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Hi,

here's the problem:
I am Daniel, Austrian citizen married to a Chilean. We are living in the uk where i am studying. My wife is working part-time (around 25hrs/week) at a bakery.

Her Eea2 (residence card) application was returned stating that she needs to submit fully comprehensive medical insurance held for all family members included in the application. I know that some people have experienced issues with that before so i called them up to get the latest information. The lady on the phone told me that i (sponsor) need to have comprehensive medical insurance, my wife doesn't. The thing is, i have comprehensive medical insurance (covering virtually everything, even dental treatment) and included a letter from the insurance company in the application. It was still returned. I find this quite upsetting. I asked the lady on the phone about this and she seemed somewhat surprised, too. Then she said that they cannot accept a letter from the insurance company and that i have to send the original insurance documents. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I have been with the insurance company for over 25 years and don't have any other documents. Since it's a German company i even called them up and asked if the can write the letter in English. What more can i possibly do? Any tips on how to proceed? Should i still take out medical insurance for my wife? And if so which one? Thanks for your help. It's much appreciated.

You or your insurance company should have the policy documents/agreement detailing type, length and validity of cover.

I think that this is what the UKBA want; translated in English.

The document IS written in English. And it clearly states the the cover in valid in all countries except the US.

Then reapply and include a cover letter highlighting the oversight and request that your valid insurance docs/policy be inspected to again in support of the EEA2 application.

That's ludicrous. Last year when my wife applied for an EEA FP we sent our marriage certificate from Denmark which comes originally in four languages (Danish, English, German, French). They sent it back claiming that we submitted a document in a foreign language and that they needed an official translation. The people at the translation agency had a good laugh...

Anyways, I requested a new insurance certificate from my insurer and asked them to correct a few minor mistakes. Should I also include my wife's NHS certificate?

ametisto wrote:Should I also include my wife's NHS certificate?

Can do; though I suspect that the UKBA is only interested in seeing proof of private medical insurance.

ametisto wrote: Should I also include my wife's NHS certificate?

Hi,
I think the rejection comes because you haven't sent proof of your wife's private medical insurance. In all cases of self-sufficiency, private medical insurance should be taken for both eu and non-eu citizen. NHS is not accepted as private medical insurance.
Anyway, the letter from your insurance needs to state what type of insurance it is.
I have applied as self-sufficient and recently got PR.

Kind regards.

It's not a question of private medical insurance but rather one of comprehensive sickness insurance and what counts as such.

86ti wrote:It's not a question of private medical insurance but rather one of comprehensive sickness insurance and what counts as such.

I've got PR with a non-comprehensive sickness insurance. I was giving advice based on my own experience. HO doesn't even know what they are asking for. It's not fully explained anywhere. What it is explained is that both eu- and non-eu citizen, need the insurance if applying under self-sufficiency.

Kind regards.

86ti wrote:It's not a question of private medical insurance but rather one of comprehensive sickness insurance and what counts as such.

True. However it appears that the only way (for now) to prove comprehensive sickness insurance to the UKBA is by taking private medical insurance because a NHS certificate is disregarded as comprehensive sickness insurance.

Iira wrote:I've got PR with a non-comprehensive sickness insurance.

under what category did you apply (worker, self-employed, self-sufficient, student etc...) and what do you mean by "non-comprehensive sickness insurance"?

Plum70 wrote:

Iira wrote:I've got PR with a non-comprehensive sickness insurance.

under what category did you apply (worker, self-employed, self-sufficient, student etc...) and what do you mean by "non-comprehensive sickness insurance"?

I applied under self-sufficient category.
My insurance is not comprehensive type...Comprehensive means that needs to cover fully any type of treatment.

Iira wrote:I think the rejection comes because you haven't sent proof of your wife's private medical insurance. In all cases of self-sufficiency, private medical insurance should be taken for both eu and non-eu citizen

Like I said before, I phoned them and the lady on the phone said that only the sponsor needs to have comprehensive medical insurance. In any case, I am not self-sufficient but a student. Does that change anything? Any recommendations as to which company provides cheap private comprehensive medical insurance? Is it usually possible to cancel anytime? Thanks for all your answers.

ametisto wrote:

Iira wrote:I think the rejection comes because you haven't sent proof of your wife's private medical insurance. In all cases of self-sufficiency, private medical insurance should be taken for both eu and non-eu citizen

Like I said before, I phoned them and the lady on the phone said that only the sponsor needs to have comprehensive medical insurance. In any case, I am not self-sufficient but a student. Does that change anything? Any recommendations as to which company provides cheap private comprehensive medical insurance? Is it usually possible to cancel anytime? Thanks for all your answers.

I've got a letter from HO after sending my application without comprehensive sickness insurance and, the letter clearly stated that we needed insurance for both of us. It's an official letter from HO, not something I heard. I read it also on other posts in this website. Maybe you can check that.

As far as I know, students fall under self-sufficiency. Again, you can double check on this site.

I called many insurance companies and many give you a good quote if you sign for a year contract (same as mobile phones). Always ask what's their cancellation policy. Some companies allow cancellation at any time if you haven't used the insurance at the time you cancel.

Kind regards.

Iira wrote:I've got a letter from HO after sending my application without comprehensive sickness insurance and, the letter clearly stated that we needed insurance for both of us. It's an official letter from HO, not something I heard.

