What is an EUSS Family Permit?

A family permit is an immigration document that is permanently affixed to a blank page of the applicant’s passport in order to facilitate their entry into the United Kingdom as the family member of someone from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, or an eligible person of Northern Ireland.

Who is eligible to apply?

You must be the spouse; civil partner; unmarried partner; child or grandchild under 21; dependent child or grandchild over 21; or the dependent parent or grandparent of an individual who is an EEA or Swiss citizen that has been granted either pre-settled or settled under the EUSS, and they were residing in the UK on or before 31 December 2020. You may also be eligible to apply if you are the family member of a ‘relevant person of Northern Ireland’, or a ‘specified relevant person of Northern Ireland’. In all circumstances, your family relationship must have begun on or before 31 December 2020, unless you are a child who was born or adopted after this date.

You can apply for an EUSS Family Permit to come to the UK if:  

• you’re a close family member of an EEA or Swiss citizen, or a person of Northern Ireland; and
• the person you’re joining must be already in the UK or travelling to the UK no later than 6 months from the date you submit your application.

The person you’re joining must also either be:

• an EEA or Swiss citizen with either ‘pre-settled’ status under the EU Settlement Scheme or ‘settled’ status, or be eligible if they were to apply for it;
• a person of Northern Ireland;
• an Irish citizen;
• 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; or
• a dual British and EU/EEA Citizen who settled in the UK on or before 16 July 2012 without using their free movement rights

To be a ‘relevant person of Northern Ireland’, the person you are joining must:

• have been born in Northern Ireland
• have British, Irish, or dual British and Irish citizenship
• have at least one parent who carried British, Irish, or dual citizenship (or was without any restriction on their period of residence) at the time of their birth

To be a ‘specified relevant person of Northern Ireland’, the following criteria must be satisfied:

• the applicant must not be an EEA Citizen
• due to compelling practical or compassionate reasons, it was not possible for the specified relevant person of Northern Ireland to return to the UK before the specified date, while the applicant remained outside the UK

• the specified relevant person of Northern Ireland must be a British Citizen, or a dual British/Irish Citizen, and they must have been born in Northern Ireland and have at least one parent who carried British, Irish, or dual citizenship (or was without any restriction on their period of residence) at the time of their birth

Qualifying as a ‘close’ family member 

• You can apply as an unmarried partner if you can demonstrate that you were in a genuine and subsisting relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two full years prior to 31 December 2020.
• If you do not qualify as an unmarried partner, you must evidence you are the person’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

The family relationship must have started on or before 31 December 2020.

What happens after the application is approved?

Family permits are valid for a period of 6 months from the date the application is approved. It is free to apply for the permit. You can re-enter the UK as many times as you need whilst your permit is valid.  You are permitted to work in the UK with a family permit.

You are allowed to remain in the UK after your family permit expires if you meet certain eligibility criteria:

• The person you’re joining must either:
  • Be in the UK already; or
  • Be travelling with you to the UK within 6 months of the date of your application.
• You must also apply for a status under the EU Settlement Scheme within 3 months of arriving in the UK on your family permit. 

Where can you apply from initial entry clearance from?

You must apply for initial entry clearance from your country of residency and not from within the UK. We do not recommend that you book any travel to the UK until you are in receipt of a valid permit. There is no standard processing time for EU Settlement Scheme Family permits. UK Visas & Immigration will simply make a decision as soon as they are able to which can take any length of time.

There is no deadline for these applications, and the deadline to apply for a status under the EU Settlement Scheme does not apply to joining family members.