FAQs: EEA-related issues

Please note that the above questions and answers have been prepared from the emails, telephone calls and actual cases that we have dealt and have therefore not provided any names and addresses in order to keep client confidentiality. 

Question:

I have (pre-) settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, but I’ve been told I can’t sponsor a family member to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. Do I have any other options?

Answer:

Some people are unable to sponsor a family member to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, for example because one of the following applies:

• You’re not an EEA/Swiss citizen yourself; or
• You weren’t living in the UK before 31 December 2020; or
• The family member you want to sponsor wasn’t already a family member before 31 December 2020 (for example they weren’t already a durable partner or spouse by then); or
• The family member you want to sponsor is not a close family member

If this is the case for you, then you should contact a qualified immigration advisor to explore whether other routes of the UK immigration system might apply.

Question:

I saw Government announcements about the increased minimum income needed to sponsor a family member. I have (pre-)settled status, does this apply to me?

Answer:

If you are able to sponsor a family member under the EU Settlement Scheme, then you are not likely to be affected by the ‘minimum income requirement’ (MIR).

If however, you are sponsoring someone outside the EU Settlement Scheme, using British immigration rules instead, then the MIR will apply to you. 

Question:

I am an EU citizen and after I got settled status I naturalised as a British citizen. I do not have a British passport. Can I travel to and enter the UK on my EU passport?

Answer:

When a person naturalises or registers as a British citizen, they no longer require leave to remain, and therefore any immigration status they held becomes void. For those who have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before they became British, this status becomes void once they become British.

When entering at the UK border, dual British/EU citizens enter as a British citizen, and the Home Office generally expects people to hold a British passport for this purpose.

Question:

I don’t have access to the email account or telephone number that were used in my application for (pre-)settled status. I can’t view (or prove) my status because I can’t get the security code that the system sends. What can I do?

Answer:

This can happen for a number of reasons - for example you have changed both your email address and your telephone number and did not update your digital account with your new contact details.  Or someone (or some organisation) helped you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and they used their contact details in the application, so the login security code is now sent to them instead of to you.

• If you have lost access to only one of your original e-mail account and telephone number, then you can log in to your UKVI account using your other credential and update your details through a self-service process. For example, if you have lost access to your email, but you still have access to your phone, then you can log in by receiving the One Time Passcode (OTP) (also called security code, or two-factor authentication code) to your phone and then update your email address via the account.
   
• If you have lost access to both your original e-mail account and telephone number, you should contact the UKVI Resolution Centre and go through the account recovery process. The UKVI Resolution Centre will go through a series of steps to confirm that you are the rightful holder of the account and, once this has been established, will update the sign in details on the account. This process does not require access to the original email or telephone number associated with the account.

Question:

I have missed the EU Settlement Scheme deadline, am I too late to apply for settled or pre-settled status?

Answer:

This answer presumes that you are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. 

Although the deadline of June 30 2021 has passed, late applications can still be made if the Home Office accepts that you have reasonable grounds to do so. You will not have rights in the UK until you receive a Certificate of Application.

The EU Settlement Scheme has made provision for late applications to be made by EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family who can show they have reasonable grounds for missing the deadline.

Please note that from August 2023, the Home Office will first decide whether they accept the reasonable grounds provided for a late application before treating it as a valid visa application.

This has several important consequences:

• You won’t get a Certificate of Application (CoA) until after the Home Office accepts that you have reasonable grounds for a late application.
• If the Home Office finds that the grounds for a late application are not reasonable, they will reject rather than refuse the application. This means you won’t have the right to an Administrative Review or an appeal.

For this reason, we recommend you get professional help with your application, to make sure your grounds for applying late are as well represented as possible. 

Question:

I am a joining family member who was granted pre-settled status a few weeks/months before I came to the UK. My status will expire before I complete five years of residence and become eligible for settled status. How can I ensure I do not lose status?

Answer:

In December 2022, there was a High Court judgment which resulted in the Home Office announcing some changes to the EU Settlement Scheme in July 2023.

These changes ensure that pre-settled status will be automatically extended by two years, without any action required by the status holder. 

