unmarried partner-after interview,more delays?

[virus10]

Hi, my partner is due for his interview tomorrow in NZ, we have been waiting and stressing so long now and have been apart for almost 5 months.
Now he gets a letter to confirm the interview, but it says something like...if the interview is unsucessful we may refer the case to the Brit High commissin in the UK, which may delay things further....Is this common? What is likely to happen then? Maybe they want to interview me? How long can these applications last? We have rent and bills to pay here too.

[John]

Hey, stop panicking! Why will the application fail? Assuming that the supporting evidence proves the case then the application should be granted.

Given the time differential between the UK and NZ I guess the interview might be soon. But do try to get some sleep! Now!

[virus10]

I guess Im worried he will be really nervous and may not be able to think straight, also there isnt much evidence of living together/old emails etc from my side because I shred and delete everything. It would be so unfortunate to be declined because of me not liking clutter! And he has been married/divorced before, which was why he was allowed to stay here in the first place, hopefully they understand that things dont work out as planned sometimes.

[John]

Virus10, given the time difference, any news you can post?

[virus10]

Hi, he went for the interview and it went well and wasnt as intimidating as expected, he was given the chance to say everything he wanted to say and came out feeling more positive than when he went in.
The only thing was though, because he has a 5 year marriage visa to an EU citizen and they separated, they told him he wasnt actually supposed to be here anymore. He never knew this, and thought that he only had to leave when they got divorced, which they did 4 months ago, and because of this he was honest and left the country, as well as this he had to be out of Britain to apply for the unmarried partner visa. Do you think they will just overlook all the evidence of our relationship and just say NO because of this? They did ask at the end 'when do you want to travel' and they will let him know in a couple of days.
The most annoying thing is, at the very beginning of the application when we went to a lawyer, she said nothing about him not legally being able to work here, she said his current visa and relationship is irrelevant and obtaining the visa will be "No problem".
Any opinions much appreciated, thankyou.

[John]

The only thing was though, because he has a 5 year marriage visa to an EU citizen and they separated, they told him he wasnt actually supposed to be here anymore.

Is this correct? Let's investigate! How long did the marriage last .... from marriage date until the divorce decree date? At least three years?

And did he live with his EU spouse in the UK for at least one year?

If the answer to both of those questions is "yes" then the comment at the BHC is simply wrong, and has been wrong since the new EU/EEA regulations came into force on 30.04.06.

He never knew this, and thought that he only had to leave when they got divorced, which they did 4 months ago

Well no! If the 3-year and 1-year tests are passed, as mentioned above, the person has a continuing right to use their Residence Card, and indeed apply for Permanent Residence, using the EU/EEA route, near the near of the 5-year period.

In a nutshell, the law significantly changed on 30.04.06!

[virus10]

Thanks for your help.......Im not sure about exact dates but i just texted him and asked him. But they got married i think in 2001 in NZ and got a 1 year visa, while he was there he broke his leg and couldnt travel for months, so she went back to the UK he followed few months later......its a long story.
Anyway he was granted his 5 year visa in June 2003, they separated 3 months later, hes been in the UK ever since because he thought he was allowed to. The final divorce went through in March 2007, so he left the country prior to this because he thought that he wasnt allowed to be here anymore. I had heard of some new law protecting non-EU spouses of EU citizens if they separate but havent been able to find any information about it, so I thought maybe it wasnt true. That would therefore be wrong of the BHC to deny him a visa because of this?
Thanks again

[virus10]

PS: could u provide any links that I can read about this? Been searching the net but only finding bits and pieces. Thanks

[virtual-writer]

PS: could u provide any links that I can read about this? Been searching the net but only finding bits and pieces. Thanks

Directive 2004/38/EC thread