Prove durable relationship or get married?

[Barbapapa24]

Hello everybody,

I would like to get some advice from people that have gone through the process of having proved to have a durable relationship with their partner when immigrating to the UK.

I am taking on a temporary job in the UK (two years). I don't know yet which tier I will go in, but I don't think that matters very much. I would like to take my unmarried partner along with me. We are both EEA nationals of the same country, having lived together for over four years.

We have been talking about getting married, but we have never taken the time to actually do it . Now this temporary job has come along, forcing us to make a decision. Do we get married or do we prove we are in a durable relationship?

One the one hand, I think it would mean a lot of work to prove that we have a durable relationship. However, we don't have a lot of time left to arrange a marriage.

What I do worry about, is if the immigration office sees that the marriage date has been very recent (one month or a few weeks before we arrive in the UK). Will they suspect false play or otherwise give us trouble?

Many thanks for your help!

[SoHopeful]

If you are an EEA I didn't think you needed to worry about any type of visa to live and work in the UK?

[Obie]

What nationalities are the two of you.

Yes i agree if you are an EEA national, you don't need to worry about entry, but residence rights and right to work will be important for family member who are from new Accession States.

[Barbapapa24]

We are both from the Netherlands.

You are right of course that we don't need a visa, but if my partner would like to come with me, he'll need to prove that he won't be a burden to the public services, i.e. that he has some kind of income, right? Since I have a job but my partner won't (not from day 1, at least) I thought it would be necessary for him to be able to say that he is either my spouse or my unmarried partner. Or is this not necessary?

Thanks!

[Obie]

No i don't believe that will be necessary under EU law.

Once you secure a job, your partner may be issued a Registeration Certificate under Regulation 16(5)

[Barbapapa24]

Thanks Obie.

However, under regulation 16(5) it says that my partner 'may' be issued this registration certificate. It has to be deemed appropriate by the Secretary of State.

Under what conditions is it likely that the Secretary of State will deem this appropriate? Or is it deemed appropriate 'yes' by default, and 'no' only in certain cases?

This regulation is really helpful, but I am just wondering that convincing the Secretary of State that the registration certificate is appropriate in this case would basically mean prove that we have a durable relationship. What do you think?

[Kitty]

If you and your partner are both nationals of the Netherlands, then neither of you requires any kind of ID document to live and work in the UK, other than your passports.

Your partner has a right of entry to the UK, the same as you do. For the first 3 months after he arrives, he does not need to be working or doing anything. After 3 months his residence depends on "exercising treaty rights", or on being the family member of someone who is.

As an unmarried partner (in EU-speak, someone in a "durable partnership"), he is only a "family member" once he has been issued with documentation that says so. It is not compulsory for member states to treat unmarried partners as family members, which is why the regs say that they "may" issue a registration certificate. However, if you have proof of 2 years' cohabitation (and you do) then a RC should be issued.

If you are intending to get married anyway, and if your partner is going to be looking for work int he UK, I see very little point in getting together the evidence needed to prove a durable partnership. Either you will get married at some point (in your own time!), at which point your partner automatically gets the rights of a family member, without needing an RC; OR he finds a job, in which case he is exercising treaty rights and has his own right to live here, independent of you.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Hello everybody,

I would like to get some advice from people that have gone through the process of having proved to have a durable relationship with their partner when immigrating to the UK.

I am taking on a temporary job in the UK (two years). I don't know yet which tier I will go in, but I don't think that matters very much. I would like to take my unmarried partner along with me. We are both EEA nationals of the same country, having lived together for over four years.

We have been talking about getting married, but we have never taken the time to actually do it :). Now this temporary job has come along, forcing us to make a decision. Do we get married or do we prove we are in a durable relationship?

One the one hand, I think it would mean a lot of work to prove that we have a durable relationship. However, we don't have a lot of time left to arrange a marriage.

What I do worry about, is if the immigration office sees that the marriage date has been very recent (one month or a few weeks before we arrive in the UK). Will they suspect false play or otherwise give us trouble?

Many thanks for your help!

You are very much mistaken about matters. You as a Dutch national and your partner also a Dutch national have very strong potential right of residence in the UK. Basically, just turn up and enjoy it.

If however, later on, you wish to have a right of permanent residence, you will have needed to have lived in accordance with the terms of the directive.

Please read this in its entirety http://eur-lex.europa.eu/Notice.do?mode ... words=null

Welcome to Europe. Welcome to the UK.