EEA Family Member Visa Consultants in Bangalore on the ‘Surinder Singh route’

Our EEA family member visa consultants in Bangalore recommend a unique route secure a UK visa: the Surinder Singh route.

The Surinder Singh route, named after the first person who filed a court case under these circumstances, can be used by non-EU family members of British citizens to be granted a UK visa. This option is unique in the sense that it’s a way to get a UK visa under the EU law. Normally, family members of EEA nationals, apply for visas using European law. This is where they get an EEA Family Permit for 6 months if applying from outside the UK or a Residence Card for 5 years if applying from within the UK.

Often British citizens, or rather their non-EU family members, attempt to apply for a UK visa using the same route. After all, the UK is in the EU (for the time being) and British citizens are EU citizens. However, those who do try it are startled by being told that this route does not apply to family members of UK citizens, only to those of EU (non-UK) citizens. Why so? This is because there has to be ‘movement’ between the EU member states. A British citizen in the UK represents no such movement.

That being said, our EEA family permit visa consultants in Bangalore state that there is one way around this hurdle: The Surinder Singh route. This route allows for non-EU family members of British citizens to apply for a UK visa using European law, as opposed to applying under the UK Immigration Rules.

Let’s have a look at one common situation. Under the Surinder Singh route, spouses of UK citizens can apply for a Family Permit and/or Residence Card under EU law and not under the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

Applying under EU law means no English test and no Financial Requirement. In addition, it is much cheaper; a Family Permit is free of the official Home Office fee. The best part is that under this route, you receive a Residence Card for 5 years, as opposed to 2.5 years for those under the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

Conditions for Non-EEA family members of EEA nationals to apply under the Surinder Singh Route:

There are however several conditions to meet in order to be eligible for the Surinder Singh Route. We have outlined the relevant points over here. For individual advice, please contact our EEA family permit visa consultants in Bangalore for a consultation.

1. The British citizen must live and work in another EU member state (or be self-employed) before returning to the UK. This is how we get across the ‘movement’ requirement, referred to earlier in the article, for a minimum of 3 months.
2. There must be evidence that the British citizen’s ‘Centre of life’ has been transferred to that EU member state. Examples of such evidence include: renting a place to live or buying property (as opposed to staying at a hotel), enrolling a child in school, learning language etc.
3. The non-EEA family member must be related to the British citizen as either their: spouse or civil partner; or child or grandchild (or the child or grandchild of their spouse or civil partner) and under 21 years of age or dependent on them; or parent or grandparent (or of their spouse or civil partner) and dependent on them.
4. In case of spouses and civil partners, both UK and non-EU spouse/civil partner must have lived together in the EU member state and have been married BEFORE returning to the UK.

At The SmartMove2UK our EEA family member consultants in Bangalore have helped numerous non-EEA family members of EU nationals to apply for an EEA Family Permit to The UK. You can contact us if you are seeking legal help from UK visa consultants in relation to the UK EEA Family Permit.

If you have any comment or want to know anything about the EEA family member visa then you can call our immigration expert in Banglore or you can also connect with us on.

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