eea family residence card renewal_brexit

[MJGrasso]

Hi

I have an eea family residence card as the unmarried partner of an eea national. It expires in March 2019. I am American and my unmarried partner of 10 years is Irish. We moved from America to London for her job in January 2014 and we now have a three year old who is both an Irish and American citizen. I have looked at the Home Office website and it seems like I have three options in early 2019: 1) apply for permanent residence in January (although this will expire in December 2020 due to Brexit), 2) renew my EEA family residence card in March, or 3) apply for settled status in March 2019 if I plan on remaining in the UK after June 2021. Applying for settled status seems like the best long term option, but if it is very onerous to do then I may postpone it and take a different route to remain in the UK.

Am I correct that these three options are available to me? If so, which route is the most straightforward/easiest?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Many thanks

MJGrasso

[Richard W]

Hi

I have an eea family residence card as the unmarried partner of an eea national. It expires in March 2019. I am American and my unmarried partner of 10 years is Irish. We moved from America to London for her job in January 2014 and we now have a three year old who is both an Irish and American citizen. I have looked at the Home Office website and it seems like I have three options in early 2019: 1) apply for permanent residence in January (although this will expire in December 2020 due to Brexit), 2) renew my EEA family residence card in March, or 3) apply for settled status in March 2019 if I plan on remaining in the UK after June 2021. Applying for settled status seems like the best long term option, but if it is very onerous to do then I may postpone it and take a different route to remain in the UK.

Am I correct that these three options are available to me? If so, which route is the most straightforward/easiest?

The best option would be to apply for settled status in January 2019.

You can apply for confirmation of permanent residence in January 2019, and then soon (immediately?) thereafter apply for settled status on the basis of it. However, you will need less evidence to apply directly for settled status.

If you do not automatically achieve PR as your RC expires, you will be in the UK unlawfully once it expires unreplaced! You would also have no right to work.

[MJGrasso]

Hi Richard

Thank you for your response.

Do you know how long it is currently taking the Home Office to provide confirmation for permanent residence? Is two months going to be enough time?

Do I have to wait until January 2019 to start the process (I will have lived in the UK for five years then)?

Subject to your answer to the above question(s), is there a way to renew my eea residence card that takes less time? Once I have the renewed residence card I could apply for PR without worrying about running out of time.

If my residence card expires and I don't have PR status yet does that mean I automatically lose my job (can I come back to it on the same terms after my residence status is sorted out)? Am I allowed to stay in the country on a different visa/method? For example, if my employer is willing to provide a work visa will that interfere with my PR application?

I think I am going to need legal advice on this. Any recommendations for an immigration lawyer in London?

Many thanks

MJGrasso

[Richard W]

Do you know how long it is currently taking the Home Office to provide confirmation for permanent residence? Is two months going to be enough time?

Do I have to wait until January 2019 to start the process (I will have lived in the UK for five years then)?

Subject to your answer to the above question(s), is there a way to renew my eea residence card that takes less time? Once I have the renewed residence card I could apply for PR without worrying about running out of time.

While I can't find a legal requirement to do so, it appears that the Home Office is issuing a CoA when people apply for a PRC. Remember that PR is acquired automatically; it is not granted. Two months is long enough to get a CoA.

It is quite possible that applying for settled status will be much quicker than applying for a PRC.

On reviewing the topic, I notice that I am assuming that you entered the UK on the basis of a family permit. Is that so, or did you have some other basis of stay?

If my residence card expires and I don't have PR status yet does that mean I automatically lose my job (can I come back to it on the same terms after my residence status is sorted out)? Am I allowed to stay in the country on a different visa/method? For example, if my employer is willing to provide a work visa will that interfere with my PR application?

Another visa would not interfere with the application for a PRC.

If you and your partner broke up this Christmas, you would immediately lose your right to be in the UK, let alone to work. A residence card is not like a 'visa', which is generally valid until it is revoked.

I think I am going to need legal advice on this. Any recommendations for an immigration lawyer in London?

We can't recommend lawyers. The best we could do is to offers ways of detecting a lawyer who is competent in the EEA route.

[MJGrasso]

Hi Richard

Thank you for your reply. I have a few more questions:

- What documentation/evidence do I need to submit to obtain a CoA?
- You say that permanent residence is acquired automatically. Does that mean the Home Office can't contest my application/must issue a CoA so long as I am still with my partner?
- Can I use the CoA to enter and leave the UK?
How long does it take to receive the PRC after I receive the CoA?
- Will the Home Office take my passport/my partner's passport while I am waiting for the CoA to be issued? Can I/we leave the country while we are waiting for the CoA?

In response to your question, yes I entered the UK on a EEA family permit and then upon arrival I immediately applied for a EEA residence card.

Many thanks

Matt

[Richard W]

- What documentation/evidence do I need to submit to obtain a CoA?

You need a complete set of documentation - passports, evidence of your residence and evidence that your partner is a qualified person, and evidence that you are still partners.

- You say that permanent residence is acquired automatically. Does that mean the Home Office can't contest my application/must issue a CoA so long as I am still with my partner?

For RC applications, the CoA is only dependent on submitting a valid application. A 'long CoA' a.k.a. 'CoA with right to work' is dependent on a plausible set of evidence. The legal point is that you either have permanent residence or you do not. The Home Office decides whether it accepts your claim that you have it. A refusal means you have not persuaded them that you have permanent residence; it does not mean that you do not have it.

- Can I use the CoA to enter and leave the UK?
How long does it take to receive the PRC after I receive the CoA?

Time from real application to CoA is about a month, and that has varied little over the years; time from real application to PRC is highly variable. At the moment it looks like two months. For current timings, see the latest processing time thread.

No, you can't use the CoA to enter and leave the UK.

- Will the Home Office take my passport/my partner's passport while I am waiting for the CoA to be issued?

Yes, unless you use a scheme whereby you and your partner apply for confirmation of permanent residence together and retain your passports.

Can I/we leave the country while we are waiting for the CoA?

Yes. I believe re-entering formally depends on having possession of a residence card, but you might get away with claiming to be a tourist (a claim of doubtful legality and possibly evidence of not being 'of good character'), and it's just conceivable that UKVI records that you have a residence card will suffice.