Basically you are saying that if my RC is still being processed beyond my current Tier 4 visa, that I will be an overstayer?
Yes, you will be an overstayer.
My lawyer has told me that my current Tier 4 status will be extended until a decision has been made on the RC - she is wrong?
Yes, she is wrong.
Also, If I were to receive the card in January, would I still be able to use it to apply to the settlement scheme?
Now that I think of it, the important question is not wether you can apply with the card, but wether you will be eligible to apply at all.
I do not want to worry you unnecessarily, but you need to be aware of the possible implications of you not having a card before December 31st 2020, and err on the side of caution, and prepare some alternative.
Because you are unmarried, you are NOT yet the family member of your EU partner. You will become their family member only once the card is issued. This means that if the card is not issued before December 31st, you might not be able to apply later for the EUSS, since
family members need to have joined their EU family member in the UK before December 31st 2020, or prove their family relationship started before that date. Since without the card you are not family members, it could be interpreted that neither of those condition is fulfilled if the card does not exist before December 2020.
In a way, as an unmarried partner, you can think of the EEA RC card as a marriage certificate: it is what makes your relationship legally eligible for immigration purposes, and the starting date of that legally enabling relationship is the date it was issued (not the date you started seeing each other).
Please note that this is only my interpretation of the requirements as they are written now, and does not mean this is how will apply for people in your case. It might be that you can apply with your EEA RC in January, and it might mean that there are some considerations due to covid-19, but
I would not count on it.
If you were to get married before December 2020, then none of the above would be an issue.
The other alternative is to request your documents, evidence, and passport back (which pretty much means cancelling your RC application), go back to your country or another country where you are able to, and apply there well in time to receive a Family Permit before December 2020. If I am not mistaken, because EEA FP are also issued under EU law, and issued after consideration of pretty much the same evidence as a RC, the date the Family Permit is issued would be counted as the date you became their family member.
Obviously, I would give it a month or two before making any decision to see if there is a chance your RC is issued this year. But if it looks like it will not, then best to at least consider one of the alternatives above.
My posts express what I believe are the facts, based on the best of my knowledge, about the topics discussed in this forum. They do not constitute immigration advice.
