EU settlement scheme for non European with refugee status

[Mkhoder]

Hi All,

Our kids are dual national (Syrian and French) and we (parents) are Syrian only. We have all refugee status based on our Syrian nationality. We have been advised to apply for the EU settled status as European or European family members. My questions are the following :

1- Will we lose the refugee status after obtaining the settled status. In other words, can we still use the travel documents?

2- After 12 months of obtaining the settled status, we will apply for UK citizenship. Will we (parents) be applying as eu family members or refugees? I mean when the case worker will check the 5 year qualifying period, are we going to be treated for the 4 first years as eu family member or refugges?

Thanks

[kamoe]

1- Will we lose the refugee status after obtaining the settled status. In other words, can we still use the travel documents?

Not 100% sure, but my guess would be Yes, you will likely lose the refugee status, since you cannot have more than one leave to enter or remain under the UK immigration rules at any one time. See this post.

2- After 12 months of obtaining the settled status, we will apply for UK citizenship. Will we (parents) be applying as eu family members or refugees? I mean when the case worker will check the 5 year qualifying period, are we going to be treated for the 4 first years as eu family member or refugges?

Can you please share your full timeline?
How old are your kids? Have they been French since birth?
Why do they have refugee status if they are EU nationals (and seemingly would not have needed it)?

[Mkhoder]

Many thanks for your reply.

The kids have French nationality since birth and they are 10 and 13 years old now. They have got the refugee status based on their Syrian passports in order to have the same situation as parents.

Thanks

[kamoe]

Can you please share your full timeline?

[Mkhoder]

We've been in the uk for more than 5 year.
Refugee since 2017.
We haven't yet apply for the eu settlement scheme.
Thanks

[kamoe]

We've been in the uk for more than 5 year.
Refugee since 2017.

What was your status before 2017?
How are your children French, if you are not?

[kamoe]

This is all to help you.

It is not for nothing that I ask for your full timeline. If you share only selected aspects of your immigration history, you will get answers that are... well, only selectively appropriate.

Also, please be aware that any illegal stay in the UK is likely to severely compromise your eligibility for British Citizenship, at least for the next 10 years after the regularisation of your status.

[Mkhoder]

Thanks for your reply.
Before 2017 i had a tier 5 visa for 2 years. I have a full time work since 2017. Never been illegal in the uk nor in any other country.
The kids are French because they are second generation born in France as I was born in france too.
Hope that is useful
Thanks

[kamoe]

Before 2017 i had a tier 5 visa for 2 years. I have a full time work since 2017.

OK, so, can we say:

On 2015 (which month?) You all arrived in the UK. You on Tier 5, your family as your dependants? Yes? No?
On 2017 (which month) You all got refugee status. Yes? No?
From 2017-2020: Any other significant event or change of circumstances?

Please confirm or correct the above. In particular, please confirm if you arrived to the UK before 2015 (Again, these are the important details when asking for full timelines).

Never been illegal in the uk nor in any other country.

Good.

[Mkhoder]

Arrived in February 2015 with teir 5 visa. My wife was dependent on my visa and the kids used their French passports. Then refugees since February 2017. And no we've not been in the uk before 2015 at all.
Thanks again for your help

[Mkhoder]

Yes all refugees since February 2017.

[kamoe]

I've been looking at this carefully, and from what I can gather, there seem to be good and bad news.

Bad news is:

Only your children's application will be straightforward. You and your spouse are not eligible as their relatives in a regular application, since, for that, you would need to prove financial dependency on your children, which you do not have.

You may be eligible to apply for the Settlement Scheme via a somehow more complicated route, as 'persons with a derivative right to reside' (also known as Chen carers) by virtue of being the primary carers of EEA national children under the age of 18, who reside in the UK and who would not be able to stay in the UK if you left.

Now, I am not sufficiently familiar with this route, and I understand it could be far from straightforward. There are a couple of potential difficulties:

1. This requires to prove that your children are self-sufficient (roughly, that they do not rely on benefits and thus do not represent a burden for the state), which might or might not be an issue for you, and could be proven by your current salary.

2. Both your spouse and yourself are applying. It could be viewed that only one of you is necessary for your children to stay in the UK and the status could be granted to only one of you. And if granted this status, you cannot sponsor another applicant, so one spouse could not sponsor the other. (I do hope this is not how this route operates, and that the principle of 'the best interest of a child' prevails and the Home Office choses not to split a family, but still, worth keeping in mind as one of the potential difficulties of this route).

3. Might not be an issue for the Settlement Scheme, but for the EEA route, it was required that the applicant did not hold any other leave to remain in the UK. Since you have refugee status, this might or might not be a problem. When does your refugee status expire?

Good news is:

If you do succeed in this route, chances are you will be granted Settled Status, since the 5 years could be counted not as refugees but as Chen carers, if you have met the conditions of Chen carers throughout the 5 years.

Also good news is, applying for the Settlement Scheme is free. Nothing stopping you from applying and testing the waters, and see what happens. As part of the application, you will be contacted regarding missing documents, or further questions, and if you do get refused you will be given a full rationale, that you can use for a further application.

Your children can apply online, but you will need to call and ask for a Chen paper application for you and your spouse.

[kamoe]

Last but not least, the answer to your question: If and when you are granted Settled Status, that means the Home Office has counted the previous 5 years as you being 'persons with a derivative right of residence' / Chen carers, not as refugees. Otherwise, you would not receive Settled Status.

But it might be that the Home Office decides you have only met the requirements for Chen carers for only part of the previous 5 years, this will mean they have counted some time as refugees and some time as Chen carers. In this case, you could receive Pre-Settled Status.

Hope that answers your question.

[Mkhoder]

Many thanks for taking the time to look into our case and for your detailed and clear reply.

This seems to be far from straightforward with many potential outcomes. As such, I think it would be better/safer to wait for the 5 years under refugee status (one more year to go) and then apply for ILR under that route. I asked the resolution center if we have to apply for the settlement scheme and they said no as you have other leave to remain.

Thanks again Kamoe.

Cheers

[Obie]

You will qualify under Chen, even though you never had medical insurance, as the settlement scheme does not penalise you for failure to obtain a medical insurance.

Your refugee status will not be affected. Refugee status will only be lost when you acquire UK citizenship.