Hi

I do not think that you should have any significant problems. As a US citizen you can come to the UK on a tourist visa, which gets you past the main hurdle (immigration control). Once you are in the country and your partner is working here, you can apply for a "Residency Card" at the Home Office using form EEA2. If you submit it together with the EEA1 application of your partner, it should be processed within about 2 months (which is important, because they like to keep your passport, although you can ask for it to be sent back). The forum already has lots of advice on this...

This shortcut is slightly different from the "proper way", where you would have to apply for an EEA family permit (basically a spouse visa) first. However, you cannot do this in the UK, and getting a tourist visa is probably easier (usually issued on the spot at the immigration control). Also you need to prove legal residency in the Netherlands if you want to apply for an EEA Family Permit from there. (Remember that dealing with the IND can be very expensive...) Luckily any UK visa is sufficient for your purpose, because the EEA2 application (and in fact your right of residence) is handled according to EU law, and it is not conditional to a specific visa.

Your main problem could be to prove sufficient income. There is not much difference between the Netherlands and the UK in this: you need to show that you will not need access to public funds (benefits). If in doubt, you should do a quick calculation to compare the net income with your monthly expenses, and see whether you have enough disposable income.

 

Does the UK implementation of EU law includes not married partners also?

Or do you have to be married or have a registered partnership?

 

Yes, it does, but everything is a lot easier if you are married. As an unmarried couple you have to prove that you have lived together for 4 years, using bills or bank statements that are either shared or going to the same address. Plus you get slightly more rights as a married couple, although that is usually not relevant.

 

So it's much easier in The Netherlands.
Over here it's enough to express your intention you will start living together, ans sign a declaration about it, to get a free visa on the basis of art. 5 Directive 2004/38/EC.
Once here you should actually start ling together and file a request for verification against EU law.

In fact non married partners of the Dutch can since many years also apply under national law for an entry clearance and rp.
EU nationals have the same possibility, but under the more favourable EU rules.

 

You are not visa national as far as I can gather....where about you are from ???

 

Yes, the Dutch are pretty easy about this partnership contract. However, I am not sure that European law applies in the case of the original poster. Since the partner is Dutch, they may have to use the national immigration law, which is rather expensive. They tried to charge me and my wife 1500 Euro or so, but we insisted on using the European law.

And even if you get a visa in the Netherlands, moving to the UK could still be tricky without being married. It should be possible according to the spirit of the directives, but the case is difficult to fit into the rules.

 

I'm sure it does not apply.
I was not answering the original poster, but asked first about the UK and later gave general information about the situation in NL.

 

The fee in NL for a single person is € 830 for the entry clearance and € 188 for the rp application.

For EU citizens the visa is free and the application costs € 30.

A difference of € 988.

 

I have to say that the unmarried partner rules are a bit difficult to read. The UK visas information page INF4 http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 8721067257 says 2 years for a temporary visa, and 4 years for permanent residence. The UK law http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary Paragraph 8(5) only says "durable relationship", which is open to interpretation. In any case you are only considered an "extended family member", which means that the Home Office "may" issue a visa to you. It seems there is some amount of judgement involved here, although I am not sure how much.

It is possible that a civil partnership contract formed in the Netherlands would make you a "civil partner" under UK law. You can ask the British consulate in Den Haag about this, they should probably know (although they may choose not to give a meaningful answer ). If it is considered equivalent, you could get rights equal to those of a spouse. (I have the feeling that marriage would simplify your immigration process a lot, although you still may have to prove that you actually live together. Of course immigration alone is not a good reason to marry someone!)

A working holiday visa is an option, but I think it is limited to 6 months, just like the tourist visa. Both are very difficult to extend (if not impossible). Of course the working holiday visa has the advantage that you can work, which is not possible on a tourist visa. Once you are covered by European law, all of this is no longer an issue.

 

Under EU law it is specifically not necessary to live together. The legal status of being married is enough, if it is not a fake marriage, only to obtain residence rights.