have a gap year. Now we are about to finish our travel and want to go to Poland first before going back to the UK.

So my question is, can I use my EEA2 RC to entre Poland? I don't need a visa to entre EU but we may stay a long time in Poland (over 3 months) so it would be better if I can get in using my RC (i.e. no time limit).

My assumption is YES, but it's been over 1 yr since we left UK, i worry that my RC is no longer valid. (expired in 2018).

The worst case scenario is getting in as a tourist and then applying for a temporary residence permit.

Any advice would be appreciated!

zuzululu1111 wrote:Hi everyone

I've been reading many posts regarding using EEA2 RC to travel to other EU countries, which i found many positive answers, but there is a slight twist to my situation so I am not 100% sure.

My partner is Polish, and we lived in the UK for over 5 years before deciding to have a gap year. Now we are about to finish our travel and want to go to Poland first before going back to the UK.

So my question is, can I use my EEA2 RC to entre Poland? I don't need a visa to entre EU but we may stay a long time in Poland (over 3 months) so it would be better if I can get in using my RC (i.e. no time limit).

My assumption is YES, but it's been over 1 yr since we left UK, i worry that my RC is no longer valid. (expired in 2018).

The worst case scenario is getting in as a tourist and then applying for a temporary residence permit.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Are you married or unmarried partners?

Had you acquired PR in UK before you left UK?

Your RC and continuity of residence in UK will be expired if you have been away from UK for over a year.
When you return to UK your PR clock will be reset to zero unless you had acquired PR before you left.

I am going to make the assumption that you the OP are a woman and your partner is a man. Gender-neutral language in English is an excessive strain.

noajthan wrote:Are you married or unmarried partners?

Had you acquired PR in UK before you left UK?

It's also relevant to ask if your partner has acquired PR. From your opening post, I think he has.

noajthan wrote:Your RC and continuity of residence in UK will be expired if you have been away from UK for over a year.

Your residence card will not have expired; it remains 'valid' until it is revoked or expires, and I think it is unlikely to be revoked while you are outside the UK.

If your (=OP's) partner has permanent residence, then your residence card should not be revoked, for you are still entitled to reside with him in the UK.

If you are married, the card should get you two to the UK border, and you should then be admitted on the basis of your marriage - have your marriage certificate available. The card being revoked then should then matter little, for you will get an EEA Regulation stamp.

The rest of my reply assumes that you and your partner are not married and neither of you has permanent residence. (I haven't addressed the possibility of you having permanent residence - it seems unlikely from the date of your residence card.)

Your residence card may be revoked when you return to the UK on the grounds that your partner is no longer exercising treaty rights. Does he have leave of absence from his employment in the UK, or is he between jobs? If he has leave of absence, you may be able to argue that on return he is still exercising treaty rights.

You may be able to preserve your residence card by entering as a tourist, but the deception involved is illegal and may be held against you at a later date. Another, legal, preservation tactic would be to return after your partner has resumed work.

Another method would be to get a family permit, though I worry as to where your evidence of cohabitation is. It may not preserve your residence card, but I believe the current one will expire before you attain permanent residence.

"You" used here means "any of you" ie OP & partner.

Clearly someone gallivanting around the world for over a year has rendered their RC meaningless and their continuity of residence is broken. That doesn't mean the holy grail of UK residence cannot be acquired again.
A confirmatory RC can only be truly valid on day of issue, it will tend to degrade due to immigration entropy after day one.

Waiting on OP to reply on actual circumstances instead of second-guessing them hence my targeted questions.

noajthan wrote:Clearly someone gallivanting around the world for over a year has rendered their RC meaningless and their continuity of residence is broken. That doesn't mean the holy grail of UK residence cannot be acquired again.
A confirmatory RC can only be truly valid on day of issue, it will tend to degrade due to immigration entropy after day one.

That is why someone presenting an RC to UK immigration should always have evidence to hand to show that they still qualify for entry.

In this case, if the couple are not married, the OP's RC serves the key function of making the OP a family member of the sponsor. Gallivanting around the world for a year would not render it meaningless in this role. If it is revoked, the OP would cease to have a right of entry. It seems that the OP is not a visa national, so its secondary rôle as a boarding facilitator is not relevant.

The sponsor will not have any problems with any registration card or DCPR he might have. At present, it is no more than back-up to any third country passport he might have. It certainly wasn't clear to me that all your uses of the word 'you' referred to the sponsor.