family permit or settlement visa? which is better

[sreeni]

although this question is no longer relevant to me, i want to ask it anyways. Asi i have been looking at other topics on this site i noticed that the EEA family permit is suggested.

now i want to know iof settlement visa or family permit,
which one of these is better/ easier to obtain? i read elsewhere on this site that the family permit is free, if this is the case would this be the better option or would this permit cause problems later when you try to apply for permanent visa?

somewhere i read that the family permit does not include marriages of convenice does this include arranged marriages ( not forced but mutual agreement between both partners)?

these answers are not for me but may help someone else.