EEA2 Unmarried Partners

[Coconut]

Hi All,

I'm a US citizen and have been living in the UK for 3 years. I switched from Student Visa to work permit one year ago. My work permit only allows me to stay in my current position and current company. I have been living with my French boyfriend for 2 years in the UK and would like to apply for a new visa allowing me to remain here and change jobs.

I have read I could apply for partnership visa or possibly EEA2 residency card. Further I understand the EEA2 residency card application is free - so would obviously prefer this option however I want to make sure of two things:
- I qualify
- I can work with an EEA2 residency card and change from my current job.

I have noticed on the FAQ that it states unmarried partners don't apply - see below - however the EEA Guide (quote also below) seems to contradict the the FAQ statement.

Any suggestions/comments on which is correct and which visa I should apply for? Also in applying for either do I have to return to the US for the new visa/residency card or can I apply within the UK? Finally if for some random reason my application for a new visa/residency card wasn't successful would my current work permit still remain valid?

This is what the FAQ says:

3. I am an EU national and want to sponsor my girlfriend to remain in the UK with me under EU law - is this possible?

Dependents/ family members of EU nationals exercising treaty rights in the UK have the right to remain in the UK even where they are themselves not EU nationals e.g the US citizen wife of a French national working in the UK. EU law defines dependents/ family members as your legal spouse, natural/ legally adopted children under 21 and relatives in the ascending line i.e. father, grandfather etc who are financially dependent on you. It also exlcudes as a family member any person who is party to a marriage of convenience to circumvent national immigration controls. Subsequently boyfriends, girlfriends, unmarried partners, fiances/ees etc are exluded from any benefits pertaining to EU law as they are not dependents/ family members.

On the EEA Guide under the Residency Card section it conflicts with the above by stating:

3. EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP FOR ANY FAMILY MEMBERS INCLUDED ON YOUR APPLICATION
You need to provide us with proof that you and the family members included on your application are related to you and/or the EEA national as claimed. To demonstrate this, you will need to provide original marriage, civil partnership or birth certificates. If you are living with a partner who is not your spouse or civil partner, you will need to provide proof that you are in a durable relationship. You would generally need to show us that you have been in a subsisting relationship for two years or more. This could be through joint bank or building society statements, joint tenancy agreements, council tax bills or evidence that you are both paying utility bills at the property at which you reside.

Thank you for your time!

[Wanderer]

As far as I know unmarried partners do count but as extended family members no family members.

I'd say go for it but the big issue is EEA2 apps are taking 10 months to process, so you'd be in the job market with no proof you can work, employers need that now because of the fines they face.