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Some freedom of movement is now possible for the unmarried
partners and civil partners of EU citizens, under the concept of "durable
relationships" brought in with the EU's free movement directive, enacted by
most states including the UK in 2006. EU states have an obligation to assess
whether a relationship is of a "durable" nature. Most non EU nationals,
however, still require visas even for short visits to Europe.
Full freedom of movement is only possible for naturalised EU citizens.
Naturalisation as a British citizen still takes 5 years for unmarried
partners, but this reduces to 3 years for the registered civil partners of
British citizens.
There are regular postings on the
Forum about Schengen visas and the wide discrepancies between
obligations under EU law and the practical treatment of visa
applications by the various EU embassies/consulates in the UK.
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