The EU Settlement Scheme has gone live for the following categories of applicants:
1. EU citizens who have a Passport
2. Family members of EU Citizens who have a Biometric Residence Card('BRC') issued by the UK Home Office.
3. Individuals born in the UK but who are not British Citizens
4. EU Citizens who are married to British nationals
Who should apply from 21 January 2018 onwards?
In our opinion ,
If you are an EU national living in the UK and you wish to continue to live in the UK after 30 June 2021 and either:
You have resided in the UK for at least 5 years and you are unable to demonstrate to the UK Home Office that you have exercised EU Treaty Rights in the UK for at least 5 years in order to qualify for Permanent Residence, or
You have already acquired the Document Certifying Permanent Residence and you do not wish to or are unable to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen on or before 30 June 2021, or
On 30 June 2021, you will not have completed a 5 year continuous residence in the UK.
If you are an Non-EU national living in the UK and you wish to continue to live in the UK after 30 June 2021 and either:
You have resided in the UK for at least 5 years and your EU Citizen Family Member is unable to demonstrate to the UK Home Office that he/she has exercised EU Treaty Rights in the UK for at least 5 years in order to qualify him/her for Permanent Residence, or
You have already acquired the Document Certifying Permanent Residence and you do not wish to or are unable to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen on or before 30 June 2021, or
On 30 June 2021, you will not have completed a 5 year continuous residence in the UK as a Family Member of the same EU Citizen, on whom you have received the BRC.
What categories of Non-EU Family Members should apply
In our opinion, if you are in any of the below categories of Non-EU family members, you hold a BRC on that basis and have resided in the UK along with your EU Citizen family member and that EU Citizen family member is unable to demonstrate to the UK Home Office that he/she has exercised EU Treaty Rights in the UK for at least 5 years in order to qualify him/her for Permanent Residence.
Non EU Family member categories:
- You are in a relationship with the EU Citizen as a Spouse or Civil Partner or an Unmarried Partner
Note:
a. For Spouses or Civil Partners, their 5 years of living together in the UK will count from the date of their marriage or from the date they started living together in the UK, whichever is later.
b. For Unmarried Partners, their 5 years of living together in the UK will count from the date of issue of their BRC as an Unmarried partner of the same EU Citizen.
- You are related to the EU Citizen, to their Spouse or to their Civil Partner and hold a BRC on that basis and you are their:
child, grandchild or great-grandchild under 21 years old
dependent child over the age of 21
dependent parent, grandparent or great-grandparent
dependent relative with a residence card to prove your relationship
Five years continuous residence:
You will be considered as having continuously resided in the UK if you have resided in the UK at least 6 months in any 12 month period.
The following absences will be excused/exempted:
one period of up to 12 months for an important reason (for example, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting)
compulsory military service of any length
What is a Biometric Residence Card('BRC')
BRC is a plastic card similar to the size of a UK Driving licence, on the front of the card it reads as 'Residence Card' and at the back of the card it reads as 'EU Right to Reside'
Who are EU Citizens?
The individuals who are citizens of the following countries are EU Citizens:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.