Office Address

Global Immigration Solutions
Hiltongrove Business Centre
Hatherley Mews
London
E17 4QP
Telephone: 08707 602 641

FACT SHEETS

 

EEA Nationals And Their Relatives

Under European law EEA and Swiss nationals have the right to live, study and work in the UK, and may be accompanied by their dependent families, whether or not their family members are themselves EEA or Swiss nationals. Though the UK is a part of the EEA, in general the rules that apply to the non-EEA family members of EEA nationals do not apply to the non-EEA family members of British nationals.

Non-EEA national family members

If you are a family member of an EEA national but are yourself the national of a country outside the EEA, you should apply for an EEA family permit, which is a form of entry clearance issued free of charge by the UK authorities, as proof of your right to join your EEA family member in the UK. If you arrive in the UK without this, you may be refused entry if you are unable to prove your relationship to the EEA national. If you are already in the UK under some other provision of the Immigration Rules, or without permission, you should submit an application for an EEA residence card to the Home Office.

Workers Registration Scheme

If you are a national of one of the 'A8' countries - that is, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - you must register with the Home Office under the Worker Registration Scheme if you intend to work for more than one month for an employer in the UK. After 12 months of working legally in the UK, you will have full rights of free movement and can apply for a residence permit. There is a prescribed form on which the application must be made, and a fee, currently £90, must be paid to the Home Office. Your non-EEA family members will need to apply for family permits as proof of their right to live in the UK.

Retaining a 'Right of Residence' after the end of a relationship with an EEA national

There are some circumstances in which people who are not themselves from an EEA country retain the right to remain in the UK even after their marriage or civil partnership with the EEA national ends. If you have lived in the UK as the family member of an EEA national, and your family member has since died, or you have been the spouse or civil partner of an EEA national for at least three years, but your relationship has now been officially terminated, and you are able to support yourself in the UK without help from the UK authorities, or if your relationship has been terminated and you have custody of an EEA national child, you may be able to remain in the UK, and even eventually to get permanent residence here. This is a relatively new rule, and you are strongly advised to get specialist help with making such an application.

Our Services

Consultations and General Advice

If you are uncertain as to what application to make, or want general advice about your immigration situation, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our lawyers. We will give you an assessment of your case and advise you on which application is appropriate. You may then decide to do this yourself, or to instruct us to take your case on and make the application on your behalf.

Representation

If you instruct us to make an application on your behalf we will complete all application forms on your instructions and submit them on your behalf, along with the supporting evidence needed, with legal representations setting out the details of your application and how you meet the requirements under the European Treaty law. We will liaise with the UK authorities until a decision on your application is received.

Appeals

If it is established that the EEA citizen has a right to be in the UK under the terms of the Treaty of Rome, which sets out the free movement rights, and that the non-EEA citizen is related to the EEA citizen in one of the recognised family relationships, then the UK authorities must grant the non-EEA citizen the right to live in the UK as long as the EEA citizen continues to meet the requirements of the Treaty of Rome. If, however, the Home Office is not convinced of any of these details, there may be an initial refusal. In such cases we provide a full representation service, lodging an appeal against refusal with detailed reasons as to why the Home Office decision is incorrect, and representing you before the Immigration Judge at the hearing of the appeal, and liaising with the UK authorities until the determination of the appeal is received.

Retaining a 'Right of Residence'

If you are the non-EEA family member of an EEA national whose relationship has now ended, please make an appointment to see us to discuss your case. Until we know the particular circumstances of your case, we cannot advise you as to whether or not you have retained a right to reside in the UK.

If our assessment is that you have retained such a right, we can provide a full service, in the first instance making an application to the Home Office with details of your case and submitting legal representations to show how you meet the requirements of the law, and if necessary at an appeal before the Immigration Judge.