How to fill out form EEA FM when EU sponsor is a worker and student, but without CSI

[tfjohnson]

My wife is an EU citizen who lives in Liverpool, and I'm a US citizen applying for a residence card to stay with her there. I'm currently filling out the sections in form EEA FM documenting that she is a qualified person, and there was one thing I wasn't completely clear on.

My wife works part time as a teacher for the university, and is a self-employed tutor, and is a PhD student. She does not have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance, which I know is required for students but not workers.

Should I fill out the sections for working and self-employment, but leave out the student section because, lacking CSI, my wife is not a qualified person in that specific sense? Or do I fill out all three sections and leave the 'What kind of CSI does your sponsor have?' question blank?

I called the home office to ask and the person there initially told me to fill in the student section but then seemed to become confused when I mentioned CSI and basically said she didn't know what to do. I thought maybe I would have better luck here. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

[NikiGio]

Tell us a bit more about your wife's employment - does she have P60s or payslips to prove her employment, and tax returns or invoices to prove her self-employment?
How many hours a week is her part-time work at university - does she pay tax and national insurance on this work? Are her earnings above the minimum tax threshold?

If she has no CSI or a EHIC card from her country of origin - you will be unsuccesful in claiming she is a qualified person as a student. So do not fill in the section relative to students.
So basically you'll have to see whether you have enough evidence to prove she is in genuine work.

Have you read the HO site and the EEA (FM) Guidance Notes thoroughly, and these documents: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... 7CXxALs7GN
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... xiGg66wJOo_

[tfjohnson]

Thanks for your response. It's good to know that I shouldn't fill out the student section and will need to rely on the other two. My wife has tax returns and invoices to prove self-employment (the earnings amount to about £4670 per year). Her part-time work at the university is eight hours per week (£125.60 per week), but she hasn't gotten her first payslip yet. She does pay tax and national insurance on the part-time and self-employed work but her earnings were not above the minimum tax threshold last year (in some of her years here, she was over it, but not every year). I had read the EEA (FM) Guidance Notes but I had missed the Qualified Persons guidelines, so I appreciate the link.

As an aside, she applied for settled status (ILR) as part of the recent pilot program for the EU Settlement Scheme and successfully received it. However, she wasn't given a paper document verifying it (they said she could prove her rights via a government url). We thought it may be best to apply for her as a qualified person instead of as a permanent resident (since we then have to account for five years worth of activity), but maybe it is not. Thanks again for all your help!

[NikiGio]

My wife is an EU citizen who lives in Liverpool, and I'm a US citizen applying for a residence card to stay with her there. I'm currently filling out the sections in form EEA FM documenting that she is a qualified person, and there was one thing I wasn't completely clear on.

Just seen the first paragraph - have you already moved to the UK, or not yet?
If you're already here, you can go ahead with your Residence Card application via form EEA (FM).
If you haven't moved yet and you're still abroad, you need to apply for a Family Permit (FP), which is free and has a validity of 6 months.

My wife has tax returns and invoices to prove self-employment (the earnings amount to about £4670 per year). Her part-time work at the university is eight hours per week (£125.60 per week), but she hasn't gotten her first payslip yet. She does pay tax and national insurance on the part-time and self-employed work but her earnings were not above the minimum tax threshold last year (in some of her years here, she was over it, but not every year).

Ok - so she has to prove her work is genuine and effective, given it's part time. Sounds like she can though - you may want to wait until she has a couple of pay slips from her job as an employee.

However, she wasn't given a paper document verifying it (they said she could prove her rights via a government url). We thought it may be best to apply for her as a qualified person instead of as a permanent resident (since we then have to account for five years worth of activity), but maybe it is not.

What do you mean? If she already has Settled Status, she can't and doesn't need to apply for anything else.
If you are already here and you decide to go ahead with the Residence Card application, you apply as the main applicant on the EEA (FM) form and she fills in the Sponsor section - but she wouldn't be applying for anything, just supporting your application as the EEA qualified person. In this case, I suggest you include a covering letter explaining your family situation and explaining that your wife already has Settled Status (give any details you have, such as Settled Status reference number or similar).

