If you are EU citizen and missed brexit cut off...

[Triffid1]

I have a distant family member who had planned to move to the UK. She was living elsewhere (not EU) and booked flights to the UK which were initially cancelled at start of lockdown when we all thought it was going to be over in a few months. She then tried to book again but her flight was cancelled and she then had to self isolate (pure bad luck) so she never managed to come before the deadline. She didn't have a job to come to which I know for some people seems to allow some flexibility but she can prove that she was trying to come as she has two flights that she bought and were subsequently cancelled ie it was not her fault that she could not arrive in time.

She seems to think this will be enough. I am not convinced and have tried googling and got nowhere. I'm telling her she should speak with an immigration lawyer but she is absolutely convinced that if she just arrives, it will all be fine!? Any one have any ideas or good links?

[MumInBrussels]

I'll see if I can find anything official to back it up, but my feeling is that you're right - she wasn't actually living in the UK before 1 Jan, and if she's honest with the authorities, I think that's the end of it. It would be the same for Brits moving here, too, though easier for the Belgian authorities to check because we have residence cards. If she were living in the UK before 1 Jan, I understand she'd still have time to register for settled status, but she will presumably struggle to prove she was here before the cut off if she wasn't, regardless of the reason...

[Zeitgei5t]

I think she needs to speak to at minimum a level 2 immigration advisor as she would be treated as the equivalent of a non-EEA (assuming not Irish or joining a close family member?) arriving after 1st Jan and trying to rely on presumed exceptions to the rules due to covid.

[Triffid1]

Thanks both. Yes, I think it's a mistake too and that intentions are not going to count but obviously an actual expert is needed here. As DH points out, with the exception of the fact that we'll probably have her to stay for a few days when allowed, it's not really our problem. But I am closer to her sister who I got to know better when we both moved here and is now more a friend than a relative, so I feel bad for her as she's probably going to find herself with a long-term houseguest who can't work.

[EileenGC]

The minute she lands in the UK, her ‘tourist visa’ allowance, or whatever they’re called now, begins. Once that’s over (30? 90 days? More - depends where she comes from) and she’s still in the UK with no employment or ongoing studies which would qualify her for a longer visa, then she’d be an ilegal immigrant. She needs to speak with an immigration lawyer and find a way of settling in the UK legally, if she has one.