Hi everyone!
I am considering apply for a residence card to be issued under EEA regulations, as a durable partner of my fiance. We were due to get married this month, but the wedding was cancelled due to the fresh national lockdown... Initially I was going to apply for EU settlement scheme as a spouse, but from reading the rules it's unclear whether to apply as a spouse, we will need to have been married by Dec 31, 2020, which is not possible given the current situation.
So most likely I will need to apply under EUSS as a durable partner, which requires me to hold a relevant document (residence card in this case). We have been living together for more than 2 years and have proof of this.
I have a few questions:
1. I have an ILR application pending with the Home Office (EUSS is my backup plan). I understand that you can't have 2 applications pending at the same time. But I have heard that ILR is under UK law, while EEA residence card is under EU law, so I can have 2 pending applications without inadvertently withdrawing the ILR application. Is this correct?
2. the EEA residence card will not be valid after Dec 31, 2020, but that doesn't matter anyway because I'm only using it to apply for EUSS. Let's say if I apply for this on Dec 30, and it takes a while to process the application, by the time I receive the EEA residence card it would not be valid, but is it okay if I'm only using it for EUSS?
3. Regarding whether I can still apply under EUSS as a spouse WITHOUT applying for an EEA residence card: the official definition of a family member in appendix EU is as follow:
"...
(a) the spouse or civil partner of a relevant EEA citizen, and:
(i) the marriage was contracted or the civil partnership was formed before the specified date; or
(ii) the applicant was the durable partner of the relevant EEA citizen before the specified date (the definition of ‘durable partner’ in this table being met before that date rather than at the date of application), and the partnership remained durable at the specified date..."
Re: (i) we will get married likely in Jan or Feb 2021, but this will be after the specified date (Dec 31, 2020); and re: (ii) we will have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for more than 2 years, but I do not hold a relevant document (residence card or family permit). Do we satisfy the part about "definition of ‘durable partner’ in this table being met before that date rather than at the date of application"?
Keep in mind the definition of "durable partner" in Appendix EU is as follow:
"...
(a) the person is, or (as the case may be) for the relevant period was, in a durable relationship with a relevant EEA citizen (or with a qualifying British citizen), with the couple having lived together in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years (unless there is other significant evidence of the durable relationship); and
(b) the person holds a relevant document (as described in sub-paragraph (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of that entry in this table) as the durable partner of the relevant EEA citizen (or of the qualifying British citizen) for the period of residence relied upon, unless the date of application is after 31 December 2020 and the person was resident outside the UK at that date; and..."
Thank you in advance for your input!
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