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Kindly help !!!

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 7:56 pm
by sam7
Hi, I am a non eea family member of eea citizen. I am in UK on five years visa (resident card). I will really appreciate if you can help me with following points.
1. My partner is pregnant & she is on maternity leave. I would like to know for how long she can be on maternity leave?
2. I was being told I should have CSI etc from the date my partner goes on maternity leave. What is CSI? My partner is getting payslips from her work mentioning her maternity leave amount.
3. After maternity leave is over, Can my partner work part time to exercise her rights. How many minimum hours she has to work?
4. If she chooses to study to exercise her rights. Can it be part time course like once in a month class. Can she go for any certificate or diploma course rather than degree course? can it be a course from open university?

Thanks!!!

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:05 pm
by Obie
No need for CSI (Comprehensive Sickness Insurance) if your partner is still employed by her company but simply on Maternity leave, for which she is receiving payment.

If she commence a diploma programme without being made redundant by her employer, she will need to obtain a CSI, except if the diploma is related to her last work.

Part time work is covered by EU law, therefore she will be fine if she continues part time work. In those circumstance CSI will not be required.

Re: Kindly help !!!

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:07 pm
by mcovet
Hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong:

1. My partner is pregnant & she is on maternity leave. I would like to know for how long she can be on maternity leave?
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/w ... _leave.htm
gives a good idea about it. I regard a woman on a maternity leave as a worker as she is still under a contract of employment and therefore satisfies the Regulations as a qualified person.

2. I was being told I should have CSI etc from the date my partner goes on maternity leave. What is CSI? My partner is getting payslips from her work mentioning her maternity leave amount.
that is wrong if my 1. assumption is right (and it must be right as your wife is being paid while on leave for the first 26 weeks);

3. After maternity leave is over, Can my partner work part time to exercise her rights. How many minimum hours she has to work?
The term "work" includes ANY work which is "genuine and effective". Therefore there is no clear rule as to how many hours one has to do. I had one person who worked 12 hours in a supermarket and noone mentioned anything at the UKBA as the work was regular, genuine and effective. There even was a suggestion in one of the cases that 10 hours a week is absolutely fine to be regarded a worker. What is not regarded a genuine work is where there is no contract of employment and you are, for instance, stacking shelves in your uncle's shop, helping out occasionally etc.

4. If she chooses to study to exercise her rights. Can it be part time course like once in a month class. Can she go for any certificate or diploma course rather than degree course? can it be a course from open university?
The point with studying is that, whether she is studying or not, all the family members (even those non-EEAs working) have to have a sickness insurance CSI, so if you think that studying is a good way of exercising treaty rights just for the sake of it, you're wrong. I would suggest going for the self-sufficient category where you do not claim any benefits and have CSI. But by that time she can surely have a part-time easy job until you get your PR.

Good luck and congratulations on having a baby on the way!!!!!!!!

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:41 pm
by sam7
Obie wrote:No need for CSI (Comprehensive Sickness Insurance) if your partner is still employed by her company but simply on Maternity leave, for which she is receiving payment.

If she commence a diploma programme without being made redundant by her employer, she will need to obtain a CSI, except if the diploma is related to her last work.

Part time work is covered by EU law, therefore she will be fine if she continues part time work. In those circumstance CSI will not be required.
Thanks very much obie for your prompt answer...

Re: Kindly help !!!

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:02 pm
by sam7
mcovet wrote:Hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong:

1. My partner is pregnant & she is on maternity leave. I would like to know for how long she can be on maternity leave?
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/w ... _leave.htm
gives a good idea about it. I regard a woman on a maternity leave as a worker as she is still under a contract of employment and therefore satisfies the Regulations as a qualified person.

2. I was being told I should have CSI etc from the date my partner goes on maternity leave. What is CSI? My partner is getting payslips from her work mentioning her maternity leave amount.
that is wrong if my 1. assumption is right (and it must be right as your wife is being paid while on leave for the first 26 weeks);

3. After maternity leave is over, Can my partner work part time to exercise her rights. How many minimum hours she has to work?
The term "work" includes ANY work which is "genuine and effective". Therefore there is no clear rule as to how many hours one has to do. I had one person who worked 12 hours in a supermarket and noone mentioned anything at the UKBA as the work was regular, genuine and effective. There even was a suggestion in one of the cases that 10 hours a week is absolutely fine to be regarded a worker. What is not regarded a genuine work is where there is no contract of employment and you are, for instance, stacking shelves in your uncle's shop, helping out occasionally etc.

4. If she chooses to study to exercise her rights. Can it be part time course like once in a month class. Can she go for any certificate or diploma course rather than degree course? can it be a course from open university?
The point with studying is that, whether she is studying or not, all the family members (even those non-EEAs working) have to have a sickness insurance CSI, so if you think that studying is a good way of exercising treaty rights just for the sake of it, you're wrong. I would suggest going for the self-sufficient category where you do not claim any benefits and have CSI. But by that time she can surely have a part-time easy job until you get your PR.

Good luck and congratulations on having a baby on the way!!!!!!!!
Thanks very much for your wishes & answer Mcovet , appreciate it

Just would like to say My partner is on 52 weeks leave and after that if she goes back to work I don't need to have CSI. right? She has a right to go back to her job but probably she would not.

I have health Insurance already from Health shield for me & my partner. Is it considered as CSI.

Just wanted more clarification on if my partner goes for study, does it have to be a full time or part time, like once in a month to do her cetificate or diploma course.

Thanks again for you time....

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:34 pm
by mcovet
you are ok with most UK insurers, that is a grey area so as long as there is some insurance you are fine!

as regards the studies, why are you so concerned about the course? it is not the course which makes her a qualified person but rather the CSI during the studies and sufficient funds, which are the same requirements as with the self-sufficient route, so she can study at ANY level and do both part and full-time studies, no difference or effect on you, so long as she holds a CSI