Relationship help needed

[windmillasaurus]

Ok, so this is more of a relationship problem, maybe even legal, but I need people with knowledge of living outside of the UK but in the EU.

I'm British, partner (not married) is from a non EU country. We live in a EU country not the UK under family reunification visa for him. We have 2 children. Both have British passports but both born outside the UK. Partner is named on both birth certificates.

We have not been getting along now for quite some time and unless something drastically changes between us I can't see us being a couple for much longer. If I understand it correctly, If we are no longer a couple then he loses his visa and therefore his right to live here.

What I need to know is what would happen, if we separated, regarding our children. There is no way that he would be happy to leave them just as I would not agree to him leaving the country with them. I feel stuck. Like I have no options. Either I stay in an unhappy, and I think I'm slowly starting to realise, emotionally abusive relationship. Or, we separate and I risk having to fight for our children. Neither option seems great for the children. Would the country we live in currently have any say in access to the children/ who they live with etc?

It's all a bit of a mess right now and I don't know what to do.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or know of anyone who has? Any advice would be welcome.

Sorry to hear you are having relationship problems. I actually think you need advice from someone who knows about family reunification visas rather than living in the eu. I live in eu with children who have dual British nationality. I don't know what the terms of your dh visa are, but do you want to stay in the country in which you currently live or return to uk? I am assuming if you are not married, he would still qualify for a family reunification visa in the country you are in now, as his family, his children, are still there. Does his visa apply for anywhere in Europe and your concern is that with Brexit it won't be valid in the uk? If so, I would be moving back sooner rather than later to the uk on that visa so he is resident, as I think there will be more hope of him being given a visa/residency if he is already there when the rules start to change. I am also concerned about visa and residency rule changes and am applying for citizenship right now because dh is from one european country and I am from the uk and we don't want to find ourselves in a legal battle to keep the family together, however unlikely it may be it is not worth the risk imo. It's shit.

Thanks for your reply. The visa he has only allows him to live and work in our current country. He can use it to travel around the EU bar a few countries including the UK. But he has a separate UK visa for when we visit my family.
I would want to stay in our current country. Ideally, we would like him to stay here too but didn't think that possible if we separated. Will look into if the family reunification visa still stands if only based on the children.

Surely his/your parental rights if you separate come under the law of the country you're both living in? In the EU country I live in for example, custody is always split 50/50 unless there is a risk to the children with one parent (ie abuse, etc). I think you should really speak to a notary or lawyer where you live. If you all stay in that country, he may be entitled to a visa on the basis that he still has the right to see his children?