permanent residence card for Non-EU after divorse

[Bella21]

Good Afternoon,
I hope you can help me as I don't know what to do now...I was happily married since June 2011. I am Non- EU family member and my husband is from EU. We moved to UK in May 2012, after I got my residence card. Me and my husband have been working all the time, no benefits etc. A month ago I applied for Permanent Residence card, done my biometrics already....It looks to me like my husband has found somebody else and he is thinking of leaving me. We still work on a relationship but the question is if I receive my permanent residence card and the he decides to divorce (I don't know what is going on in his head) will my permanent residence card be valid or I need to apply to retain my right of residence after divorce? I don't want to have any problems with law etc.... I'm a bit confused and don't know what to do if he decides to leave me.....Plus it's written that permanent residence card will not be valid after UL leave EU...Please advise if you can...Many Thanks..

[Richard W]

Under the current regulations, you have achieved PR already. Once you have received the PRC, you are secure under the EU law and the current regulations - neither a divorce nor his departure from the UK will affect your status under the EEA Regulations. The most immediate problem is that if your application were rejected for inadequate evidence, you would need his valid passport or ID card to make a fresh application.

Unfortunately, it's not at all clear what happens after Brexit. If he stays in the UK until divorce or Brexit occurs and you continue to work, then you will have a normally redundant retained right of residence which will cover you as I read the agreed position coming out of the exit negotiations.

The UK position on holders of permanent residence is

Holders of Permanent Residence certificates need to reapply; UK
ready to offer more streamlined administrative procedure. UK seeks clarification on how UK citizens in the EU will be identified as covered by the WA as a matter of practice.

However, it's not clear to me how this applies to non-EEA citizens like yourself. (The position for British citizens in EU27 is even more complicated - presumably British citizens who qualified for permanent residence as the family member of a non-British EEA sponsor will retain full permanent residence rights, even if they also qualified in their own right.)

The surest solution I can suggest is to apply for naturalisation in June 2018. The possibility of a solution through the new settled status may have become clear by then.

[Bella21]

Thank you for your reply. So as far as I understand as soon as I receive permanent residence I will not depend on him anymore even if I applied as a family member? I never depend on him and he never transferred me money because I was working and employed all the time. So if he will decide to leave me and divorse I still can stay in UK? Do you know if I can be re-married using my permanent residence card? I'm not saying I'm going to do it, I just want to clarify it because there is no information about in on a government site...thank you for help

[Richard W]

Unfortunately, it's not at all clear what happens after Brexit. If he stays in the UK until divorce or Brexit occurs and you continue to work, then you will have a normally redundant retained right of residence which will cover you as I read the agreed position coming out of the exit negotiations.

Actually, I'm no longer sure about the retention of the right. EEA Regulation 10(9) says the right is lost when permanent residence is achieved, but I can see no basis for this in Directive 2004/38/EC. I see an opportunity here for mischief-making by Perfidious Albion. It may present the Home Office with an opportunity to remove those who have obtained permanent residence by a short-lived marriage that they had never intended to be permanent.

So if he will decide to leave me and divorse I still can stay in UK? Do you know if I can be re-married using my permanent residence card?

While the UK is subject to EU law, the answers are yes and yes. However, as a permanent resident without EEA citizenship, you would have no more rights in immigration matters than a typical British citizen.

If you retain settled status after Brexit - and that is not certain - remarriage would not affect your settled status.

[Bella21]

So i see it's all unsettled at the moment...what would be the best solution for me to secure myself in UK please? Thank you very much for your help...

[Richard W]

So i see it's all unsettled at the moment...what would be the best solution for me to secure myself in UK please? Thank you very much for your help...

As I said before, the surest solution is to apply for naturalisation in June 2018. However, matters may be clearer by then. Brexit before March 2019 seems unlikely.

[Bella21]

Thank you for your help a lot! At least i see now that the situation is not too bad...i went to a solicitor not long ago and he told me that if husband decides to divorce me I'll need to leave UK as soon as divorce is done and I can't stay no matter what because I'm not eu citizen....
Can I ask one more question please? The permanet residence card will be given to me as a family member of EU citizen or it will be just a card and I will not depend on husband anymore?
Thank you!!!

