Question on "present and settled"

Hi all,
   Thank you for your help. My question is as an Irish citizen as far as the VAF2 is concerned, am I considered "present and settled"? This is what I have found on ukvisa website at,
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front/TextOnly?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1018721067257&to=true [nofollow]


What does "present and settled" mean?
‘Settled’ means being allowed to live in the UK lawfully, with no time limit on your stay. "Present and settled" means that the person concerned is settled in the UK and, at the time we are considering your application under the Immigration Rules, is in the UK or is coming here with you, or to join you and plans to live with you in the UK if your application is successful.

Hi all,
   Thank you for your help. My question is as an Irish citizen as far as the VAF2 is concerned, am I considered "present and settled"?

For your purposes, the phrase 'present and settled' means [1] you have right of abode; *AND* [2] you will be physically in the UK when the applicant arrives here.  This is also interpreted as arriving at the same time, and the tribunal has upheld this interpretation since at least 1990. 

There's a lengthy discussion about 'present and settled' in "Immigration:  Family Entry and Settlement", by N. Mole, Bristol Publishing if you were interested in reading all the gory details...

To see if you have ROA, you can check the article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_and_the_Republic_of_Ireland

Hi Garry,
   Thank you for your reply. I plan to join my husband on his journey to UK. Should that satisfy the "present and settled" even though as an Irish citizen I have never lived and worked in UK before? Or is there something else I need to do because I have not lived in UK. Currently I am studying in the USA and I have always lived in Ireland from birth.

Regards,

   Thank you for your reply. I plan to join my husband on his journey to UK. Should that satisfy the "present and settled" even though as an Irish citizen I have never lived and worked in UK before? Or is there something else I need to do because I have not lived in UK. Currently I am studying in the USA and I have always lived in Ireland from birth.

You need to establish if you have ROA.  There isn't enough info in your post to determine that.    If you don't have ROA, then you're filling out the wrong form because the VAF2 is for British law, and you should be using EU law.   

I'm confused as to why you are using the VAF2? 

Hi Garry,
   Please correct me if I am wrong. I thought, as an Irish citizen I have the right to abode in UK both under EU laws and Common Travel Area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area [nofollow] ). I understand VAF2 may not be the right form but could you tell me what information may be helpful to determine ROA.

Thanks.

   Please correct me if I am wrong. I thought, as an Irish citizen I have the right to abode in UK both under EU laws and Common Travel Area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area). I understand VAF2 may not be the right form but could you tell me what information may be helpful to determine ROA.

I think I've got it. 

First.  The 'Common Travel Area' is a red herring to your enquiry, so let's throw that out first.

Next.  As an Irish citizen and because Ireland is in the EU, you can exercise treaty rights in the UK, which means you can live and work here in accordance with the Treaty.  But that's a lot different than ROA.  ROA is not necessarily automatic for Irish citizens, you might have it if you were born before 1949 or from descent or from residence or through any other less known pathway - none of which you revealed.   It's possible you have confused treaty rights with ROA, right?

If I'm right, what this amalgamates to is that you've been filling out the wrong form, and this whole thread has been sailing along on the wrong vector.  You would be better off filling out the EEA1 form because it's the right one.

But I still don't understand how you got started filling out the VAF2 form.    

Hi Garry,
   This is becoming clearer now. I understand, then, that VAF2 is the wrong form. I will have to study the EEA1 form, I am new to all this. I misunderstood about ROA- you said you didn't have enough information to determine if I had ROA- all I have to tell is that I am an Irish citizen, lived in Ireland all my life, am a member of the EU, have a mother that was born in England, I was born in 1980 (I did read something about 1983 as a year that UK citizenship laws changed). What else might qualify me for ROA?

If you think I don't actually have ROA, what are my options to move to UK with US citizen husband? Thanks so much.

You don't need ROA if you're going to use EU law.  Just fill out the EEA1 form and send it to the consulate.  The folks there will know what to do next.