Travel with BRC through EU Settled Scheme

[Zadith14]

Hello everyone. I would appreciate some advice regarding travelling with BRC in Europeen countries.
My husband(non-eu citizen) is a BRC holder through the route of EU settlement scheme. We are planning to hae a short trip to Brussels or Paris.
1.Does he require visa even though he will be accompanied by me (EU citizen)
2. If he does, where to apply?

[Zerubbabel]

When you travel with your husband, Airlines and immigration authorities want to see this:



Cards delivered under the EU Settlement Scheme don't fit in this category So no visa free travel with that.

To apply for a visa, you need to visit the website of the consulate of the country you are visiting. They will explain the process. Usually they work with a third party processor such as VFS or Visamteric where you go for the application.

[Zadith14]

When you travel with your husband, Airlines and immigration authorities want to see this:



Cards delivered under the EU Settlement Scheme don't fit in this category So no visa free travel with that.

To apply for a visa, you need to visit the website of the consulate of the country you are visiting. They will explain the process. Usually they work with a third party processor such as VFS or Visamteric where you go for the application.

Thanks for clarifying this. On his one it says"pre-settlement status and leave to remain"

My next question is how to change it to family member of EU. Any link to apply please?

[CR001]

My next question is how to change it to family member of EU. Any link to apply please?

You cannot change the current brc to include the "EU family" line.

[Zadith14]

My next question is how to change it to family member of EU. Any link to apply please?

You cannot change the current brc to include the "EU family" line.

What I meant to say to apply for residence card via EU family member. He did the BRC via EU-settlement.
Are you telling me once one obtains BRC via Eu-settlement scheme, you are or allowed to apply for residence card as EU family member?

[Zadith14]

Please help.
I would like to know if you have been granted pre-settlement status as a family member of EU national, can you still apply for residence card:

Background:

My husband is a non-eu national with BRC (pre-settlement status) and we have been told him he can't travel to European countries without visa.

He wants to apply for the residence card as family member of EU national(EEA FM) to facilitate him to travel to shengen countries without needed visa. If he does, would him have to return his pre-settlement card for a residence card? Or he can have both?

Based my understanding, EEA FM will be abolished by 2021 and EU settlement will be the way forward. But we are keen to travel this year.

[Zadith14]

Hello there
I have tried numerous venues to get my answers to my query but was unsuccessful.

I would really appreciate some guidance regarding travelling to Europe with pre-settlement status.

My husband non-eu citizen has been granted 5 years of pre-settlement status on his biometric residence card.
I called UK immigration resolution numerous times and they kept saying he should travel visa free to Europe countries. However, I couldn't find any valuable information on the gov website.
He will be travelling with me (eu national with ILR). We don't want to take the risk and get told at the airport he can't board the plane with his BRC which will also be a loss of our flight tickets etc.
I am not sure if he requires the old residence card stated the family member of eu national. We will prefer this rather than applying for shengen visa everytime we require a short trip to brussels etc.
I have attached his BRC.
Looking forward to your responses

[zimba]

The pre-settled or settled status under the EU settlement scheme is simply based on UK immigration rules. This means such status is UK specific and has no legal standing anywhere else. EU residence cards are separate. Do NOT mix UK pre-settled status cards with EU residence cards.

Your husband CANNOT travel to the EU with his UK pre-settled status card
For visa-free travel in the EU, your husband needs to hold a EU Residence Card with the wording "Family Member of a Union citizen".

He should therefore either
a) Apply for a Residence Card under the EEA Regulations, OR
b) Apply for an appropriate Schengen visa

europe-immigration-forum/travel-to-sche ... ml#p589853
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/t ... dex_en.htm

EU residence cards issued will be invalid after the end of this year.

[Zadith14]

The pre-settled or settled status under the EU settlement scheme is simply based on UK immigration rules. This means such status is UK specific and has no legal standing anywhere else. EU residence cards are separate. Do NOT mix UK pre-settled status cards with EU residence cards.

Your husband CANNOT travel to the EU with his UK pre-settled status card
For visa-free travel in the EU, your husband needs to hold a EU Residence Card with the wording "Family Member of a Union citizen".

He should therefore either
a) Apply for a Residence Card under the EEA Regulations, OR
b) Apply for an appropriate Schengen visa

europe-immigration-forum/travel-to-sche ... ml#p589853
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/t ... dex_en.htm

EU residence cards issued will be invalid after the end of this year.

Thank you for the above and links. Our best shot will be to apply for EU residence card under eea regulations even though it will be discontinued at the end 2020. To avoid ongoing long list of documents to apply for shengen visa not to mention the waiting time for visa approval.
What will happen to his pre-settlement status if he is granted EU residence card?

[zimba]

Nothing happens. As I explained they are not related

[Zadith14]

Nothing happens. As I explained they are not related

Thanks a lot Zimba. We are both applying online for residence card. Although I don't need a document certifying my permanent residence as eea national but thought this will be the quick way to do it online rather than paper as it is giving me the option to include him as my spouse for his eu residence card application.
I got scared as thr application requires him to submit any recent or previous eu residence documents that he holds such as family permit, BRC. So I thought he is not allowed to obtain both BRC and residence card as family member of eu.

