Comprehensive Sickness insurance question

[Federal]

I've got a CSI question, tied to an EEA(PR) application

Does anyone know/remember how long this requirement has been in place? I was a student during the years of 2001 to 2004 and don't remember ever being told that cover was needed, in whatever form (be in in EHIC or otherwise).

The other question is, for someone who is an EU national and a UK resident for 15 years, when applying for a PR document, is there a need to cover the CSI requirement, even though the application is made using supporting documentation from the past 5-6 years only (so, years of employment, as opposed to years of study)?

The form is quite clear, that if you are, or ever were, a student, then you need CSI. But... do you? And more importantly, did you, 15 years ago?

[noajthan]

To avoid confusion & jumbling of responses, moved this question to its own topic.

[ohara]

when applying for a PR document, is there a need to cover the CSI requirement, even though the application is made using supporting documentation from the past 5-6 years only (so, years of employment, as opposed to years of study)?

The form is quite clear, that if you are, or ever were, a student, then you need CSI. But... do you? And more importantly, did you, 15 years ago?

In answer to the question - no.

You only needed to have CSI during your time as a student if you want that time to count towards your PR qualifying period. If you have a continuous 5 year period of work (preferably which ended at least a year ago if you have dreams of applying for citizenship) then just use that. It doesn't matter which period you use.

I'm an EEA national living in the UK for 25 years, I never had CSI during my time as a student (3 years), however I have worked for 7 years since then, and I applied using the last 6 years of that (1 year buffer so I can apply straight for citizenship afterwards). It wasn't a problem.

For peace of mind, you can state in the "additional information" box on the form that you wish for a certain time frame to be used for your qualifying period (this is what I did). Or you could apply on an old form such as EEA3 which is much simpler and shorter. UKVI cannot reject applications made on old forms, in fact you can write a simple letter asking for a document certifying permanent residence and as long as you provide sufficient information and the required evidence, they cannot refuse that either.

You should be aware that the actual date that UKVI determines you to have gained PR is not printed on the document that you will receive. You can find out the date from UKVI by doing a subject access request, or alternative if you use NCS when applying for citizenship, they can find out on the phone during the appointment.

[Federal]

Thank you - I thought as much. Indeed, I wrote a cover letter asking for the past five years to be taken into account (I'm married to a British citizen, so not worried too much about the extra 12 month requirement after that!) so hopefully, they'll discount the absence of CSI 15 years ago (which, like I said, have a feeling that it wasn't a requirement at the time..)

Thanks again,

[ohara]

That's fine then. Remember, CSI is not a legal requirement and the NHS would have still treated you at the time although you may have had to pay. You haven't broken any laws or anything whatsoever, it's purely a requirement under the EEA free movement rights that in order to be a qualified person as a student (or self sufficient person), you must have comprehensive sickness insurance. It applies in all EEA countries, not just the UK. UKVI / HO will not penalise or punish you in any way for not having CSI during your time as a student and it will not affect any applications you make in the future

There's a thread here where you can get a rough idea of timelines for the application: http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... 99775.html