Ex Spouse of EU citizen

[CR001]

Hi,

Am not 100% sure of this scenario for my friend.

-She is EU citizen and was married to a South African, both living in the UK. She has recently sent DCPR application.
-They divorced in 2010 after 3 years of marriage.
-Solicitor at the time told SA ex spouse he doesn't need to make any application and can continue living and working in the UK.
-Ex spouse has now change jobs and contacted my friend saying he needs some of her paperwork to prove his right to work.
-Ex spouse has a BC girlfriend.

Friend now asking what does she have to provide. I asked her if she can check whether ex applied for RoR and she said no he did not.

Am I correct in my view that he is technically without status since 2010 from date of divorce?

His solicitor is saying he can apply for PR/ILR as he has been here for more than 10 years!!!

Thanks

Char

[noajthan]

CR001, SA guy would have done himself a favour if he had applied for a ROR RC to confirm his ROR at the time.

He may have ROR but ofcourse cannot prove it.
If he did qualify for ROR and subsequently exercised treaty rights (for 2 years) he may have acquired PR by 2012 or so.

If he stayed in UK he will still have PR status. But again very hard to prove it at the moment.

I'm assuming the couple were in UK from 2007.
If so, my understanding is...he will now need all the evidence from ex to prove exes activity as a qualified person prior to divorce (from 2007-2010) to help confirm his ROR and contribution towards his PR - that's a big ask.
Then he needs evidence in his own right of acquiring PR (based on activity 2010-2102).

If he has PR he doesn't need to go for 10 year LR.
If he doesn't have PR and there are gaps in exes timeline (from say 2007-2010), or his (2010-2012), then he won't make 10 year LR either.

If ex has only just applied for DCPR it may indicate there are some gaps in her earlier timeline, perhaps pre-2011.
(Or perhaps she just never get round to it before).

[CR001]

Thanks.

EU friend has been in and working in the full time in the UK since 2006. Applying now for DCPR as wants to apply for citizenship. She is using a certain period of 5 years which she has all the paper work for (2010 to 2015).

[secret.simon]

IF the couple were married for three years and lived in the Uk for at least one of those years that they were married and if the non-EEA partner was either working or a self-sufficient person with CSI since the divorce, the non-EEA partner would automatically (as is almost everything in the EEA Regulations) be “Family member who has retained the right of residence” (Regulation 10(5)). If he is a “Family member who has retained the right of residence”, he automatically acquires an extended right of residence (Regulation 14(3)) and eventually PR under Regulation 15.

Am I correct in my view that he is technically without status since 2010 from date of divorce?

Like almost all statuses under the EEA Regulations, there is no need to apply for proof of status. So, he would automatically have held RoR, even without proof, provided he was working or a self-sufficient person with CSI continuously since the date of divorce.

Friend now asking what does she have to provide.

Proof that she was exercising treaty rights while they were married. Does she have such proof between 2007 and 2010? That is what her SA ex would need.

As regards the South African ex-spouse, what were his statuses before his marriage to the EEA citizen? And does he have proof and meet the other requirements of ILR(LR)?

[CR001]

Ok, update typed verbatim as my friend says.

- Ex originally came to UK on a 2 year Working Holiday visa in 2004 (July)
- They got married 6th August 2006 in Cape Town, SA and returned the UK.
- Applied for residence card for 5 years late 2006.
- Divorced 22nd December 2010 (Decree Absolute)
- Ex SA spouse has been working all that time.

My friend is missing documents from 2007-2010 as didn't they would be needed in future. She will get a employment history from HMRC. EU only started working in the UK in September 2006.

So my understanding is that he needs EU docs covering pre 2010 and ex's SA cit docs covering 2010 onwards or up to end of 2011, correct? Please advise step by step what needs to be done and if I am correct that SA ex can apply for PR??

How can SA ex prove to a new employer that he is entitled to work? Is there a regulation he can print and provide?

[secret.simon]

So my understanding is that he needs EU docs covering pre 2010 and ex's SA cit docs covering 2010 onwards or up to end of 2011, correct?

Broadly correct.

He will need
- Form, Payment slip
- Proof of EU partner's citizenship (national ID or passport)
- Marriage and divorce certificates (duhh)
- From date of marriage till date of divorce - Proof of EU citizen's work (HMRC statement, employment contract and letter from employer, bank statements with salary may also help)
- From date of divorce till fifth anniversary of return to the UK - Proof of SA ex-spouse working.
- A cogent cover letter to explain the situation and the Regulations that cover it.

[Noetic]

Seems a moot point as if your friend has recently applied for DCPR, the documents her ex needs will be sat on some case worker's desk and may well continue to do so for another six months.

[noajthan]

or, from approx 2006-2010, some do not exist at all.

[noajthan]

How can SA ex prove to a new employer that he is entitled to work? Is there a regulation he can print and provide?

He has nothing at the moment that a hard-pressed, time-poor and possibly uninformed employer can recognise to give themselves the ubiquitous statutory excuse.