Question:

My spouse, a Portuguese citizen, received his Pre-Settled status in the UK in November 2020, but actually he moved to live in the UK after 31 December 2020. As I understand it, he probably loses the right to receive Settled status in the country after five years due to his long absence from the country?

I am a citizen of Mexico and am currently waiting in Mexico to receive a Family Permit according to European rules to move to the UK. If I get a Family Permit, I expect that I will get a Pre-Settled based on the fact that my husband already has this status. If I comply with the rules about being in the UK, will I be able to apply for Settled status in 5 years? In that case, will my husband also be able to get Settled status?

Answer:

Under current immigration rules, Pre-Settled status can be lost if a person has been outside the UK for two years in a row. Therefore, in the case of your husband, his absence outside the UK for around 13 months will not entail the loss of his Pre-Settled status.

In relation to you as the wife of a citizen of the European Union and your EU national spouse, you will both be able to apply for Settled status in the UK later in the future if you show that for all five years of your residence in the country, your EU national spouse carried out any economic activity in the UK (for example, he was an employee, engaged in his own business, or was a student) or you and your spouse were residing in the UK on the basis of the principle of "financial self-sufficiency” – that is, all five years you kept money in a bank account and paid for private comprehensive medical insurance, registered for both of you.

Question:

I am a citizen of China and married to a citizen of Argentina, who is 20 years old. My wife decided to move to the UK according to European rules based on the fact that she is a dependent child of her father, who has Spanish citizenship, already resides in the UK and has a Pre-Settled status in the country.

She was successfully granted a Pre-Settled status on this basis. Now I also want to relocate to the UK. How can I do so based on my spouse who already has immigration status in the UK?

Answer:

Your spouse, being a citizen of Argentina and being under the age of 21, can truly apply for immigration status as a dependent child from her father, who is a citizen of the European Union, already lives in the UK and has a Pre-Settled status.

However, according to the current immigration rules, you, as her spouse, unfortunately will not be able to apply for a spouse visa on the basis of your wife.

The reason being is that according to European rules, you can apply for a spouse visa only if your wife is a citizen of the European Union and is not dependent on anyone, but in your case, your wife only has Argentinian citizenship and plus she submitted a dependent child application on the basis of her father.

You will also not be able to apply for a spouse visa under the British immigration rules, since for this to happen your wife must not only have a Pre-Settled status, but also have the citizenship of an EU country, where Argentina does not belong.

In this case, you will be able to relocate to the UK on the basis of a student visa, work or business visa, but without reference to your wife and her immigration status.

You can also come to the UK temporarily on a visitor visa based on an invitation from your spouse and her father.

Question:

I am an Italian citizen and live in the UK permanently on the basis of my Settled Status. My partner, a Chinese citizen, lives with me in the UK on the basis of her Pre-Settled Status issued to her as an unmarried partner of myself.

The fact is that after issuing her Pre-Settled Status a couple of years ago, the Home Office did not issue her a new plastic biometric card in this regard, since at that time she still had a previous plastic card of a family member of the EU national. Then the previous plastic card expired, and we did not apply to the Home Office for a new plastic card due to her current Pre-Settled Status.

Recently, her grandfather died and she urgently flew to China for his funeral.

Returning back from China, at the border control she was asked to provide a visa to the UK. She showed only the electronic Home Office decision she had with regard to her Pre-Settled Status, but she did not have a new plastic biometric card. As a result, she was denied boarding the plane on the reasons that the electronic document itself cannot be used for travel purposes.

Is this the right thing to do and what should she do now to get back to the UK?

Answer:

Indeed, according to the current immigration rules, non-EU citizens who have either a Pre-Settled or Settled Status issued in electronic form cannot use it to travel to other countries of the world (unlike EU citizens who can do this). To travel, such a person also needs to have a valid plastic visa card, which will confirm the received Pre-Settled or Settled Status.

In view of this, your partner was quite legitimately denied boarding a plane from China, since having only an electronic document with regard to her Pre-Settled Status was not a sufficient reason for traveling between countries.

