Who can apply for Surinder Singh Route to move to the UK?

What is Surinder Singh visa?

The Surinder Singh Route is the same as the Surinder Singh visa. There is no difference between the two. If you Google the two names, you will find the same results for them.

The program is still open but be cautious when you apply for the program. You need to read the eligibility principles and ensure you qualify for it. Also, you need to work hard on your supporting documents to improve the chance of returning to the UK.

Surinder Singh route after Brexit

The Surinder Singh Route post-Brexit is the deadline you can apply for the program.

The British citizens residing in the EU can still apply for the Surinder Singh route after Brexit.  Thye must return to the UK until 31 March 2022 to be eligible for the program. The non- British families who want to move to the UK after March need to apply through the common immigration plans and may not apply through the Surinder Singh route.

You need to ensure you will receive your EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit before the March deadline. There is processing time with the application so ensure your residency will face no problems.

In case you were married before  31 January 2020, you spouse is eligible to apply through the Surinder Singh route.

Surinder Singh route 2022

The deadline to enter the Uk under the Surinder Singh route is 29 March 2022. You are not eligible to enter the UK under the program after it.

Read the eligibility principles and complete the application process as early as possible.

How Can a Sponsor Qualify for the Surinder Singh Route?

Your British family members are only eligible to sponsor you to apply for an EEA family permit if their situation is as per the following:

• Have had British citizenship since before returning to the UK from another EEA state. Also, they should have been living with you for at least three months in a foreign member country.
• You are a qualified person or are exercising treaty rights in a foreign state in the European Economic Area. The sponsor must be similar to the “eligible (qualified) person” or must be entitled to the right of permanent residency there.
• It has been integrated with the EEA state. This takes into account the time spent by the sponsor in the foreign EEA country. The primary residence of the sponsor must be in that state at that time.
• Is or was a Qualified Person in the UK. This takes into account the time the sponsor has spent in the UK since returning to the UK. This requirement does not apply if you apply for an EEA family permit in the first three months after their return.
• Good job, prospects. This applies to situations where the sponsor is unemployed and only in certain situations. This includes situations where your UK sponsor is actively seeking employment and has real job opportunities. This extends to situations where you are not covered by comprehensive health insurance. Still, another person in the family is covered, and all of you are covered because of this person. The period of unemployment shall not exceed six months and shall not be less than one year from the most recent employment.

Surinder Singh Eligibility Criteria

If your situation is as follows, you will be able to obtain a residence permit in the European Economic Area via the Surinder Singh route:

1. You have lived with a British citizen even before returning here. You live in the same house as a British citizen and their family and have lived in a foreign country in the European Economic Area for at least three months.
2. You have been living with a British citizen since the British citizen returned to the UK. You have lived with a British citizen for five entire consecutive years, including the period after their return.
3. Lived in a foreign EEA country, and there was no intention of avoiding UK laws of immigration.

EEA family permit Surinder Singh route

If you have married or entered a relationship with a British citizen before 31 December 2020, the family can apply through the Surinder Singh route and enter the UK. The family must have lived in the EU, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein before February 2020.

In case the relationship of the couple started after 1 February 2020, you need to provide firm reasons for not returning to the Uk by then.

A valid passport and national identity card from the EU or Switzerland are required to apply for the program. The British national needs to provide a valid passport and proof of relationship. It is also required to provide proof of living together.

What is the relationship you must have to apply for an EEA Family Permit under the Surinder Singh route?

In order to apply for an EEA residence permit via the Surinder Singh route, you have to be an immediate family member of a British citizen. If you are a member of an extended family, you will not be able to apply.

Your relationship with the British citizen sponsor must be any of the following:

• The sponsor’s spouse/civil partner.
• Sponsor’s children/grandchildren/spouse or civil partner, under 21 years of age. If you are 21 or older, your eligibility is limited to financial dependence on your sponsor.
• The sponsor’s parents/grandparents/spouse or civil partner. You have to be financially dependent on your sponsor.

Surinder Singh route Requirements

The decision to grant you an EEA family permit under the Surinder Singh route is based on the evidence you provided at the time of application. The Home Office uses this type of evidence to verify the authenticity of the information you provide and your eligibility for receiving the card.

Your application for a family permit in the European Economic Area is based on the evidence you provide:

1. Nationality and identity of your sponsor.
2. The current status of your sponsor in the foreign EEA state and the UK.
3. Your current relationship with the sponsor.
4. Reasons for living in a country in the European Economic Area.

The documents for applying for an EEA permit based on the Surinder Singh route are as follows:

1. A completed and valid EEA residence permit application form.
2. Current and valid evidence of nationality and identity.
3. Proof of showing your relationship with the sponsor.
4. Evidence that your sponsor is a qualified person in another European Economic Area country before returning to the UK.

Evidence of employment/self-sufficiency/self-employment/study in a European Economic Area country.

Proof of obtaining the right to permanent residency. If the sponsor has lived in a foreign country in the European Economic Area for at least five years and upon this has obtained permanent residency there.

• Evidence showing that you have lived in the UK.
• Proof of residence and integration in another European Economic Area country. (At least three items of the mentioned evidence).

1. Bank statement showing payment.
2. Loan/mortgage agreement.
3. Utility bills.
4. Evidence that other family members have lived / still live in another country in the European Economic Area.
5. Proficiency in the languages ​​of foreign EEA countries. Qualifications or proof of enrollment in a language course.
6. A letter from an education provider in the foreign EEA state. You must confirm that you or your child are studying language courses.
7. Professional/academic qualifications obtained in foreign countries in the European Economic Area.
8. Membership Agreement with any local community in a foreign EEA country. Or with any social group which is there.
9. Child’s birth certificate. Suppose the child was born in a foreign country of the European Economic Area.
10. You obtained complete UK residency and immigration titles.

Proof of all trips to the countries of the European Economic Area and from there to the United Kingdom. (Any of the following):

1. Travel tickets for all trips.
2. List of all those trips. It must contain all relevant arrival/departure dates.

Evidence of your financial dependence on the sponsor:

1. Applicant’s bank statement showing the transfer of funds by the sponsor.
2. Receipt of the money acquired from the sponsor.
3. Sponsor’s bank statements. Statements must show the money transfers made to your bank account.
4. Proof of the financial resources of the sponsor. Their most recent bank statement or payment receipt.

Show that you and the sponsor lived in the same house.

How is the application for Surinder Singh route cases evaluated?

The Home Office will use your evidence to evaluate your application for Surinder Singh by answering these key questions:

• Question 1. Is the said British citizen eligible to sponsor Non-European Economic Area applicants?
• Question 2. Did the UK citizen exercise treaty rights in a foreign country in the European Economic Area?
• Question 3. Has a British citizen obtained a permanent residence card from a country in the European Economic Area?
• Question 4. What are the reasons why the applicant and his or her British citizen sponsor live in such a foreign country in the European Economic Area?

Finally, the Home Office can provide a letter inviting you or a UK sponsor to participate in an interview. The interview is to determine if the information and evidence you provide is true.

Surinder Singh application processing time

The processing time for the Surinder Singh route can take up to three weeks to process. You would better apply as early as possible and submit all the required supporting documents.

Be careful with the documents in case they are wrong, or the UK officials require further documents; you have to wait longer for the processing time.

Let’s sum up…

British citizens residing in EEA countries to return to the UK and bring their non-EEA family members through Surinder Singh Route. The article explained the eligibility principles and the conditions you can apply it and the Surinder Singh Route post-Brexit.

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