Treaty rights - have I acquired PR

[noajthan]

OMG, that is terrible, EU route really is simpler - I feel bad now for moaning It should not be this hard for anyone, who is a genuine a BC family member. I have also read somewhere (don't know if it is true), that it is much easier for an EEA national to bring their non EEA spouse to Britain than for a BC to do it.

I think its easier for EEA nationals at the moment.; Brexit and the current EU hoo-ha may change some of that.
There are a lot more hoops & hurdles under UK immigration route.

[secret.simon]

Oh, the EEA route is significantly simpler. To give you a sense of perspective, I am a non-EEA migrant to the UK. To settle in the UK, there was a required minimum salary requirement that I had to meet (which has gone up significantly since my arrival. It is now £35,000.) and if I did not meet it, well, there is the door. By contrast, an EEA migrant need earn nothing in the UK (the self-sufficient route) provided s/he is not a burden on the state.

My entire immigration process, as a single person, cost about £6000 and that is not including citizenship and getting a British passport, which was £1000 more. By contrast, some EEA citizens (not you of course) have whinged on these forums about paying £65 for getting a Permanent Residence Card.

As a person settled in the UK under UK laws, I must earn more than £18,600 to bring my non-EEA wife into the UK. While I earn more than that, 43% of the British population does not meet this requirement. Hence this requirement is being challenged in the Supreme Court.

There is practically no chance of bringing in your parents (only 34 visas issued in the past four years) or adult children born outside the UK. By contrast, an EEA citizen has the undeniable right to not only bring in their non-EEA spouse, children & dependent parents, any member of their or their spouse's family who has, at any point of time in the past, been dependent on either themselves or their non-EEA spouse, must be treated more favourably than a non-EEA citizen applying under the UK Immigration Rules. The ECJ has interpreted this to mean that this can include half-brothers and nephews who had once shared a house with the EEA citizen's non-EEA spouse at any point in the past (Rahman Judgment).

Some more observations here.

I did say, don't get me started.

I do not mean to denigrate from the issues you are facing with regards to your personal immigration history. The EU laws are binary in nature; either you tick all the boxes required 100% and get it all or you miss out on a single box and fail. There is no half-way house. By contrast, the UK Immigration Rules do allow some level of discretion because they look at the whole picture of the person's circumstances. Of course, such discretion can be used either for or against you.

</rant>

[piginthewellies]

an EEA citizen has the undeniable right to not only bring in their non-EEA spouse, children & dependent parents, any member of their or their spouse's family who has, at any point of time in the past, been dependent on either themselves or their non-EEA spouse, must be treated more favourably than a non-EEA citizen applying under the UK Immigration Rules. The ECJ has interpreted this to mean that this can include half-brothers and nephews who had once shared a house with the EEA citizen's non-EEA spouse at any point in the past (Rahman Judgment).

WOW no wonder Brexit is on cards

I did say, don't get me started.

no, it is good to be informed. before I looked into applying for British citizenship, I did not even now that I have to exercise treaty rights, to actually qualify as a permanent resident. I stupidly thought living here and being married to BC was enough . and now I also know that I am fortunate enough to be able to remedy the situation quite easily, it will just take time, that's all

[Petaltop]

On what basis were you given NI Credits? I am not entirely sure you would have been eligible for NI Credits,

I don't think she was eligible for NI Credits.

If piginthewellies has not been working for years, then claiming some UK benfits in her name only, such as Child Benefits, would give her NI Credits. The problem is that EU self sufficient qualified persons are not allowed to claim UK benefits (as well as needing to have a CSI too).

For EU citizens, only worker qualified persons are allowed to claim UK benefits, or the person who is a family memebr of an EU citizen worker.

With a Brit being married to an EU who doesn't work, the benefit claim should have been in the British husband's name only.

my problem is that I haven't worked for the past 5 years as I have been stay at home parent (I have received National insurance credits for part of this time).

[Petaltop]

I stupidly thought living here and being married to BC was enough .

It would have been if you had paid for a UK spouse visa instead of as you say, thinking you could just live in the UK because you were an EEA citizen.

That UK spouse visa back then would have meant that even if you didn't work, you were allowed to the NHS for free and could have been a British citizen after 3 years. Once you had ILR (after 3 years) you could have claimed UK benefits in your own name.

[piginthewellies]

For EU citizens, only worker qualified persons are allowed to claim UK benefits, or the person who is a family memebr of an EU citizen worker.

Great, basically I have less rights than if I was married to a EEA national

It would have been if you had paid for a UK spouse visa instead of as you say, thinking you could just live in the UK because you were an EEA citizen.

At what point would I have been eligible for a spouse visa? We got married in 2005, after Latvia had already joined the EU. Don't you have to be from outside the EU, to apply?