Proof of presence in the UK for citizenship application
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:29 pm
I'm in a bit of a dilemma with my citizenship application, I wanted to use the National Checking Service, but I'm mortified I do my application and it's unsuccessful because documents are missing.
I'm a German citizen, have been living and exercising treaty rights since 2005. I have no permanent residence card, but I automatically obtained that back in 2010. The guidance to form AN states the following:
APPLICATIONS MADE ON THE BASIS OF RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Evidence of lawful residence during the 5 (...) years before the date of the application for which they accept "letters from employers, educational establishments or other Government Departments indicating the applicant’s presence in the United Kingdom during the relevant period"
But because I have no permanence residence card, they ADDITIONALLY expect me to provide the following documents to prove that I have been exercising treaty rights for the past five years:
Evidence of exercising Treaty Rights for 5 years for the relevant EEA national. This
may include:
o P60 tax certificates covering the relevant period of 5 years
o Employer’s letter confirming employment over the relevant period
(...)
For the latter section, I'm providing payslips and P60s, not a problem. But then there's still the requirement in section 3. As I highlighted in red, how can the require letters from employers in section 3 and ADDITIONALLY letters from employers to prove presence in the UK?
How can I exercise treaty rights without being physically present in the UK?
How do they define "letters from employers". Any odd letter from my employer or a letter that says "Ms X was physically present in the UK during the time she was employed with us"? Obtaining the latter sort of letter might be a problem for the employer who I worked for from March 2010 to October 2011 because they've disappeared. I have a letter from them dated March 2010 where they accepted me as an employee (although I never got a contract), it specifies the working hours and that I work for them, and it's addressed to my UK address, but it doesn't state that I actually physically worked at the London premises (although I did).
And what kind of "letters from other government bodies" are accepted - any odd letter from the Revenue, or Council Tax bills? Or a specific letter from a government body stating that I was physically present in the UK? I can't see any government body issuing such a letter.
Apparently tenancy agreements and bank statements are sufficient for PR purposes but are not specifically mentioned for naturalisation purposes (I have bank statements, utility bills, the odd letter from the Revenue updating my tax code, this sort of thing).
If the home office wanted to argue that I wasn't physically present, they could always say that I worked remotely from Germany but was paid in the UK, rented a flat here and paid Council Tax but didn't live there, somebody else had access to my bank account and went to Tesco's around the corner every week ... the possibilities are endless.
So effectively, I'm stuck with the employers' letters saying that I physically worked at their premises. But then you can exercise treaty rights without being employed, how would you then prove your presence?
I'm just mortified that I waste £900 on the application and it bounces simply because the home office think my paperwork isn't sufficient.
Or is that just my exaggerated Prussian correctness? It's that word "ADDITIONALLY" which throws me. I'm very uncertain as to actually book my appointment with the National Checking Service.
Thanks a lot for any suggestions or sharing your personal experience.
I'm a German citizen, have been living and exercising treaty rights since 2005. I have no permanent residence card, but I automatically obtained that back in 2010. The guidance to form AN states the following:
APPLICATIONS MADE ON THE BASIS OF RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Evidence of lawful residence during the 5 (...) years before the date of the application for which they accept "letters from employers, educational establishments or other Government Departments indicating the applicant’s presence in the United Kingdom during the relevant period"
But because I have no permanence residence card, they ADDITIONALLY expect me to provide the following documents to prove that I have been exercising treaty rights for the past five years:
Evidence of exercising Treaty Rights for 5 years for the relevant EEA national. This
may include:
o P60 tax certificates covering the relevant period of 5 years
o Employer’s letter confirming employment over the relevant period
(...)
For the latter section, I'm providing payslips and P60s, not a problem. But then there's still the requirement in section 3. As I highlighted in red, how can the require letters from employers in section 3 and ADDITIONALLY letters from employers to prove presence in the UK?
How can I exercise treaty rights without being physically present in the UK?
How do they define "letters from employers". Any odd letter from my employer or a letter that says "Ms X was physically present in the UK during the time she was employed with us"? Obtaining the latter sort of letter might be a problem for the employer who I worked for from March 2010 to October 2011 because they've disappeared. I have a letter from them dated March 2010 where they accepted me as an employee (although I never got a contract), it specifies the working hours and that I work for them, and it's addressed to my UK address, but it doesn't state that I actually physically worked at the London premises (although I did).
And what kind of "letters from other government bodies" are accepted - any odd letter from the Revenue, or Council Tax bills? Or a specific letter from a government body stating that I was physically present in the UK? I can't see any government body issuing such a letter.
Apparently tenancy agreements and bank statements are sufficient for PR purposes but are not specifically mentioned for naturalisation purposes (I have bank statements, utility bills, the odd letter from the Revenue updating my tax code, this sort of thing).
If the home office wanted to argue that I wasn't physically present, they could always say that I worked remotely from Germany but was paid in the UK, rented a flat here and paid Council Tax but didn't live there, somebody else had access to my bank account and went to Tesco's around the corner every week ... the possibilities are endless.
So effectively, I'm stuck with the employers' letters saying that I physically worked at their premises. But then you can exercise treaty rights without being employed, how would you then prove your presence?
I'm just mortified that I waste £900 on the application and it bounces simply because the home office think my paperwork isn't sufficient.
Or is that just my exaggerated Prussian correctness? It's that word "ADDITIONALLY" which throws me. I'm very uncertain as to actually book my appointment with the National Checking Service.
Thanks a lot for any suggestions or sharing your personal experience.