Civil Partner PBS Dependent Eligibility

[bp90]

Hello,

Having some trouble interpreting the regulation around PBS dependent applications so would love to hear any advice or experiences of others!

My same-sex partner and I are soon to be civil partners and I have been offered a job on Tier 2 visa in the UK starting in 2021. Having read the guidance on PBS dependent applications and some other threads I'm unsure of his eligibility for a visa.

Whilst we will shortly be recognised as civil partners, we have some questions we can't seem to find answers for:
- The civil partnership registration is in New York which is not recognised in Schedule 20 of the Civil Partnerships Act. However, it does meet the General Conditions outlined in SET4.15. Does anyone have any experiences with Schedule 20 and how it's applied?
- There are some guidelines online that talk about if the civil partnership or marriage is recent or immediately before the visa application, you should provide evidence of 2 years relationship akin to marriage. Our civil partnership will be a few months before the visa application and whilst we can provide photos and some documentary evidence of our relationship, we haven't lived together for 2 years so am wondering if this is still a requirement if we can show a civil partnership registration. Would appreciate any perspectives on this!

Thank you!

[secret.simon]

I do not believe that the SET4.15 would apply in your case. That applies to family members of people already settled and ordinarily resident in the UK (i.e. British citizens and people holding ILR/PR/Settled Status under either the UK Immigration Rules or the EEA Regulations).

In your case, as you area Tier 2 applicant yourself, the requirements for the family member of a Tier 2 applicant can be, and likely are, different. I'll leave it to others to point you to more details as to what those requirements are.

The requirement for two years evidence of living together is not normally required in case of a recognised marriage or civil partnership.

However, if you do have such proof of having lived together for at least two years, even without being married/being in a civil partnership, your application could be treated as that of "a relationship akin to marriage (or civil partnership)".

The proof required would be ideally financial, such as joint bank statements, mortgage applications, etc. I doubt that photos will cut it. The idea is that you must prove that the relationship was akin to marriage/civil partnership, not just a boyfriend/dating relationship.