Family Permit

FAMILY PERMIT

You may be able to get a family permit to come to the UK if both of the following apply:

• you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
• you’re the family member of an EEA national, a Swiss national, or an eligible person of Northern Ireland

You must be outside the UK to apply for a family permit.
There will be no change to the rights and status of EU citizens currently living in the UK until 30 June 2021. You and your family can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK.
There are 2 different family permits:

• the EU Settlement Scheme family permit
• the EEA family permit
The one you should apply for depends on your circumstances.

Apply for the EU Settlement Scheme family permit if you’re the close family member of:
• an EEA or Swiss citizen and they have ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• an Irish citizen (they don’t need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, but must meet the eligibility criteria)
• an eligible person of Northern Ireland (they must also meet the criteria for the EU Settlement Scheme, even though they cannot apply)
• an eligible British citizen who also has EEA or Swiss citizenship, and who lived in the UK as an EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
You must be a ‘close’ family member, such as a spouse, civil partner, dependent child or dependent parent.

Apply for the EEA family permit if you’re a close or extended family member of an EEA or Swiss citizen.
You can be a close or ‘extended’ family member – for example a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew or niece.
There are other ways you may be eligible for an EEA family permit, for example:
• with a ‘derivative right of residence’ – you’re the carer of someone who has the right to be in the UK, the carer’s child, or the child of an EEA national who previously worked in the UK
• if you can make a ‘Surinder Singh’ application after living in another EEA country with a British family member
• with a ‘retained right of residence’ – you have the right to stay in the UK as the family member of an EEA national who has died, left the UK or is no longer your spouse or civil partner

Both family permits make it easier and quicker to enter the UK. You might not get a boarding pass and could experience major delays without one.
You may be refused entry into the UK if you do not have an EU Settlement Scheme or EEA family permit.

You should see a border control officer instead of using the automatic ePassport gates. The officer will check your permit.

Both family permits are valid for 6 months. You can leave and enter the UK as many times as you need within that time.
You may be able to stay after your family permit has expired.

You can apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit to come to the UK if all of the following apply:
• you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
• you’re the ‘close’ family member of an EEA citizen, Swiss citizen or eligible person of Northern Ireland
• the EEA citizen you’re joining is in the UK already or travelling with you to the UK within 6 months of the date of your application
The person you’re joining must also either be:
• an EEA or Swiss national with ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• an Irish citizen (they don’t need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, but must meet the eligibility criteria)
• an eligible person of Northern Ireland (they must also meet the criteria for the EU Settlement Scheme, even though they cannot apply)
• a British citizen who also has EEA or Swiss citizenship and who lived in the UK as an EEA or Swiss citizen before getting British citizenship
To be an eligible person of Northern Ireland, the person you’re joining must:
• have British, Irish or dual British and Irish citizenship
• have been born in Northern Ireland
• have at least one parent who held British, Irish or dual citizenship (or without any restriction on their period of residence) at the time of their birth
If you’re from outside the EEA and cannot apply for the EU Settlement Scheme family permit, apply for the EEA family permit instead.

The person you’re joining must be your spouse or civil partner, or you’re related to them (or their spouse or civil partner) as their:
• child or grandchild under 21 years old, or dependent child or grandchild of any age
• dependent parent or grandparent
Family members who are adopted under an adoption order that is recognised in UK law are regarded the same as natural family.

You must provide:
• a valid passport
• evidence of your relationship to your EEA family member, for example a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate or birth certificate
• your EEA family member’s EU Settlement Scheme application number, if they have one

You’ll also need to provide proof of your dependency if you’re:
• a dependent child or grandchild of your EEA family member and you’re over 21
• a dependent parent or grandparent of your EEA family member and they are under 18

You’ll also need to provide:
• a birth certificate or passport showing that your family member was born in Northern Ireland
• evidence that, at the time of your family member’s birth, one of their parents was a British, Irish, or dual British and Irish citizen, or without any restriction on their period of residence

You must be outside the UK to apply.