Or you can decide to wait for March and apply for Pre-Settled Status then - which may be more straightforward.

[tfjohnson]

Just seen the first paragraph - have you already moved to the UK, or not yet?
If you're already here, you can go ahead with your Residence Card application via form EEA (FM).
If you haven't moved yet and you're still abroad, you need to apply for a Family Permit (FP), which is free and has a validity of 6 months.

I'm already in the UK. I arrived a few months ago, though I was just stamped at the border (via the Visa-free entry policy that the US and UK have for stays less than six months) rather than getting a family permit.

Ok - so she has to prove her work is genuine and effective, given it's part time. Sounds like she can though - you may want to wait until she has a couple of pay slips from her job as an employee.

That's good news. We should be able to do that.

What do you mean? If she already has Settled Status, she can't and doesn't need to apply for anything else.
If you are already here and you decide to go ahead with the Residence Card application, you apply as the main applicant on the EEA (FM) form and she fills in the Sponsor section - but she wouldn't be applying for anything, just supporting your application as the EEA qualified person.

Sorry, I worded that very poorly. I meant to write: we thought it may be best to fill out my EEA FM form saying that I am a family member of a qualified person, rather than filling it out saying that I am a family member of a permanent resident. (My wife wasn't given a paper document saying she was a permanent resident, though I'm not sure if that is because she applied via an early pilot program or if that is always how it works).

In this case, I suggest you include a covering letter explaining your family situation and explaining that your wife already has Settled Status (give any details you have, such as Settled Status reference number or similar).

That's a great idea. We will do so.

Or you can decide to wait for March and apply for Pre-Settled Status then - which may be more straightforward.

We thought about that too. Our only concern was that, according to the stamps on my passport, I am only allowed to stay through the end of March and I didn't want to be overstaying (or have to fly back to the US) if there is a delay in the processing.

[NikiGio]

I'm already in the UK. I arrived a few months ago, though I was just stamped at the border (via the Visa-free entry policy that the US and UK have for stays less than six months) rather than getting a family permit.

Ok - so Residence Card via EEA (FM) form is the way to go, as you're doing.

I meant to write: we thought it may be best to fill out my EEA FM form saying that I am a family member of a qualified person, rather than filling it out saying that I am a family member of a permanent resident.

Technically, you're the direct family member of an EEA citizen with Settled Status, not the family member of a qualified person with Permanent Residency. So you should just say that in the covering letter, and fill in the EEA (FM) form accordingly: Main Applicant section and non-EEA sections relative to you, Sponsor sections relative to your wife.

We thought about that too. Our only concern was that, according to the stamps on my passport, I am only allowed to stay through the end of March and I didn't want to be overstaying (or have to fly back to the US) if there is a delay in the processing.

Fair enough. Just be aware that if you apply for the Residence Card, you'll also have to apply for Pre-Settled Status later between March 2019 and December 2020, with overall cost of £130. Whereas if you wait for the launch of Settled Status, you'll just pay £65. But given when you entered, I can see why you might want peace of mind by applying for the Card.

(My wife wasn't given a paper document saying she was a permanent resident, though I'm not sure if that is because she applied via an early pilot program or if that is always how it works).

Apparently that's how it will work - no paper.

Best of luck

[tfjohnson]

Ok - so Residence Card via EEA (FM) form is the way to go, as you're doing.

Technically, you're the direct family member of an EEA citizen with Settled Status, not the family member of a qualified person with Permanent Residency. So you should just say that in the covering letter, and fill in the EEA (FM) form accordingly: Main Applicant section and non-EEA sections relative to you, Sponsor sections relative to your wife.

Fair enough. Just be aware that if you apply for the Residence Card, you'll also have to apply for Pre-Settled Status later between March 2019 and December 2020, with overall cost of £130. Whereas if you wait for the launch of Settled Status, you'll just pay £65. But given when you entered, I can see why you might want peace of mind by applying for the Card.

Apparently that's how it will work - no paper.

Best of luck

Thank you so much! We both really appreciate all your help.