In order for your partner to return to the UK, she will need to apply via the British Visa Application Centre in China for a document called "EUSS Family Travel Document", which will be pasted into her passport as a vignette and will be intended specifically for her return to the UK.

Then, after such a return, your partner will need to submit another application from inside the country for a new plastic biometric card confirming her current Pre-Settled Status.

Question:

My husband is a resident of the United Kingdom, he himself is a citizen of France. Will he lose his immigration status in the UK, granted under the EU Settlement Scheme, if he temporarily travels to China for six months due to work commitments?

Answer:

Your husband, being a citizen of France, has obtained a Pre-Settled or Settled Status in the UK. One or the other status can be lost due to a long absence from the UK.

Regarding Pre-Settled status - if he is outside the UK for two or more years in a row, he will automatically lose this status. As regards Settled status - if he is outside the UK for five years or more in a row, he will automatically lose this status.

Therefore, a trip of your husband to China for about six months will not in any way lead to the loss of his immigration status in the UK.

Question:

My daughter and I are waiting for final decisions regarding the applications submitted for the EEA Pre-Settled Status. On 02 November 2021, we received from the Home Office by email a document called Certificate of application.

The question is - is there an opportunity to leave the UK for holidays without waiting for a final decision and a card itself? Maybe there is an option to get a temporary card for one trip to my home country? I was told there is such a rule, for example, in the legislation of Spain.

Answer:

An electronic Certificate of application is not a document that you can use to travel outside the country and cross the British border. There is no option to get a temporary card for one trip according to the UK legislation. In view of this, we recommend that you postpone your trips outside the UK and instead stay inside the country until you receive your EEA Pre-Settled Status.

Question:

I entered the UK on a visitor visa in Sept. 2018 and did not go back. From June 2020, I have been residing with my boyfriend, who is a Lithuanian national and is working in the UK on a self-employed basis. I am also 7 months pregnant. I would like to know whether I have got any chances of regularizing my stay in the UK?

Answer:

You can make an application for an EEA Pre-Settled Status as the unmarried partner of an EEA national exercising treaty rights in the UK. You need to show you are in a ‘durable relationship’ and that your relationship has begun on or before 31 December 2021, and you will need to prove that you have been actually residing with your partner by providing documentary evidence of living together such as bills, bank statements, NHS letters or other documents in your name or your boyfriend's name at the same address (ideally for at least two years). Your boyfriend also needs to have or apply for a Pre-Settled Status himself, and he also needs to provide documents confirming his self-employment status. You should provide letters / medical records in respect of yourself confirming your inability to make travel arrangements (due to pregnancy) to seek the family permit from outside the UK. This type of application will take a long time to be processed and can be complex, so it would be wise to seek professional help.

Question:

I recently married a German national who is working in the UK and would like to invite my children (from a previous marriage) of ages 19 and 20 who are residing in Russian Federation. Can I do that?

Answer:

Yes. You can invite your children on an EEA Family Permit (6 month validity visa) that can be switched to a five-year EEA Pre-Settled Status from inside the UK.  On completion of five years’ residence, they can apply for an EEA Settlement Status in the UK. Under the EU Settlement Scheme, children up to the age of 21 are treated as dependent family members for the above purposes. However, you will need to show that you have sole responsibility for the children.

Question:

I am an EEA national and working as a self-employed builder. I have been living in the UK with my Russian student partner since September 2018. I am single, and she is in the process of obtaining a divorce from her husband. Her student visa is now expiring. Can she apply as my unmarried partner and apply for a family visa?

Answer:

You can make an application for an EEA Pre-Settled Status as the unmarried partner of an EEA national exercising treaty rights in the UK. You need to show you are in a ‘durable relationship’ and that your relationship has begun on or before 31 December 2021, and you will need to prove that you have been actually residing with your partner by providing documentary evidence of living together such as bills, bank statements, NHS letters or other documents in your name or your boyfriend's name at the same address (ideally for at least two years). Apart from that, your Russian partner will have to get officially divorced as soon as possible.

Question:

I am a Ukrainian citizen and entered the UK in July 2019 on a visit visa. I am married to an EEA national who is working in the UK. Can I switch from visit visa to dependant of an EEA national?