You can apply for an EEA family permit to come to the UK if both the following apply:
• you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
• you’re a ‘close’ or ‘extended’ family member of an EEA or Swiss national (excluding UK nationals)
Apply for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit instead if you’re a close family member of an EEA or Swiss national and they have ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The EEA citizen you’re joining must either:
• be in the UK already
• be travelling with you to the UK within 6 months of the date of your application
If they’ve been in the UK for more than 3 months they must either:
• be a ‘qualified person’ (working, looking for work, self-employed, studying or self-sufficient)
• have or be eligible for a permanent residence document – sometimes called a ‘document certifying permanent residence’
If your family member is not a ‘qualified person’ and does not have a permanent residence document, you may be eligible for an EU Settlement Scheme family permit instead.

You must be the EEA citizen’s spouse or civil partner, or related to them (or to their spouse or civil partner) as their:
• child or grandchild under 21 years old, or dependent child or grandchild of any age
• dependent parent or grandparent
Family members who are adopted under an adoption order that is recognised in UK law are regarded the same as natural family.

You can apply as an ‘extended’ family member’, for example a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew or niece.
You must be able to show that you’re dependent on the EEA citizen or are a member of their household, or have a serious health condition and rely on them to care for you.
You can also apply as an unmarried partner if you can show that you’re in a lasting relationship with the EEA national.
Extended family members and unmarried partners are not guaranteed to get a permit. Your individual circumstances will be considered when you apply.

You can apply as the family member of an EEA national student if you’re either the student’s:
• spouse or civil partner
• dependent child (or the dependent child of their spouse or civil partner)
For students, children of all ages must be dependent on the EEA citizen.
You must apply as an extended family member if you’re otherwise related to an EEA national student and want a family permit.

There are more eligibility requirements if you’re making a:
• retained right of residence application
• derivative right of residence application
• Surinder Singh application

You must provide:
• a valid passport
• evidence of your relationship to your EEA family member, for example a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate, birth certificate or proof that you’ve lived together for 2 years if unmarried
• your family member’s valid passport or national identity card (or a certified copy if you cannot provide the original)
• proof of your dependency if you’re dependent on your EEA family member
If your EEA family member has been in the UK for more than 3 months, you must show that they have a permanent residence document or are one of the following:
• working, for example an employment contract, wage slips or a letter from an employer
• self-employed (for example contracts, invoices or audited accounts with bank statements) and paying tax and National Insurance
• studying, for example a letter from the school, college or university
• financially independent, for example bank statements
Your family member must have full health insurance (comprehensive sickness insurance) if they’re studying or financially independent.
You’ll need to provide a certified translation of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.

You must be outside the UK to apply.

You can apply for an EEA family permit if you have a ‘derivative right of residence’ as the:
• primary carer of an EEA child in the UK who is financially independent
• child of an EEA former worker and you’re currently in education in the UK
• primary carer of a child of an EEA former worker and the child is currently in education in the UK
• primary carer of a British child
• primary carer of a British dependent adult
• child of a primary carer who qualifies through one of these categories
As a ‘primary carer’, you have responsibility for the day to day care of a person, including making decisions about their education, health, and finances. You must be a family member or their legal guardian, and can be their main carer or share that responsibility with someone else.

You must provide:
• a valid passport
• 2 passport size colour photographs
You’ll also need to provide information about the person you care for, including proof:
• that they’re dependent on you, such as court orders or details of care responsibilities
• that they’re living in the UK, such as tenancy agreements, utility bills or bank statements
• that children who are EEA nationals are financially independent and have full health insurance in the UK

You must be outside the UK to apply.

You can apply for an EEA family permit if you’ve lived in another EEA country with an eligible family member who’s a British citizen. This is known as making a ‘Surinder Singh’ application.
Your British family member must be one of the following:
• your spouse (husband or wife) or civil partner
• your parent or grandparent (or their spouse or civil partner) – you must also be under 21 years old or dependent on them
• your child or grandchild (or their spouse or civil partner) – you must be dependent on them
This includes family members who were adopted under an adoption order that’s recognised in UK law.

You and your British family member must prove that you:
• meet the eligibility in the EEA country where you live now – if you want to come to the UK at the same time
• met the eligibility while living together in another EEA country – if you want to join your British family member in the UK

You must have genuinely made your home in another EEA country. Both of you must prove that:
• it’s been your main residence or base for the ‘centre of your life’
• you’ve lived there together
• you’ve integrated there

Your British family member must either have the right to permanent residence in the EEA country where you’ve lived together, or have been one of the following there:
• working
• self-employed
• self-sufficient
• studying
If they’ve been back in the UK for more than 3 months, they must also be working, looking for work, self-employed, self-sufficient or studying in the UK.
Check your eligibility in the entry clearance guidance.