The UKBA has spread a lot of misinformation about European law, so you should not take this at face value. The fact of the matter is that the NHS is the only comprehensive health insurance there is in the UK. Of course you can add a private policy, which may improve treatment in some cases, but in itself it is never comprehensive. This is so plain and obvious that it should require a court case to settle it.

So the stance that the NHS does not provide comprehensive health insurance is completely ridiculous. I would assume that any casework can figure that out, and I guess that they hesitate to refuse an application as long as NHS cover is clearly documented.

Of course you can take out private insurance if you want to make sure that the application goes smoothly, but it is your choice - it is not actually required.

thsths wrote:Of course you can take out private insurance if you want to make sure that the application goes smoothly, but it is your choice - it is not actually required.

Someone on another forum took out this insurance: http://www.wpa.org.uk/products/health-i ... index.html It's got a high excess of GBP1500 to keep the monthly premium down to GBP 11. I guess I'll take that out for my wife. I don't intend to make any claims so it should work just fine for us. It's just so extremely ridiculous especially in light of the fact that my wife is actually working and thus contributing her part to NHS. But I assume I'd better keep quiet about that lest we give them another reason to return her application...

thsths wrote:

Iira wrote:I've got a letter from HO after sending my application without comprehensive sickness insurance and, the letter clearly stated that we needed insurance for both of us. It's an official letter from HO, not something I heard.

The UKBA has spread a lot of misinformation about European law, so you should not take this at face value. The fact of the matter is that the NHS is the only comprehensive health insurance there is in the UK. Of course you can add a private policy, which may improve treatment in some cases, but in itself it is never comprehensive. This is so plain and obvious that it should require a court case to settle it.

So the stance that the NHS does not provide comprehensive health insurance is completely ridiculous. I would assume that any casework can figure that out, and I guess that they hesitate to refuse an application as long as NHS cover is clearly documented.

Of course you can take out private insurance if you want to make sure that the application goes smoothly, but it is your choice - it is not actually required.

The letter of rejection I've got from the HO actually disagrees with your opinion. It clearly states PRIVATE medical insurance.
It says "please provide evidence of private medical insurance for yourself and EEA sponsor".

I agree that NHS should be enough but, they don't seem to be accepting that.

I hope the information is helpful.

UKBA not accepting NHS cover as comprehensive sickness insurance
has no legal basis and can be challenged in the courts.

So those of you that your applications have been rejected because
of that can appeal against the decision.

I'm afraid this is the only way that the UKBA will be forced to accept
NHS as sufficient health coverage.

hi,

As far as I my knowledge goes and I was just checking the EU directives as instituted by the UK govt. student is a separate category from economic self sufficiency! In the case of the former only the EEA national who is exercising treaty rights by being a student in UK needs to have comprehensive insurance cover.
In fact I myself got an EEA residence card in 2008 on the basis of my wife (EEA national) being a student and only my wife needed to show comprehensive insurance cover.

HOpe that helps.

Ran

ametisto wrote: Someone on another forum took out this insurance: http://www.wpa.org.uk/products/health-i ... index.html It's got a high excess of GBP1500 to keep the monthly premium down to GBP 11. I guess I'll take that out for my wife. I don't intend to make any claims so it should work just fine for us. It's just so extremely ridiculous especially in light of the fact that my wife is actually working and thus contributing her part to NHS. But I assume I'd better keep quiet about that lest we give them another reason to return her application...

I don't know how you got that low rate -- was the policy for BOTH you AND your spouse? I selected a policy having an excess of £5000, and the premium (for both sponsor and spouse) is about £12. I followed the link you provided, but I think premiums are determined by postcode and ages of those covered in the policy, so maybe that was the difference. I should note here that my letter from the case worker (on my EEA2 application) states clearly that we must BOTH have comprehensive medical insurance.

I have double-checked that it is indeed a "comprehensive health plan". I plan to apply for the policy now -- it is possible the premium will change when the actual policy is drawn up. I'll try to update this forum thread with info on that.

I agree it is ridiculous to get private insurance -- my spouse is a UK citizen practicing treaty rights -- we are both on the NHS system, why should we need private insurance? But like you say, we don't want to give UKBA any reason to refuse my EEA2 application...

ran wrote:hi,

As far as I my knowledge goes and I was just checking the EU directives as instituted by the UK govt. student is a separate category from economic self sufficiency! In the case of the former only the EEA national who is exercising treaty rights by being a student in UK needs to have comprehensive insurance cover.
In fact I myself got an EEA residence card in 2008 on the basis of my wife (EEA national) being a student and only my wife needed to show comprehensive insurance cover.

HOpe that helps.
Ran

Hi Ran,
I have exactly the same case. I am an EU national & a full-time student. My husband has applied for EEA2 and it seems like I need to take a health insurance even though the NHS Scotland booklet and it clearly mentions, "if you are coming to Scotland to study on a full-time course, you can get health care from the NHS from the day you arrive until one month after your course finishes."

Can you please let me know which insurance company/policy you used that they accepted? I am looking for something that is affordable as it ridiculous to spend anything extra just for the sake of UKBA insisting to buy a "private" insurance.

Thanks a lot.

Hiya,

Kab sorry for not replying earlier but it's been a few months since I last checked this forum. Hope you got your insurance sorted. My wife got the insurance from 'Medicare' down in London.

Oh and ametisto i hope your wife got her RC without any further trouble and not needing to get an insurance cover for herself.

Cheers,
ran