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I was happy as a Larry filling in my citizenship application when I came across a requirement for a Permanent Residence Card (PRC), which I thought I had. It turns out what I do have is actually a Registration Certificate.

I proceeded with my application for Permanent Residence Card then. I finished my University course in 2013, which I filled in in the application followed by a question about Comprehensive Sickenss Insurance.

I also red somewhere on this forum that "If you were a student and If you applied (although not mandatory) for a Registration Certificate as a student without insurance you would have been covered (...)".

It seems highly unplausible to me that I might have been deprived of the right to apply for the citizenship because of health insurance, which isn't mandatory. It seems that few friends of mine are in a similar situation now, and we may have to wait till 2019 to apply for the PRC(!!!).

I realise that since 2015 the PRC is mandatory. I hear that the insurance is a dealbreaker, so hopelessly count on that information that my Registration Certificate may save me the trouble and uncertainty.

Please help.

abtx wrote:It seems highly unplausible to me that I might have been deprived of the right to apply for the citizenship because of health insurance, which isn't mandatory. It seems that few friends of mine are in a similar situation now, and we may have to wait till 2019 to apply for the PRC(!!!).

There is no right to British citizenship in your case, it is a privilege which is granted at the discretion of the Home Secretary.

There is also no requirement to have health insurance for citizenship, however, it is a requirement that you have settled status (you are free from immigration time restrictions). For an EEA citizen (which I presume you are), this means having permanent residence under the EEA regulation. As you may be aware, this requires 5 years of continuously exercising treaty rights. Time spent as a student or a self-sufficient person require that you have CSI.

There is a transitional arrangement which exempts those who applied for a registration certificate as a student before 20th June 2011. When did you apply for yours?

If this doesn't work out for you, there are other options. Did you have an EHIC from your home country which covered your time as a student in the UK? Did you have any EEA family members (parents etc) who were also in the UK and perhaps working, who you were dependent on?

What have you been doing economically since you finished university?

Thanks for the reply Ohara.

There is a transitional arrangement which exempts those who applied for a registration certificate as a student before 20th June 2011. When did you apply for yours?

My RC has been issued in February 2011.

I'm from EEA, so I'll be required to have settled status, which is equivalent to having a Permanent Residence Card, right? In the application for Permanent Residence Card online I can only choose between various insurance options. If I'm exempt, how would I proceed with the application? I assume I may send a paper version, which may be unsuccessful, then appeal?

I've been working full time since the University, got private health care now (but I guess this doesn't matter anyway).

Sounds like you've nailed it then - you can invoke the transitional arrangement which negates the need for CSI during your student period. There's also no need to have CSI as a worker.

I'm not sure about the online application as it is fairly new and I haven't done it myself. You may be better off applying on paper.

Also, as an EEA national, you are applying for a document certifying permanent residence, not a permanent residence card. They essentially serve the same purpose, but they are issued in different formats.

Excellent, I'm quite lucky to have the card in the transition period.

I'll try sending the printed version, hope to have this resolved ASAP.

Is there a particular regulation I should be quoting for this?

Thank you for sharing your expertise on this with me, it's a life saver!

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... Policy.pdf

Page 8:

6.9 Note that EEA nationals who were issued with a registration certification before 20
June 2011 on the basis that they were a student would not have been required to submit
evidence that they held CSI, and therefore must not be required to provide evidence of CSI
for any period spent as a student after their certificate was issued.

See also: http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... 11429.html

Good luck.

That's great, thanks so much for your help!!!

abtx wrote:
It seems highly unplausible to me that I might have been deprived of the right to apply for the citizenship because of health insurance, which isn't mandatory. It seems that few friends of mine are in a similar situation now, and we may have to wait till 2019 to apply for the PRC(!!!).

...

Please help.

For EEA route, CSI (or alternative) is mandatory for students/selfsufficient qps.
No CSI no DCPR.
No DCPR no citizenship.

So even happy Larry can see refusal could have been on the cards.
But as it transpires you have smashed it if RC was issued to you as a student.

In the application, there are questions about my employment history. Since I want to apply based on the last 5 years, am I required to submit the employment history over past 5 years or since the day of entry to the UK?

Since you have not been in the UK for a massive period of time, it is best to just list everything and let UKVI work it out.

I think that's what I'm gonna do, despite my RC card is blue (I guess it wasn't applied for as student card, it was done as part of a family application).

Thanks for your help.