Settled Status - What does "ceased activity" mean?

Hi everyone,

I am an EU citizen with Settled Status. My Non-EU unmarried partner currently has Pre-Settled Status, and is due to apply for Settled Status near the end of 2020.

I read the below in an article about Settled Status rules for family members:

"There are a few changes to the position of family members of an EEA citizen who has ceased activity, for example where an EEA citizen was in work but lost their job. The rules now require the family member to have been resident for a continuous qualifying period before the EEA citizen ceased activity."

This is the link to the full article:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/welcome ... -analysis/

I have recently quit my full time job of 6 years to pursue freelancing. I will get registered with HMRC as Self Employed, but I am very likely to have some weeks or months of financial inactivity in between jobs this year as I'm only just starting freelancing. Would having financially inactive periods make me someone who has "ceased activity"?

In light of the article above and my circumstances, could my partner be refused Settled Status? I've quit my job last month, at which point my partner had a spent a little more than 4 years in the UK on his EEA Family Member Residence Card.

I thought Settled Status relied only on "legally residing" in the UK for 5 years + in our case having proof of our relationship, which seems to no longer be the case if my understanding of the "ceased activity" rule I quoted above is correct?

I have already tried making sense of all this by attempting to read Appendix EU and needles to say I am even more confused now...

Any advice/clarification would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

raume, did you manage to find something that sheds light on your question?

I'd be interested as well.

"The rules now require the family member to have been resident for a continuous qualifying period before the EEA citizen ceased activity."

How long is this qualifying period?

EEA Regulation 5: “Worker or self-employed person who has ceased activity”

That is based on Article 17 of Directive 2004/38/EC.

By way of derogation from Article 16, the right of permanent residence in the host Member State shall be enjoyed before completion of a continuous period of five years of residence by:

(a) workers or self-employed persons who, at the time they stop working, have reached the age laid down by the law of that Member State for entitlement to an old age pension or workers who cease paid employment to take early retirement, provided that they have been working in that Member State for at least the preceding twelve months and have resided there continuously for more than three years.

If the law of the host Member State does not grant the right to an old age pension to certain categories of self-employed persons, the age condition shall be deemed to have been met once the person concerned has reached the age of 60;

(b) workers or self-employed persons who have resided continuously in the host Member State for more than two years and stop working there as a result of permanent incapacity to work.

If such incapacity is the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease entitling the person concerned to a benefit payable in full or in part by an institution in the host Member State, no condition shall be imposed as to length of residence;

@Raume You have settled status and you can do as you wish. Your wife's status cannot be affected therefore.

secret.simon wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:25 pm

EEA Regulation 5: “Worker or self-employed person who has ceased activity”

That is based on Article 17 of Directive 2004/38/EC.

By way of derogation from Article 16, the right of permanent residence in the host Member State shall be enjoyed before completion of a continuous period of five years of residence by:

(a) workers or self-employed persons who, at the time they stop working, have reached the age laid down by the law of that Member State for entitlement to an old age pension or workers who cease paid employment to take early retirement, provided that they have been working in that Member State for at least the preceding twelve months and have resided there continuously for more than three years.

If the law of the host Member State does not grant the right to an old age pension to certain categories of self-employed persons, the age condition shall be deemed to have been met once the person concerned has reached the age of 60;

(b) workers or self-employed persons who have resided continuously in the host Member State for more than two years and stop working there as a result of permanent incapacity to work.

If such incapacity is the result of an accident at work or an occupational disease entitling the person concerned to a benefit payable in full or in part by an institution in the host Member State, no condition shall be imposed as to length of residence;

Thank you so much secret.simon!

The way this point is made in the article is perhaps a bit misleading (for layman at least) and I thought it implied that the EEA citizen had to be financially active, similar to how we had be exercising treaty rights when applying for residence cards/permits under EEA regulations. But I understand what it refers to now, which is a very specific set of circumstances.

Thanks again!