[Richard W]

The permanet residence card will be given to me as a family member of EU citizen or it will be just a card and I will not depend on husband anymore?

It's 'just a card'. Many EEA countries (e.g. the Schengen countries) allow it to be used just like the residence card of a family member of an EU citizen.

[Bella21]

Thank you very much

[Bella21]

So i see it's all unsettled at the moment...what would be the best solution for me to secure myself in UK please? Thank you very much for your help...

As I said before, the surest solution is to apply for naturalisation in June 2018. However, matters may be clearer by then. Brexit before March 2019 seems unlikely.

I've read about naturalization...a bit confused....i don't think i can apply for a naturalization in 2018 because I'm not from eu? Only eu member can apply for naturalization if they have got PR for a year.....i need to have a settled status first and only after I can qualify for naturalization....but to get settles status I need to be married to eu member.....and I'm not sure we will save our marriage and still be married, things are getting bad.....can you please advise on this? Thank you in advance...

[Hstepper07]

You can apply for naturalization 1 yr after receiving your PR regardless of whether you are a Non EEA family member

[Bella21]

You can apply for naturalization 1 yr after receiving your PR regardless of whether you are a Non EEA family member

had settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’)in the UK for the last 12 months if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)had permanent residence status for the last 12 months if you’re a citizen of an EEA country - you need to provide a permanent residence document - this is from government website and its clearly states that I need to have a settled status before i apply because I'm outside from EEA....can you please advise on This?

[Hstepper07]

You can apply for naturalization 1 yr after receiving your PR regardless of whether you are a Non EEA family member

had settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’)in the UK for the last 12 months if you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)had permanent residence status for the last 12 months if you’re a citizen of an EEA country - you need to provide a permanent residence document - this is from government website and its clearly states that I need to have a settled status before i apply because I'm outside from EEA....can you please advise on This?

You said you applied for PR card 1 month ago and you have done ur biometrics. Once Home office sends you your PR card, check for date you acquired permanent residence on the letter the send with your PR card.
1 yr from that date is the settled status that you refer to. You can apply for naturalization 1yr after this date as your partner is not British. Hope this makes it clearer to you.

[Wise]

Firstly, I don't know where your Lawyer actually study law as his/her response is utterly rubbish and nonsense.

1, YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE NATURALIZATION IN A YEAR AFTER YOU'VE GOT YOUR PR EITHER EU/NON EU CITIZEN AND NO MATTER IF YOU MARRIED OR DIVORCE. YOU MAY AS WELL SEARCH THE CITIZENSHIP SECTION AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE GOT THEIR NATURALIZATION.

2, THE IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU NOW IS TO GET YOUR PR AND ONCE YOU HAVE IT COME WHAT MAY YOU WILL BE SAVE AFTER BREXIT. PEOPLE SHOULD APPLY COMMON SENSE IN ALL OF THIS SO CALLED BREXIT BECAUSE IS NOT ONE SIDE ISSUE,THERE MANY BRITS IN ALL PART OF EUROPE IN THE SAME POSITION. CAN ANYONE IN THIS FORUM TELL ME THAT BRITAIN WILL SEND PEOPLE WITH LEGAL STATUS BACK HOME AND THE EU GOVERNMENTS WILL ALLOW BRITS TO STAY IN THE EU? YOU CAN QUOTE ME IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

3, SINCE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS NEGOTIATION, I'VE NEVER READ ANYWHERE THAT PEOPLE WHO'RE HERE LEGALLY WILL BE PUSH OUT JUST LIKE THAT!.

4, LET YOUR HALF SUIT HIMSELF, YOU WILL BE FINE AND YOU SHOULD FOLLOW NEWS ON BREXIT EITHER ONLINE/TV AND PUT YOUR MIND AT REST.

GOOD LUCK.

[Bella21]

Thank you very much for your advices, I really appreciate your help and I feel better now. Hope I'll get my PR soon! Thank you again!!!