# EEA family permit for unmarried partner?



## laciekacie

Hi all,

My boyfriend of four years who is a UK citizen will seek employment in Germany. I am a U.S. citizen and plan to join him. We would like to apply for an EEA family permit. I know that in the UK, proving that you are in a relationship akin to marriage (i.e. living together for 2 years) is sufficient to obtain this permit. Is this similarly the case for Germany or must we get married to get an EEA permit? 

Also, how long would he have to work in Germany in order for us to qualify? Would we be able to move back to the UK after this time period?

Thanks so much in advance!


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## ALKB

laciekacie said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My boyfriend of four years who is a UK citizen will seek employment in Germany. I am a U.S. citizen and plan to join him. We would like to apply for an EEA family permit. I know that in the UK, proving that you are in a relationship akin to marriage (i.e. living together for 2 years) is sufficient to obtain this permit. Is this similarly the case for Germany or must we get married to get an EEA permit?
> 
> Also, how long would he have to work in Germany in order for us to qualify? Would we be able to move back to the UK after this time period?
> 
> Thanks so much in advance!


Unfortunately, Germany does not recognise unmarried partnerships for visa purposes.

Once you are married, you can move to Germany with him (as you do not need a visa for the first 90 days of your stay as a US citizen) and apply for the German residence card immediately, there is no qualifying period.

During the first 90 days he won't even have to show that he is employed (but is welcome to do so) and you will receive your residence card in about three weeks. It should be valid for five years after which you can either apply for an indefinite residence permit or, if you don't meet the requirements, can apply for another EEA residence card.

Oh!

I just reread your post. Are you saying that you are currently in the UK and would like to return via the Surinder Singh Route?

There is no official minimum period of stay to apply for the UK EEA family permit but in general, a minimum of three to six months of employment in an EU country outside the UK is recommended. The amount of salary earned or number of hours do not matter, as long as it is an official job.

Basically, these are the steps:

-Marry
-Move to Germany
-Get your residence card
-Husband needs to find a job
-Husband needs to work in said job for around 3 months or more
-apply for EEA1 at British Embassy
-Move to UK!
-apply for EEA2

Good luck!


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## laciekacie

Thank you so much for the succinct answer--it really clears things up. 

Any idea if there is any other EU country (in Scandanavia, perhaps?) that would grant the EEA family permit to unmarried partners?

Thanks!


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## ALKB

Sorry, I don't know of any countries that accept unmarried partners but I have no real knowledge of Scandinavian countries, so it might be worth asking around in country-specific forums.


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## laciekacie

Hi All,
Earlier in this thread it was stated that one needs to be married to an EU citizen in order to apply for an EEA family permit. I just met with an NGO that works with migrants in Berlin and was told that if I need not marry my boyfriend (UK citizen) in order to qualify for a visa for me. If we establish a partnership (joint bank account, name on lease) and he finds work in Germany, we can qualify. I hope this information is correct.


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## ALKB

laciekacie said:


> Hi All,
> Earlier in this thread it was stated that one needs to be married to an EU citizen in order to apply for an EEA family permit. I just met with an NGO that works with migrants in Berlin and was told that if I need not marry my boyfriend (UK citizen) in order to qualify for a visa for me. If we establish a partnership (joint bank account, name on lease) and he finds work in Germany, we can qualify. I hope this information is correct.


That's news to me. Every official source I checked says spouse or registered same sex partner, asking for marriage or civil partnership certificate upon application.

There is nothing to stop you trying, though. 

I would be very interested in the result. If this is some bit of legislation that the German government doesn't want anybody to know about, it would be great news for a lot of unmarried couples!

As you want to use Surinder Singh, please note that there will be (possibly profound) changes to how the UK handles Surinder Singh cases from 1/1/2014:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3032/pdfs/uksi_20133032_en.pdf


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## ALKB

laciekacie said:


> Hi All,
> Earlier in this thread it was stated that one needs to be married to an EU citizen in order to apply for an EEA family permit. I just met with an NGO that works with migrants in Berlin and was told that if I need not marry my boyfriend (UK citizen) in order to qualify for a visa for me. If we establish a partnership (joint bank account, name on lease) and he finds work in Germany, we can qualify. I hope this information is correct.


Did the NGO specify that you could get a residence card as the family member of an EU citizen or were they just saying that you might qualify for a residence permit in general?

There is always the possibility of applying outside the rules and for Americans that might actually work?

Just trying to get behind this...


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## Nononymous

For what it's worth, based on limited anecdotal evidence the Ausländerbehörde in Berlin seems to be pretty friendly to Americans/Canadians these days. I wouldn't be surprised if someone got sympathetic treatment and an Aufenhaltserlaubnis based on having a working partner able to support them. 

Otherwise, yeah, it beggars belief that a non-EU national could qualify for residence and/or work permits based on having a shared lease and bank account with an EU national. That's just way, way too easy.


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## ALKB

I have read the regulations again, on the web site of the federal government, and they specifically define family member as:

- Ehegatte (spouse)

- Eingetragener Lebenspartner (registered civil partner = same sex marriage)

- Children and grandchildren under 21 years

- Parents and grandparents if financially dependent


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## Nononymous

Slight variation on this. Just heard from a friend here in Berlin (so, slightly anecdotal) that a non-EEA national can obtain a residence permit (Aufenhaltserlaubnis) by marrying (or same-sex partnership with) another non-EEA national who has permanent residence (Niederlassungserlaubnis). 

For what it's worth.


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