You must provide:
• a valid passport
• 2 passport size colour photographs
• evidence of your relationship to your British family member, such as a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate or birth certificate
• your family member’s valid passport (or a certified copy if you cannot provide the original)
• a list showing when you’ve been in the UK – include the dates you arrived and left
• a list of any other UK visa or immigration applications you’ve made – include whether you applied from inside or outside the UK, and details of each visa or permission to stay if you were successful
• a list showing any removals, deportations or other immigration penalties you’ve had in the UK
Both you and your British family member must provide documents proving that you’ve genuinely made your home in another EEA country. The documents must show:
• that you’ve lived together in the other EEA country
• your addresses
• time spent living at each address
• any proof of renting or buying a home
You must also provide proof that your British family member was working, self-employed, self-sufficient or studying in the EEA country where you’ve lived together.
Examples of proof include employer’s letters, wage slips, contracts, bank statements, proof of tax registration, or proof of enrolment and attendance for study.
You’ll need to provide a certified translation of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.

You must be outside the UK to apply.

You and your British family member can be asked to give more information or go to an interview.
Your application will be refused if it looks like you’ve only lived in an EEA country to gain entry to the UK by making a ‘Surinder Singh’ application.

You can apply for an EEA family permit if you previously had a right to reside in the UK as the family member of an EEA national who either:
• had permanent right of residence in the UK
• was a ‘qualified person’ (a worker, student, self-employed person, self-sufficient person or someone looking for work) in the UK
You could have a retained right of residence if:
• your, or another member of your family’s, marriage or civil partnership to that person has ended (with a divorce, annulment or dissolution)
• that person has died and you had lived in the UK for at least 1 year before they died
• you’re the child of an EEA national who has died or left the UK, or the child of their spouse or civil partner, or former spouse or civil partner, you were in education when that person died or left the UK, and you continue to be in education
• you’re the parent and have custody of a child who has a retained right of residence because they’re in education in the UK

You must provide:
• a valid passport
• 2 passport size colour photographs
• evidence of your relationship to the EEA national, such as a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate, birth certificate or proof that you’ve lived together for 2 years if unmarried
• proof of your family member’s identity and nationality, such as a passport, identity card or a previous family permit or residence card
• proof that your family member had permanent residence or had been a ‘qualified person’ (a worker, student, self-employed person, self-sufficient person or someone looking for work) in the UK
You must also provide other documents if they’re relevant to your application. They must show proof that:
• your, or another member of your family’s, marriage or civil partnership to the EEA national has ended, such as a divorce certificate
• your EEA family member has died or left the UK, such as a death certificate
• you, or a child in your custody, was in education when your family member died or left the UK and continues to be in education, such as a letter from the school
• you have custody of a child of your family member, such as a court order
• you or a family member were a victim of domestic violence, such as a injunction or social services report
You’ll need to provide a certified translation of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.

You can only apply if you were in the UK as the EEA national’s family member on the date the divorce was finalised or civil partnership was ended and one of the following applies:
• the marriage or civil partnership lasted at least 3 years before legal proceedings began and the couple lived in the UK for at least 1 year before the divorce, annulment or dissolution was finalised
• you (or the former spouse or civil partner of the EEA national) have custody of a child of the relevant EEA national
• you (or the former spouse or civil partner of the EEA national) have access rights to a child of the relevant EEA national, provided the child is under 18 and a judge has ordered that access must take place in the UK
• you, or a family member, have been a victim of domestic violence during the marriage or civil partnership, or there are other particularly difficult circumstances which justify retaining the right of residence

You must be outside the UK to apply.

Family permits are valid for 6 months. You can leave and enter the UK as many times as you need within that time.

If you want to stay in the UK you need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
You have until 30 June 2021 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if your EEA family member either:
• is a ‘qualified person’ (working, looking for work, self-employed, studying or self-sufficient)
• has or is eligible for a permanent residence document

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