Permanent Residence - when it starts to count

[jozou]

Hi all,

My ILR has been refused based on 10 year long residency. I am considering making a new application for Permanent Residence rather than going through the lengthy appeal process (which is long and costly).

I was married to my EEA partner in Sept 2014. But we were living together one year before that. And I switched to EEA family member in May 2016.

My question is when can I apply for Permanent Residence? Sept next year after 5 years we married, or I already can apply as I was already in a durable relationship in 2013, or I can only appl after 5 year having the EEA family permit?

My partner is a qualified EU person who has been here for 8 years - he has not applied for PR as we are waiting for the new system to kick in.

Thanks!

[CR001]

5 years from date of marriage.

[jozou]

5 years from date of marriage.

Thanks! However I did see in a thread someone applied before 5 year marriage as they were living together before that and got issued PR without any questions. Wonder whether the law has softened due to Brexit. Anyways, we will get my partner his PR first.

[vinny]

Did they grant the unmarried partner a residence card before marriage? The qualifying period may start from then.

[mamalicious187]

5 years from date of marriage.

Thanks! However I did see in a thread someone applied before 5 year marriage as they were living together before that and got issued PR without any questions. Wonder whether the law has softened due to Brexit. Anyways, we will get my partner his PR first.

If you read the rules yourself (or already knew) then you might not need to ask in the first instance comparing your circumstance to other OP's is not advisable as you do not know their immigration history

You’re eligible if both of the following apply:

you’ve lived with your EEA family member in the UK for a continuous 5 year period
your EEA family member has been a ‘qualified person’ throughout the 5 years or has a permanent right of residence
You can also get permanent residence if you’ve lived in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years:

as the extended family member of an EEA national and you’ve held a valid EEA family permit and a residence card throughout
first as the family member of an EEA national and then with a retained right of residence
as the family member of a British citizen, if you entered the UK under the EU law after living in another EEA country (‘Surinder Singh’ route)
You can get permanent residence before 5 years if either:

you were living with your EEA national family member, who was working or self-employed in the UK, immediately before their death
your EEA national family member was working or self-employed in the UK but has ‘ceased activity’ (stopped work or self-employment because of retirement or permanent incapacity, or because they’re now working or self-employed in another EEA state but are still resident and return to the UK at least once a week)

[jozou]

5 years from date of marriage.

Thanks! However I did see in a thread someone applied before 5 year marriage as they were living together before that and got issued PR without any questions. Wonder whether the law has softened due to Brexit. Anyways, we will get my partner his PR first.

If you read the rules yourself (or already knew) then you might not need to ask in the first instance comparing your circumstance to other OP's is not advisable as you do not know their immigration history

You’re eligible if both of the following apply:

you’ve lived with your EEA family member in the UK for a continuous 5 year period
your EEA family member has been a ‘qualified person’ throughout the 5 years or has a permanent right of residence

Thanks I did read through it. And the confusion came from: how they define “family member”? I was told that if you were living together - that proof of durable relationship, even if u r not married. You can apply after 5 years. It seems unfair that we were living together and then got married, the time starts to count not from when we moved in, but when we got married. I did not really understand the logic.

Anyways I also went through the government’s “Statement of Intent” document for “EU Settlement Scheme”, it seems like the new system will be easier and quicker to grant Permanent Residence. As my current leave is not expiring, we’ll wait for the scheme to open and apply. Hopefully it will all work out and best of luck to everyone here.

[secret.simon]

how they define “family member”

A family member of an EEA citizen (whose rights are automatic) is
a) Spouse
b) Children of the EEA citizen OR or the spouse under the age of 21
c) Dependent children of the EEA citizen or spouse
d) Dependent parents of either the EEA citizen or the spouse

All other relatives, including unmarried partners, are only considered family members if their relationship has been verified by the Home Office and they have been issued with a Residence Card.

EEA Regulation 7

Therefore, your right to reside in the UK under EU law started either when you married the EEA citizen OR when you were issued with a Residence Card of an EEA citizen, whichever one was earlier.