Chapter 21 Annex 1 - Family members / Extended family members

The family members of an EEA national are defined in Regulation 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Immigration (EEA Regulations) 2006.

The family members of an EEA national include their:

• spouse/civil partner;
• children of the EEA national or their spouse/civil partner who are under 21, or are their dependants (including stepchildren and adopted children);
• dependants in the ascending line (i.e. parents and grandparents) of the EEA national and their spouse/civil partner; or,
• in certain circumstances "extended family members" (see below).

In the case of students, only their spouse, civil partner and dependent children are entitled to an extended right of residence.

From 30 April 2006 civil partners are recognised under the EEA Regulations and they can be issued with an EEA family permit if their relationship is a recognised partnership in the UK or falls under the General Provisions of the civil partnership Act 2004.

Proposed civil partners (equivalent to financé/ financée) are not currently recognised as family members under the EEA Regulations and should not be issued with an EEA family permit. They can, however apply under the relevant provisions of the Immigration Rules.

Extended family members

Regulation 8 of the Immigration (EEA Regulations) 2006 covers extended family members (for example, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins).
Important: It also covers family members (e.g. children over 21 or parents who have failed to provide evidence of financial dependency).

You should refuse cases involving extended family members (intending to move to the UK to live) where the EEA national is a student.

An applicant may be considered for an EEA family permit under Regulation 8 of the Immigration (EEA Regulations) if they fall within the following conditions:

• is residing lawfully in an EEA Member State in which the EEA national also resides and is dependent on the EEA national or a member of their household and;
• is accompanying the EEA national to the UK, or wishes to join him/her there.

If the extended family member does not meet the above criteria, they can alternatively qualify under any of the following conditions as an extended family member if they are:

• a relative of the EEA national, his spouse or civil partner and on serious health grounds, urgently requires the personal care of the EEA national, his/her spouse or civil partner, or
• a relative of the EEA national and meets the requirements in the Immigration Rules for indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK as a dependent relative of the EEA national were the EEA national is a person present and settled in the UK, or
• the partner of the EEA national and can prove that he/she is in a "durable relationship" with the EEA national - i.e. the applicant would need to meet the requirements in the Immigration Rules for Unmarried Partners.

The Directives refer to facilitating or favouring the admission of any extended member of the family who meets any of the above conditions. Providing that a person falls within one of these categories, we may issue an EEA family permit if in all the circumstances it appears appropriate to do so.

When deciding whether it is appropriate in all the circumstances to issue a family permit, you will need to assess whether refusing the family member would deter the EEA national from exercising his/her Treaty rights or would create an effective obstacle to the exercise of Treaty rights.

Each case must be assessed on an individual basis but examples of where it may be appropriate to issue a family permit would be if the family member was very elderly or incapacitated. In such cases it would be appropriate to consider whether there were any relatives to care for him/her in their home country.

Where an applicant has produced evidence that they are financially dependant on the EEA national, (for instance they may be currently unemployed), it would be appropriate to consider whether the EEA national could remit money back to the third country national’s home country. Note - this only applies to extended family members .

In considering cases under Regulation 8, we will refuse those who have for example:

• lived in a third country whilst the EEA national has resided in another Member State prior to entering the United Kingdom;
• lived as part of the EEA national’s household many years ago;
• have their own family unit (unless there are sufficient compassionate circumstances).

The refusal wording should be:

You have applied for admission to the United Kingdom by virtue of European Community Law as the family member of a European Economic Area national who is exercising, or wishes to exercise, rights of free movement under the Treaty establishing the European Community in the United Kingdom. I have considered your application in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 but I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for issuing you with a family permit.

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