[zimba]

They are asking for EU residence documents. His current pre-settled BRP is UK specific and should not be submitted

[Zadith14]

They are asking for EU residence documents. His current pre-settled BRP is UK specific and should not be submitted

Thanks Zimba. We will only submit his passport since his family permit is attached to one of the pages on his passport.

I know that the EU residence card may be discontinued in Dec 2020 but I think it iis our best option to facilitate visa free ttavelling to Europe countries.
He got a BRC and not BRP. Correct me if I am wrong with regard to the two please.
There is one section on the application that asks if he has BRP but we said no since we thought the two are slightly different

[zimba]

They are different by convention. What you did is ok

[iwolga]

Slightly off topic, did you consider getting visa instead? As your husband he can apply with less requirements (no itinerary and financial info), this application is free of charge and is normally expedited compared to standard visit visa.

Waiting time for EEA RC makes it completely senseless to apply for it now. How often do you plan to travel this year? The only reason for applying for card that I see I’d your husband has poor immigration history. If this is not the case, you are inventing a wheel

[Zadith14]

Slightly off topic, did you consider getting visa instead? As your husband he can apply with less requirements (no itinerary and financial info), this application is free of charge and is normally expedited compared to standard visit visa.

Waiting time for EEA RC makes it completely senseless to apply for it now. How often do you plan to travel this year? The only reason for applying for card that I see I’d your husband has poor immigration history. If this is not the case, you are inventing a wheel

Are you referring to shengen visa? Yes I am considering visa for him. We don't want to reinvent the wheel like you said.
We hope to travel 3 times this year and all in shengen zone. What is the process for applying? Can this be done online? What are the requirements? I think the reason why I was drawn to EEA2 residence card was for him to hAve no trouble when travelling with me in shengen zone.

Many immigration advisors told me it senseless to apply for EEA2 for him as non-eu citizen of family memeber of eu. For the same reason that this route will be discontinued after brexit December 2020 or January 2021.

[iwolga]

Yes, I was referring to Schengen visa, of course.
The process is pretty much the same for any country within Schengen zone: book an appointment through visa application centre, fill in the application form, prepare supporting papers, attend the appointment, give fingerprints of it wasn’t done within last - I think - 5 years.

I can’t talk about all countries, but I’ve recently applied for German Schengen visa through Visametric. The process seem to be quite straightforward. As I said, you can also claim “special treatment” as your husband is your husband (EU citizen family member). This reduces the amount of papers he needs to provide to the embassy and reduces (shall reduce at least) processing time. This is NOT dependent on whether he has EEA or EUSS card.

The only thing that I believe is slightly off in this process in UK is the speed: visametric only had appointments in 20-30 days.

[iwolga]

I think the reason why I was drawn to EEA2 residence card was for him to hAve no trouble when travelling with me in shengen zone

I would name traveling with EEA card only a potential trouble. As discussed multiple times on this forum, a lot of airlines and even immigration officers have no clue that this card allows someone to travel visa free. I have this card but applied for standard Schengen visa just for the sake of my nerves: I don’t want to start holidays with a fight for the flight in the airport. Some users here are even printing EU Directives and multiple references on consulate’s websites. They come earlier to the airport, they go through “your wife needs visa”, “no she doesn’t, can I speak to your supervisor”...

In other words, this EEA card isn’t a remedy. It is a possible solution but with the amount of time it takes to get it, I’d rather investigate visa options. But this is of course up to you

[Zadith14]

Yes, I was referring to Schengen visa, of course.
The process is pretty much the same for any country within Schengen zone: book an appointment through visa application centre, fill in the application form, prepare supporting papers, attend the appointment, give fingerprints of it wasn’t done within last - I think - 5 years.

I can’t talk about all countries, but I’ve recently applied for German Schengen visa through Visametric. The process seem to be quite straightforward. As I said, you can also claim “special treatment” as your husband is your husband (EU citizen family member). This reduces the amount of papers he needs to provide to the embassy and reduces (shall reduce at least) processing time. This is NOT dependent on whether he has EEA or EU Settlement Scheme card.

The only thing that I believe is slightly off in this process in UK is the speed: visametric only had appointments in 20-30 days.

Thank you for the above. Our best option will be visa. This just put clarity in our situation.
Since we are planning to travel around June and July. It is best to apply for visa now rather than later especially appointments seem to take long to get one. I will use visa application centre.

I really appreciate your guidance. To be honest, this forum has helped me through my husband application starting from family permit to him obtaining his residence card. Through people sharing their experiences has given me a better understanding of immigration matters than what immigration lawyers tell me. I continue to learn and review our options as we go along.

Thank you everyone

[ibwe]

Yes! Now is a good time. From February 2, 2020 Schengen visas can be applied as early as 6 months prior to travel. And as previous comments above, the paperwork is simple indeed for family members of EU/EEA citizens [these rules still apply to UK until the last day of 2020]