Family Permits are available to non-EEA citizens and specified EEA citizens who are either family members of relevant EEA citizens or of qualifying British (‘QB’) citizens. Those who want to settle should apply to EUSS within three months of entering the UK on a EUSS family permit.

 

Who is the EUSS EEA citizens?

 

The Relevant EEA citizens are EEA citizen who entered or lived in the UK before 11 p.m. on December 31, 2020 in the UK, who has status under the EU settlement scheme.

• They are being resident in the UK while either working, or being a student or self-sufficient person with private health insurance
• An Irish citizen who either has status under the EUSS, or they can show they spent a period of time resident in the UK before 01 July 2021;
• A British and/or Irish citizen who was born in Northern Ireland, and at the time of their birth, one of their parents was British and/or Irish or had a permanent right to reside in Northern Ireland. The British and/or Irish citizen must have spent a period of time resident in the UK before 01 July 2021;
• A person who has been granted a Frontier Worker permit under the Citizens’ Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

 

Who are qualifying British Citizen? 

• British people who had permanent resident in an EEA state, and lives or lived there with the applicants before 11 p.m. on December 31, 2020. This can include QBs who have now died.
• A British citizen who, both before 11pm on 31 December 2020 and at the date of application is (or was immediately before returning to the UK) a worker, self-employed person, self-sufficient person or student in an EEA state and lived in an EEA state with the Applicant. They prove their genuine residence in an EEA state.

 

Who are the family member of relevant EEA citizens?

 

Non-EEA citizens and specified EEA citizens include everyone except British citizens are available to apply family permit. This means that EUSS Family Permit applicants can be citizens of any country in the world except the UK, as long as they are the family member of a relevant EEA citizen or QB citizen.

• Spouses who married before 11pm on 31 December 2020;
• Civil partners who entered into a civil partnership before 11pm on 31 December 2020;
• The spouse or civil partner of a Swiss citizen, where the marriage or civil partnership began before 01 January 2026;
• Unmarried partners who had been living together for at least two years by 11pm on 31 December 2020;
• A child, grandchild, or great-grandchild (including adoptive children), under the age of 21, of either the EEA or of their spouse or civil partner;
• A dependent child, grandchild and great-grandchild (including adoptive children), age 21 or over, of either the EEA or their spouse or civil partner. Dependent means that the applicant cannot meet their essential living needs (re financial or social conditions or health) without the EEA citizen’s support;
• A parent, grandparent or great-grandparent of either the EEA citizen or their spouse or civil partner.

 

Family members of QB citizens are any of the following:

• Spouses who married before 11pm on 31 January 2020;
• Civil partners who entered into a civil partnership before 11pm on 31 January 2020;
• Unmarried partners who have been living together for at least two years by 11pm on 31 January 2020;
• A child (including adoptive child), under the age of 21, of either the QB citizen or of their spouse or civil partner;
• A dependent child (including adoptive child), age 21 or over, of either the QB citizen or their spouse or civil partner;
• A parent of either the QB citizen or their spouse or civil partner;
• A dependent relative of the QB, where they have a strict need for the personal care of the QB on serious health grounds;

The scope of applicants eligible for EUSS family permit is much wider than expected. For example, some family members of related EEA nationals who have experienced domestic violence can also apply, and various family members may be eligible even after the related relationship ends, for example through divorce.

Family visa applications according to EUSS may require careful preparation and extensive evidence. Applicants will have to prove their family relationship and show that complex requirements such as family qualifications such as financial dependence with their families and past records of immigration status into the UK are met. It is important to seek professional advice to properly meet and demonstrate the relevant criteria.