Can married partner of UK Citizens EEA national apply for Settled Status?

[beatleperson]

I have a question about the eligibility of a non-EEA person to pursue Settled Status if their spouse is both an EEA national and has British Citizenship.

Person 1:
- EEA National - German citizenship
- UK Citizenship

Person 2:
- Non-EEA national
- Currently in the UK on Tier 2 visa.

When Person 1 and Person 2 get married, can Person 2 apply for Settled Status? Does the fact that Person 1 has UK Citizenship mean that Person 2 must apply for Spouse Visa, not Settled Status?

[secret.simon]

How did the EEA citizen spouse acquire their British citizenship?
Did the couple reside together in another EEA member-state where the EEA citizen spouse exercised treaty rights before returning to the UK as a couple?

[beatleperson]

The spouse acquired the UK citizenship by getting ILR then applying to be naturalised in the UK.

The couple have never lived together in another EEA country.

[secret.simon]

The spouse acquired the UK citizenship by getting ILR

As the EEA citizen spouse is a German citizen, I presume that you mean that s/he acquired PR under the EEA regulations/EU law before s/he was naturalised. Is that correct?

In that case, their spouse can continue to apply as the spouse of an EEA citizen even after the EU citizen has naturalised as a British citizen.

See the definitions of a "relevant EU citizen" and "relevant naturalised British citizen" in Appendix EU of the Immigration Rules.

relevant EU citizen
   (a) an EU citizen resident in the UK for a continuous qualifying period which began before the specified date; or 
   (b) an EU citizen who, having been resident in the UK as described in sub-paragraph (a), above, has been or is being granted indefinite leave to remain under this Appendix (or who would be granted that leave, if they made a valid application under this Appendix); or 
   (c) where the applicant is a family member of an EU citizen resident in the UK for a continuous qualifying period who is a relevant naturalised British citizen, a relevant naturalised British citizen resident in the UK for a continuous qualifying period

relevant naturalised British citizen
a relevant EU citizen as described in sub-paragraph (a) of the entry for ‘relevant EU citizen’ in this table, who also: 
   (a) comes within paragraph (b) of the definition of “EEA national” in regulation 2(1) of the EEA Regulations; and 
   (b) meets the criteria contained in regulation 9A(2) or (3) as the dual national (“DN”) to whom those provisions refer

[CR001]

When does person 1 and person 2 plan on marrying??

[beatleperson]

The spouse acquired the UK citizenship by getting ILR

As the EEA citizen spouse is a German citizen, I presume that you mean that s/he acquired PR under the EEA regulations/EU law before s/he was naturalised. Is that correct?

secret.simon, thanks for your response on this.

Yes this is correct, the German person obtained PR in the UK prior to naturalisation.

[beatleperson]

When does person 1 and person 2 plan on marrying??

This is something person 1 and person 2 are planning in 2019.

CR001, in your opinion does the timing of marriage impact the case (assuming it is all done prior to the 30 June 2021)?