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Hi everyone,

I've been in the UK for about 6 months on a two-year Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. My partner of 6 years is a Republic of Ireland Citizen so she's here on her Irish passport. Ideally I would like to stay for longer than my two-year visa, so am looking into options for extending.

From what I've read, I think my best option is the EEA (EFM) residence card. The 76 page application form/6 month process is a bit off-putting, but it seems to be my best option unless I'm to get Tier 2 sponsorship, which at this stage is unlikely.

I've done quite a lot of research already, but want to confirm a few things before I start my application to help me complete it properly:

1) I've been struggling to understand the difference between a residence card and a registration certificate. I think it's just the residence card that I want - if I followed that process as per the link below and was successful, would that entitle me to 5 more years in the UK, as long as we remained in a relationship? Or would it just mean 5 years total including my Tier 5 time?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... rm-eea-efm

2) My partner should be eligible for a "registration certificate" as per the link below, but hasn't applied as it doesn't seem to have any benefits to her. What are the benefits of that, and would it in any way help with my application?
https://www.gov.uk/eea-registration-certificate/apply

3) I understand I need to send my Tier 5 BRP and passport away with my application. Is there a way of getting these back sooner than 6 months? I'm here to travel, so this would be massively inconvenient for me, and I actually have overseas trips booked at least every 6 weeks for the next 4 months, so it may make it near impossible to apply. If there is any way of getting documents back sooner, what's the expected timing, and is this guaranteed?

4) If my application was declined for any reason, would this have any impact on my current Tier 5 visa? That is, say my application is rejected in February next year, would I still be eligible to remain in the UK until its current expiry date of June 2018?

5) My partner is currently contracting under her own limited company, so I think I'd need to provide the self-employed evidence as shown in the guidance. It's all done properly and she has an accountant, so I should be able to show this fairly comprehensively, but she is currently paying herself relatively little to come under the tax thresholds, and we're basically living off my income. So not sure I can prove she's paying tax. Has anyone been in a similar situation, or can tell me whether this is likely to cause any problems? Any advice in terms of the evidence I present in my application?

6) In terms of the application itself, I'm thinking that I'll fill out the form, and write a cover letter that clearly tells the story of me being eligible for all of the reasons as evidenced by my supporting documentation. Is this the best way to do it? Does anyone else have any other suggestions or recommendations in terms of improving my chances of being accepted?

Sorry about all the questions - I just want it to be a fool-proof application! If you can help me out with even one of the above, I would be most appreciative!

1) I've been struggling to understand the difference between a residence card and a registration certificate. I think it's just the residence card that I want - if I followed that process as per the link below and was successful, would that entitle me to 5 more years in the UK, as long as we remained in a relationship? Or would it just mean 5 years total including my Tier 5 time?
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... rm-eea-efm

It is a residence card you apply for as an extended EEA family member. It would be 5 years from the date you receive the card. It DOES NOT include the time spent on Tier 5, they are two different routes with different rules.

3) I understand I need to send my Tier 5 BRP and passport away with my application. Is there a way of getting these back sooner than 6 months? I'm here to travel, so this would be massively inconvenient for me, and I actually have overseas trips booked at least every 6 weeks for the next 4 months, so it may make it near impossible to apply. If there is any way of getting documents back sooner, what's the expected timing, and is this guaranteed?

As far as I am aware, only the EU citizens passport can be requested back early.

4) If my application was declined for any reason, would this have any impact on my current Tier 5 visa? That is, say my application is rejected in February next year, would I still be eligible to remain in the UK until its current expiry date of June 2018?

No effect on your Tier 5. However, to qualify for an EEA Extended Family member based on durable partner, you MUST submit rock solid evidence of living together 'in a relationship akin to marriage' for a minimum of 2 years. Do you have this evidence? If not, you won't qualify as an unmarried partner.

CR001 wrote:

3) I understand I need to send my Tier 5 BRP and passport away with my application. Is there a way of getting these back sooner than 6 months? I'm here to travel, so this would be massively inconvenient for me, and I actually have overseas trips booked at least every 6 weeks for the next 4 months, so it may make it near impossible to apply. If there is any way of getting documents back sooner, what's the expected timing, and is this guaranteed?

As far as I am aware, only the EU citizens passport can be requested back early.

Both passports can be requested back. This is what I did. You can either do it via the 'request for passport back service' after you have applied, or you can enclose a prepaid envelop with your application and ask for both passports to be sent back to you in your cover letter. That's what I did and got both back within 2 weeks of applying, no impact on application.