Answer:

Generally no – unless there are medical reasons or other Covid-19 related reasons preventing you to leave the UK and apply from abroad. However, by standard immigration rules you can apply for an EEA Family Permit from outside the UK and then, once inside the country, apply for an EEA Pre-Settled Status as a married partner of an EU national, providing that your marriage was done before 31 December 2020. However, such applications could take several months, and it would be wise to seek professional assistance in making such an application.

Question:

I am a Polish national living and working in the UK. Can I invite my 55 years old mother to join me in the UK? Does she have to be more than 65 years of age?

Answer:

Yes, your mother can apply for an EEA Family Permit under the EU Settlement Scheme on the basis of you as a Polish national, if you provide documents confirming that you have been financially supporting your mother for the past several months.

Question:

How long does the Home Office take to process applications for EEA Pre-Settled and EEA Settled Status? I want to go on holidays in three months` time.

Answer:

The Home Office should consider applications for EEA Pre-Settled and EEA Settled Status maximum in 6 months but on average they take around 2-3 months. If you need to travel urgently and you are an EU national, you can make an application either for EEA Pre-Settled or EEA Settled Status and leave the UK for a while whilst your application is being considered with the Home Office.

Question:

I am an Australian married to an Italian citizen who is working in the UK. Should I obtain an EEA Family Permit from Australia, or I can make an application from here?

Answer:

By standard immigration rules you will need to apply for an EEA Family Permit from outside the UK and then, once inside the country, apply for an EEA Pre-Settled Status as a married partner of an EU national, providing that your marriage was done before 31 December 2020. They would give you entry as a family member of an EEA national for six months, and you can then make an application for an EEA Pre-Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme inside the UK for the 5-year duration.

Question:

My son and I are EU citizens. We both got our EEA Pre-Settled Status in the UK, first me, and a little later my son, whose application was added to mine. But my 13-year-old son, unlike me, currently lives and studies outside the UK. In 2022, having fulfilled the condition of the 5-year residence, I will apply for a Settled Status.

My question is, will my son get a Settled Status with me, or does he need to live in the UK for 5 years himself.

Answer:

Even though according to EEA immigration rules, the visa application form for a Settled Status does not require specifying the number of days a child has been absent from the UK over the past five years, or listing all his trips outside the country over the past five years, however, formally speaking, when applying for a Settled Status, it is assumed that the child must permanently reside in the UK and this country must be his permanent place of residence.

At the same time, when your child will apply for a Settled Status, he will need to provide documents showing his name in connection with a residential address in the UK, for example, utility bills, rental agreements if the accommodation is rented, letters from the school or GP doctor, etc. All this is necessary to show documents confirming the child's residence in this country and his registration in this country with various services or organizations. And such documents will need to be provided in the number of several documents for each year of the five-year period of residence in this country.

Question:

I am a citizen of Spain, I have lived with my mother previously in Spain (she has a Spanish residence permit, she is a citizen of the Dominican Republic).

I have received a long-term visa under the Skilled Worker Visa category in the UK – and I am already working here at the moment. How can I relocate my mother to the UK? How long do I need to live in the UK for that?

Answer:

According to the immigration rules, in general, there are two ways for your mother to join you – according to European immigration rules and according to British immigration rules.

In order for your mother to be able to apply for joining you according to European rules, you yourself had to get either a Pre-Settled or Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, since you do not have such a status, and you have received a Skilled Worker Visa according to the usual British immigration rules, unfortunately, your mother cannot follow European rules, despite the fact that you have Spanish citizenship.

Thus, you can potentially relocate your mother to the UK on the basis of British immigration rules, in particular using the Adult Dependent Relative Visa. According to this visa category, you will need to show that your mother needs long-term and permanent personal care due to age, illness or disability that are not available in her country of residence, that she cannot receive the necessary level of medical care in her country either because there is no person in this country who could reasonably provide it (either a close family member or a nurse/nursing home), or because the necessary level of medical care is not available, and you will also need to prove, that the mother will be properly maintained and accommodated in the UK without recourse to state benefits.