Hello everyone,
I was about to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme but I was unsure about a few things so was hoping someone could offer some advice regarding some questions I have.
Firstly, my situation is as follows:
- I am an EU national (France) and have been resident in the UK since 1990
- My spouse is a non-EU national and joined me here in the UK in May 2015; she came here by way of a EU Family Permit
- We have a child who has a British passport
- A few months after my spouse arrived in the UK (in May 2015), we applied for a Residence Card for her. After a long delay she was granted a 5 year Residence Card in October 2016; the Residence Card expires in October 2021
My questions regarding the Settlement Scheme:
1) I think I will probably be granted Settled Status as I've been here for many years, but as my wife is about 4 months short of 5 years since her arrival in the UK, she will probably be granted Pre-Settled. Is this a correct assumption to make? If so, should I wait until after May this year (meaning she would have been in the UK for over 5 years), so that we are both more likely to be granted Settled Status?
2) My wife entered the UK in May 2015 but the 5 year Residence Card was only granted about a year and a half later in October 2016.
Therefore she would have been in the country for 5 years this May, but her 5 year Residence Card still has about 20 months to go before expiry.
I'm not sure how the Home Office timelines work; do they start counting for the 5 year's worth of residence in the UK from the date of entry in the UK, or the date when the Residence Card was granted?
If they go by the Residence Card dates then I'm guessing there is no point in waiting until after May to apply for the Settlement Scheme as she will be granted Pre-Settled status anyways. Is this a correct assumption to make?
3) My wife wants to apply for British Citizenship, and I understand that you can only do this after you have been resident in the UK for at least 5 years. So similar to the questions above, does the 5 year clock for being able to apply for citizenship begin when you set foot in the country, or does it start from the moment the Residence Card is granted?
If the 5 year clock starts from the moment you set foot in the country she would have completed 5 years this May, therefore am I right in saying that she can just apply for citizenship and not bother with the Settlement Scheme (obviously I would still be applying to the Settlement Scheme for myself)?
4) I've somewhere that for those granted Settled Status, you would have to wait at least one year before you can apply for British Citizenship. Is this correct? Does that mean that this requirement overrides the previous requirement of at least 5 years of residency before being able to apply? Meaning that if you already have the 5 years' worth of residency, you have to wait another year before being able to apply?
Thank you for reading through this and I am grateful for any advice offered.
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