British Citizenship application for EU Citizen

[gejjaxxita]

I am an EU citizen who has been living in the UK for 7 years as a student and I wish to apply for British citizenship. I was also born in the UK(in 1986) though left very soon after and returned in 2006.

Is there anything in particular I should watch out for when applying? My situation feels slightly unusual as most EU citizens seem not to apply for citizenship and I worry that the NCS will not quite know how to deal with my situation.

[vinny]

Did you have CSI when you were a student?

[gejjaxxita]

Did you have CSI when you were a student?

Yes, an EHIC, though I doubt I could prove it as it expired and I got a new British one, will this be a problem?

[vinny]

An EHIC card issued in the UK may be a problem.

[gejjaxxita]

An EHIC card issued in the UK may be a problem.

Why? I'm entitled to it as I'm resident here and I dont think there's acting about CSI at all on the naturalisation form?

[vinny]

Do click on any given links.

[gejjaxxita]

Do click on any given links.

Sorry I should clarify, I did look at the links but I was not sure how they related to my situation as they don't appear to concern naturalisation directly.

[gejjaxxita]

On further investigation it looks like you're right, in the guide it says I will need:

"Evidence that you are covered by sickness insurance against all risks in respect of yourself and any accompanying family members in the UK."

And you're probably right that having one issued in Britain will probably cause problems. I've looked for my old EHIC card and can't find it anyway. Does this essentially mean I can't apply for citizenship? After seven years living in the UK I find this very depressing news

[askmeplz82]

mother/father ILR holder or British ?

Do you have registration certificate EEA1 ?


Students issued with a registration certificate before 20 June 2011

If you were not asked to provide evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance, and later apply for permanent residence as a student, your application will not be refused solely on the grounds that there is no evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance on the date of decision .



Students issued with a registration certificate after 20 June 2011, or never granted a certificate

You will need to provide evidence that you held comprehensive sickness insurance throughout the time you spent as a student.

[Jambo]

On further investigation it looks like you're right, in the guide it says I will need:

"Evidence that you are covered by sickness insurance against all risks in respect of yourself and any accompanying family members in the UK."

And you're probably right that having one issued in Britain will probably cause problems. I've looked for my old EHIC card and can't find it anyway. Does this essentially mean I can't apply for citizenship? After seven years living in the UK I find this very depressing news

Could you obtain evidence from the health authorities to confirm you were covered / held EHIC for that period?

[Jambo]

I was also born in the UK(in 1986)

What were your parents doing in the UK? Did they work? Were your country part of the EU at the time?

I'm not sure what were the rules in place in 86 but in the past, it was enough for one parent to have been working at the time of birth for you to become British .

[gejjaxxita]

Could you obtain evidence from the health authorities to confirm you were covered / held EHIC for that period?

I don't think so - a year ago I got a British one so I haven't been covered for the whole period, I had no idea it was so important.

[gejjaxxita]

I was also born in the UK(in 1986)

What were your parents doing in the UK? Did they work? Were your country part of the EU at the time?

I'm not sure what were the rules in place in 86 but in the past, it was enough for one parent to have been working at the time of birth for you to become British .

My father was a student and my mother didn't work so I don't think my being born in the UK will make any difference?

[gejjaxxita]

mother/father ILR holder or British ?

No...

Do you have registration certificate EEA1 ?

You will need to provide evidence that you held comprehensive sickness insurance throughout the time you spent as a student.

This is my concern, for the last year or so I've had a British EHIC and I'm still a student.

[jotter]

Do you have registration certificate EEA1 ?

@gejjaxxita: What was your answer to this question?

[gejjaxxita]

I could probably get a letter from my national health authority (Malta) stating that as a student I have been entitled to healthcare in my home country for the entire duration of my stay in the UK - not emergency of course though - would that solve my problem?

[gejjaxxita]

Do you have registration certificate EEA1 ?

@gejjaxxita: What was your answer to this question?

Sorry, my answer to the question was no, I don't.

[Jambo]

Could you obtain evidence from the health authorities to confirm you were covered / held EHIC for that period?

I don't think so - a year ago I got a British one so I haven't been covered for the whole period, I had no idea it was so important.

You don't need to be covered for the whole period. Just (first) 5 years. After 5 years you obtain PR status and don't need CSI anymore.

[Jambo]

I was also born in the UK(in 1986)

What were your parents doing in the UK? Did they work? Were your country part of the EU at the time?

I'm not sure what were the rules in place in 86 but in the past, it was enough for one parent to have been working at the time of birth for you to become British .

My father was a student and my mother didn't work so I don't think my being born in the UK will make any difference?

It won't as Malta wasn't part of the EU in the '80.

[Jambo]

I could probably get a letter from my national health authority (Malta) stating that as a student I have been entitled to healthcare in my home country for the entire duration of my stay in the UK - not emergency of course though - would that solve my problem?

It could. Also if they could state you had EHIC for the time, that would help.

[gejjaxxita]

I could probably get a letter from my national health authority (Malta) stating that as a student I have been entitled to healthcare in my home country for the entire duration of my stay in the UK - not emergency of course though - would that solve my problem?

It could. Also if they could state you had EHIC for the time, that would help.

I just called them and they said they could write that I had an EHIC card for the first 5 years of my stay (2006-2011) and that I have been entitled to full healthcare in Malta for the entire duration of my stay (2006-2013). Do you think this will be enough?

[Jambo]

I believe that would do the job.

If you wish to reduce risk, you can apply first for PR Confirmation using form EEA3 (£55) using your evidence for the first 5 years. It will take 2-3 months to get a decision. If granted, you know that your evidence is acceptable by the European department of the HO and so is likely to be accepted by the Nationality team when applying for BC (using the same evidence).

[gejjaxxita]

Thank you very much Jambo. I will get the necessary documentation and take the EEA3 route as you advise.

[gejjaxxita]

I believe that would do the job.

If you wish to reduce risk, you can apply first for PR Confirmation using form EEA3 (£55) using your evidence for the first 5 years. It will take 2-3 months to get a decision. If granted, you know that your evidence is acceptable by the European department of the HO and so is likely to be accepted by the Nationality team when applying for BC (using the same evidence).

I also noticed that it looks like if I have PR Confirmation I also wouldn't need to submit the CSI evidence again.

[Jaeger]

I'm also an EEA student living in the UK for past seven years.

I was lucky in a sense that I live with my working parents so I made an application for PR based on their continuous employment and a document certifying permanent residence was issued with no hassle.

Considering an application based on my own activities turned out to be a dead end. Of course due to a lack of CSI. Polish health authorities were unable to provide a confirmation of health insurance for a relevant period as my parents were living and working in the UK before I joined them anyway, at least this is what they (Polish NHS) have told me. So I would be stuck with it and unable to make a progress with my settlement and naturalisation.

According to FAQ it looks like no additional evidence of exercising Treaty Rights is required if you apply for naturalisation one year after issue date of PR. I don't know if Home Office might want to see evidence used for EEA3.

It would be valuable to read about someone's experience in respect of applying for naturalisation as a EEA student. In a scenario where there is no private CSI or obtaining PR had to based on family member's exercising of Treaty Rights.

Good luck with your application, hopefully Maltese authorities can confirm that you were insured during a relevant period.