Does an EEA PR make me a person "settled in the UK"

[eeaman01]

I am a male EEA national (from one of the A8 states) who has been exercising treaty rights since Aug 2005 and acquired PR status automatically in Aug 2010 (got the vignette confirmation of PR using EEA3 only in Oct 2011). I have been in continuous full-time employment, and living and present in the UK throughout.

My non-EEA wife got her 5-year residence card in 2007 using EEA2, which is expiring very soon this year. The problem is that she recently traveled outside of the UK again and can't come back in time, so she is about to find herself with an expired Residence Card and therefore unable to re-enter the UK, in my opinion.

I am aware that the EEA Family Permit is probably the way to go for her to return back to the UK. (However, due to her recent 6+ month absence from the UK, accumulating a continuous 5-year qualifying residential period under EEA rules just got more time-consuming and thus the eligibility to switch to a UK route is very attractive for us, in spite of the application fee for UK route applications.)

Does my PR status gained via the EEA route make me a person that fits the label "a British citizen or a person who is settled here"? Am I considered "settled in the UK", thus making her eligible to apply for UK spousal entry visa? If she files such an application (I believe it is form VAF4A...?), will it succeed?

Thanks.

[Jambo]

Yes it does.

However, I don't see the attractiveness of the route. Unless you become a British citizen, it will not shorten her path to British citizenship (if that's the plan). The only difference would be getting ILR after 2 years.

Is she a visa national? If not, she can still travel without the EEA Family Permit. Has she been away due to pregnancy or a child birth? In that case 12 months of absence are allowed.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

If it is not too personal, why don't you state why your spouse was away in excess of six months. There are other "important reasons" why her residency might not be affected; illness is mentioned, but whose is silent.