Your family
EEA national family members
If your family members are EEA nationals they can come and stay in the UK just like you can as long as they meet the rules in the section on Living in the UK.
Non EEA national family members
If they are not EEA nationals they can still come but it's more complicated.
Certain non EEA national 'family members' have more rights than others, including:
- Spouses
- Civil partners
- Children (including step-children and adopted children), grand children and great grand children up to the age of 21 (and those over 21 if they are still dependent) of the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner.
- Dependant parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of either the EEA national or their spouse or civil partner - but see below for students' families!
Any of these people can come and visit you in the UK (but if they are 'visa nationals' they will need to get an EEA family permit before they travel).
Visa national
If you are a national of a country where you normally need a visa to come to the UK for any reason, you are a visa national.
EEA family permit
A document given to non-EEA family members before they travel to allow them to enter the UK.
Even non-visa national family members in this group will need to get an EEA family permit if they want to come and live with you on a long term basis. If they try to get to the UK without one, the immigration officer may try to refuse them entry. However, officials are not allowed to turn back family members without the right documents without first giving them the chance to get those documents and prove that they are entitled to be here. If this happens to you, get advice.
All 'family members' in this group - whatever their nationality - also have the right to take up employment or self employment in the UK. If you're working your family members are entitled to all the welfare benefit that British families get.
"I've been living and working in London for the last six months. I'm Greek, but my wife and her two little girls are Albanian. I didn't want to bring them to London until I was settled and had somewhere for us all to live. I think the time is right now but a colleague told me that I wouldn't be able to bring them here because they're not EEA nationals. Is this true?"
Your wife and her daughters could come to live with you in London as family members of an EEA national. They should apply for an EEA family permit for the UK from the British Embassy where they live. They will have to provide their passports and proof that you and your wife are married and that the children are yours or your wife's. They will also have to prove that you are Greek and working in the UK (or that you're self employed or have enough money to live on without help from 'public funds' - see the section on Living in the UK).
More distant family members, and couples living together but not married or in a civil partnership, don't have the same rights. They are called “extended family members” and there are special rules for them. This area is very complicated, so if you're in this situation get advice. See Useful organisations page for a list of useful organisations.
Your family if you're a student
The rules are completely different if you are a student. Students have the right to be accompanied by their spouse or civil partner and children who are under 21 or dependant. Other family members of students don't have the right to live in the UK, but only to have their entry and residence 'facilitated'.
Having their entry 'facilitated' does not mean that these relatives have the right to come to the UK. But it does mean that they must be given more favourable treatment than they would normally get under UK immigration law. They certainly can't be treated any less favourably than family members of British Citizens in the same situation.
Family members whose entry can be 'facilitated' include:
- Your parents and grandparents (and the parents and grandparents of your spouse or civil partner).
- More distant relatives who have been part of your family household or who are financially dependent on you or your spouse or civil partner.
- A partner that you have a committed relationship with even if you're not married or civil partners.
Be careful!
Family members can lose their rights. For example if you as the EEA national stop living or working in the UK they may not be entitled to stay here.
If you get divorced your ex could lose their rights if your marriage or civil partnership didn't last for more than three years (including one year in the UK). But if your relationship ended because of domestic violence the victim may not lose their rights even if the relationship was shorter.
Children have some important rights to stay in education even after the parents have left.
Divorced spouses of whatever nationality now have important rights if they are the main carer of the children of the EEA national, or if they have a court order for contact with those children.
You should get legal advice if you are in this situation.
Documents
If you are an EEA national who is entitled to stay in the UK you can apply for a Registration Certificate to prove it. You don't have to get one but it may be worth your while as it shows that you're entitled to the same rights and benefits as British nationals.
Apply using form EEA1. You can download it using the link on the right of the page or call 0870 241 0645. The UK Border Agency is supposed to issue the certificate within six months.
If someone in your family is not an EEA national they have to apply for a Residence Card to prove that they the right to stay in the UK with you. They can only get a Residence Card if you are entitled to a Registration Certificate. Apply using form EEA2 which you can download using the link on the right.
The UK Border Agency will give you a certificate to prove that you've applied for the Residence Card. They have to issue the card itself no later than six months after the application has been made.
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