nigelkembrey

I am a brit my partner is brazilain, we have 2 british kids. I have spent 2 years trying to comply with HO rules for visa for my partner including sale of my house to put money in bank to comply with income requirement. I cant go on trying to comply with new rules that change every few months. I got legal advice and have now come to Holland to try Surinder Singh to put an end to it. I am now told by an expert Surinder Singh wont work as I am not married. My lawyer says I must apply as durable partnership.
Does anybody have experience with this, I am now in deep panic mode, cant go back to UK and stuck in Holland maybe on a fools errand.
Can Brits in durable partnerships obtain EEA permits or are those only for non-brits because surinder singh was married and that route is still closed ?

AngelaV

Sack your lawyer!

Yes, you can do the Surinder Singh route and not be married. You have to prove a durable relationship of at least 2 years but I don't think you will have a problem with that one!

nigelkembrey

Angela,many thanks, do you know anybody who has succeeded, all evidence points to the fact that you MUST be married or they wont allow it. Since I started researching this its a recurring theme...

holly_1948

If it's just a same-sex issue you can get married in Netherlands as soon as either of you has established residence there.

nigelkembrey

No we are not a same sex couple

AngelaV

Of course, it is easier to do this if you are married but it's definitely not impossible. You are covered within the Directive and they would have to give you a good reason as to why you wouldn't apply but with 2 kids and I assume more than 2 years of proven relationship, you will be absolutely fine.

Here is a paragraph copied over from the Directive:

Have a look at Article 3, point 2b.


Article 3

Beneficiaries

1. This Directive shall apply to all Union citizens who move to or reside in a Member State other than that of which they are a national, and to their family members as defined in point 2 of Article 2 who accompany or join them.

2. Without prejudice to any right to free movement and residence the persons concerned may have in their own right, the host Member State shall, in accordance with its national legislation, facilitate entry and residence for the following persons:

(a) any other family members, irrespective of their nationality, not falling under the definition in point 2 of Article 2 who, in the country from which they have come, are dependants or members of the household of the Union citizen having the primary right of residence, or where serious health grounds strictly require the personal care of the family member by the
Union citizen;

(b) the partner with whom the Union citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested.

The host Member State shall undertake an extensive examination of the personal circumstances and shall justify any denial of entry or residence to these people.

__________________________________________________ ________

nigelkembrey

Yes, but that is the problem, when I move back it is to the state in which I am a national, so the directive does not apply. Surinder Singh claimed this was unfair and won, but he was married so the precedent only applies to married couples as I understand it.

spouse of scouse

I think you're reading it incorrectly, Nigel.

1. This Directive shall apply to all Union citizensthis is you who move to or reside in a Member State other than that of which they are a national, again, this is you, who have moved to the Netherlands and to their family members as defined in point 2 of Article 2 who accompany or join them this is your partner and children

AngelaV

Nigel, are you from the Netherlands? If you are, you won't be able to use the Surinder Singh route in the Netherlands. You must do it in a country of which you are not a national. You would have to move to a different European country to exercise your freedom of movement rights.

spouse of scouse

Hi Angela, Nigel said a couple of times in his original post that he's a Brit, I think he's just read the Directive incorrectly - not hard to do when you're worried

AngelaV

Sorry, my mistake, trying to multitask (unsuccessfully!).

AngelaV

Nigel, join this group:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/477537505627291/

There are a few people doing the ss route in the Netherlands. You'll get lots of advice and tips there.

nigelkembrey

Angela this is the worst time of my life. I think the word to describe the situation is despairing. Please check this link, if they are wrong I will be delighted. However, I am 1 day in the netherlands and being told my solution wont work. I need to do a host of things and its a lot of time and money , and I need to know fast if its going to work or not. I have asked to join the facebook page.
Please read this link.
http://www.immigrationboards.com/vie...=910517#910517

AngelaV

Nigel, you are very obviously in a "durable" relationship so I wouldn't worry on that point.

Please have a read through this document, it is basically guide to the Directive in a more user friendly format. It will explain the steps you need to take to get your residency card and what steps you need to take to fulfil your obligations to take the ss route.

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies...vement_low.pdf

There is also a couple of threads below this one with a bit of information on the ss route and some experiences.

I know you are in complete panic mode right now but I feel you have been given some bad advice. There is lots of us out there more than happy to steer you in the right direction and help alleviate your fears. Please try not to worry, you and your family will be fine.

The first thing you need to do is report your presence in the Netherlands so that you can document your ss clock. It is usually necessary to report your presence but your wife cannot be expelled for not doing so.


Sorry, I am doing it in Ireland so I don't know the workings of the Netherlands but the basics are more or less the same.

nigelkembrey

Hi Angela, thank you for this much more readable summary.
It does confirm what I already understood.
However, do we have any examples of durable relationships that passed using Singh ?
The UK do not play ball , Singh took them to court because the UK were not respecting this legislation and won. Home office guidance within the EEA Permit rules has a special section for Singh and UK nationals , which states that cases similar to Singh will be admitted, it is different to the rest of the site quoting only married couples and civil partnerships, the rest of the EEA permit site allows durable partnerships, only the UK section does not mention this, that is why I am trying to find somebody who succeeded with a durable partner and until now I cant find one single example.... and I am panicking yes.