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  • FAQ

    Last updated: April 22nd, 2023

    My non-EU partner has been told they need a visa to travel with me to the EU, even though they have settled status and a biometric card. That can’t be right can it?

    Unfortunately, EEA Residence cards issued by the UK to non-EU family members of EU citizens are no longer valid. Since the UK left the EU, free movement rights no longer apply to the UK, and the EU does not accept these cards for travel anymore.

    The new biometric residence cards issued to non-EU family members under the EU Settlement Scheme are proof of a UK immigration status. These cards are also not recognised for travel to the EU (though they are of course recognised for travel to the UK - being proof of UK immigration status).

    Therefore if your partner or spouse is from a country that is a ‘visa-required’ nationality, unfortunately they will need a visa. The European Commission confirmed to us that:

    "Where the visa requirement applies, the non-EU national family member of an EU citizen residing in the United Kingdom will, however, benefit from the visa facilitations provided for in Article 5(2) of the Free Movement Directive for trips to EU Member States of which the EU citizen is not a national and provided the non-EU national family member accompanies or joins the EU citizen. This means that the non-EU national family member will be entitled to be issued with the visa free of charge and as soon as possible on the basis of an accelerated procedure.

    The visa facilitations will not apply for trips to the EU Member State of which the EU citizen is a national.    "

    If you are facing problems in obtaining a visa, and the embassy or consulate cannot help you, you could contact the following:

    See our webpage https://www.the3million.org.uk/travel-to-the-eu for more information.

    NOTE: This was confirmed to us in a letter from the European Commission (read the letter here) . the3million considers this loss of travel rights unfair, and advocated for the EU to change this (see our briefing paper and paragraph 2.2 of our letter to the UK and EU ahead of the first meeting of the Joint Specialised Committee on Citizens Rights). Unfortunately this has not resulted in a change of policy.

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