SHM201 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:45 pm
The reason I am asking this question is that everywhere I have read, it only says after 31st DEC; only close family will be allowed to apply and get a pre-settled status.
- Extended family members are not part of that. Could you please share with me where have you read that extended family members will be considered as close family members for pre-settled status after coming to UK after 31st DEC? that will be actually helpful
I have noticed there are two or three different ways of finding answers regarding immigration routes in the UK:
1. Application / instruction pages where the application process is explained, e.g. The EU Settlement Scheme page
2. Caseworker guidances, e.g. The EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance
3. Actual legal texts, e.g. The Immigration Rules, the Withdrawal agreement, and relevant annexes
Source No. 1. Application / instruction pages
I have noticed that the language used in
The EU settlement Scheme page is sometimes oversimplified, I suppose in an attempt to explain at a glance how the system works and how it applies to most people. This might work for some applicants, but for many others, who have specific circumstances, the information presented ends up being misleading because crucial details have been left out, and things have been assumed about the applicant.
If you take a closer look, the EU Settlement Scheme page's third condition to be able to enter the UK after Dec 31st is to "remain a close family member"... yet the term "close family member" is never defined. In the general conditions for family members there is never a differentiation between spouses, children, parents, and other dependent relatives; they are all listed as qualifying items in the same list. This will give you a hint that someone has been summarising and that you need to look further.
So...
by all means read these pages but it might be a good call not to dwell too much on their literal meaning. Try to verify your understanding using thew other two sources available.
Source No. 2. Legal texts
Now, to the meat of the answer:
Within the
EEA regulations, regulation 7 establishes that:
A person (“B”) who is an extended family member and has been issued with an EEA family permit, a registration certificate or a residence card must be treated as a family member of A, provided—
(a)B continues to satisfy the conditions in regulation 8(2), (3), (4) or (5); and
(b)the EEA family permit, registration certificate or residence card remains in force.
In other words, extended family members of EEA national who have been issued a EEA document must be treated as family members as long as they continue to meet the conditions they met when issued the relevant document, and that document is valid.
Furthermore, in
a recent post @wochee pointed to the recent
Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (Statutory Instrument 1209), where it is stated that:
(4) The enactments specified in regulation 12 apply in relation to a relevant person during the grace period with the modifications specified in that regulation.
Regulation 12 being the document that sets out the rules concerning issuing of EEA FPs. And "relevant person", as defined in the statutory Instrument 1209 mentioned above, includes extended family members with EEA FPs (have provided links for you to check, would bee too long to quote here).
In other words, as per Statutory Instrument 1209 the operation of EEA FPs appears to continue until the end of the grace period, June 30th 2021. This suggests new EEA FPs will continue to be issued, and non-EU nationals coming on recently issued EEA FPs will continue to be admitted in the UK after December 31st 2020.
Source No.3 Caseworker guidance
Now, the best way to predict wether an application is going to be refused, be granted Pre-Settled, or Settled status, is to check the
EU Settlement Scheme Caseworker Guidance. You'll see that there is no mention of selective acceptance or refusal based on date of entry into the UK. If you read carefully the section for "Dependent relative" on page 61, you'll also see there is no mention of dates. There is however mention of the requirement to hold a "relevant document" (a EEA-issued document). This is really what makes the applications selective, and ensures this is closed for extended family members not having applied for a EEA document in 2020.
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.
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