Requirements to be registered as an eea national

[shanade]

My apologies if this post is rather long.

My situation is as follows:

I am born in the UK of an irish father and an english mother.
My husband is egyptian and lived with me (as an overstayer on a British tourist visa issued in Stockholm) in London for almost five years.

My husband is currently in Egypt, and the UK spouse visa would most certainly be refused on the grounds of amongst other issues, that he overstayed for such a long duration.

I hold an irish passport for the last five years and am registered on the electoral register as irish
nationality.

I am continually receiving contradictory advice from all different solicitors.

Some say I can apply for eea family member on the grounds that I count as an Irish citizen exercising treaty rights in the UK,

Other solicitors say that I would not be able to benefit from the eea family member law, as I am born and lived in the UK all my life, and so have not come to the Uk from another member state eg: Ireland.

I read somewhere on this site that the McCarthey case went wrong due to the fact that Ms McCathey did not FIRSTLY apply for her own residence card, before applying for a family permit for her spouse.

My question is, if I managed to receive a residence card for myself, listing myself as an irish citizen living and working in the UK, would I then be automatically able to apply for a family permit?

Also I am only recently employed and prior to that I was in receipt of benefits for a long duration on medical grounds, would that mean that I cannot register myself as an eea national?

As I have read somewhere that you should have been in either full time education or employment for the last five years in order to be granted a residence card.

Any help and insight much appreciated, failing that I am leaning towards the surrinder singh route, which will be extremely difficult with relocating and such.

[86ti]

Please keep related questions in a single thread. Thank you.