EEA Citizens and Naturalisation

[cyrillic]

Hi All,

I have this dilema. Let's say we have a Bulgarian or Romanian citizen who:

1. Comes to live in the UK in 2003, joining his father who is employed full-time and paying taxes.
2. 2003-2006 studied at high school and A-levels.
3. Sept 2006 starts university in UK (still on the initial Visa)
4. Jan 2007 ( Bulgaria and Romania enter into the EU) and gets blue registration certificate in 2007.
5. Summer of 2009 graduates from UK university
6. Since then works full time in the UK.

As far as I understand spending 6 years in the UK legally seems to be the qualifying rule.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... uirements/

But then there is this rule for EEA citizens about exercising Treaty Rights for 6 years which is obviosuly not possible if you are romanian/bulgarian considering that countries entered in 2007.


Would this person be eligible to apply straight for naturalisation or only for ILR given the above description of his status?

Any advice will be highly appreciated.

[Jambo]

There has been a European Court Judgement (see New ECJ rulIng) which means time before 2007 can be counted for PR. R

Now the question is whether the person in question met the requirements for PR. if he did obtained PR, then he can apply for BC from 1 years after this was acquired. However, as this is not a "standard" case, I would recommend applying for confirmation of PR status using form EEA3 and use evidence which covers the relevant years. The application is free and will highlight any issues without risking the £850 application fee for naturalisation. If the HO agrees that a PR was acquired, then use the same evidence and apply directly for BC or wait 1 year and apply for BC (no need to provide the evidence again in that case).

[cyrillic]

Hi Jumbo, thanks so much for your help. Could you forward me some link of what exactly are these PR requirements. The main problem is the period prior to 2007. Does PR really mean living in the country, legally, self-sufficiently etc or by PR we mean ILR?

[Jambo]

PR is Permanent Residence which is a status one obtain after living for continuous 5 years in a EEA country according to the EEA regulations. It's similar to ILR although there are some slight differences between the two.

See more - Residence documents for European nationals.

Now if the person in question was under 21 before 2007, then the activities of the parents are important to determine if they exercised treaty rights. If one of the parents was working, then the child (under 21) residence in the UK counts for PR. If over 21 but studying, the person was exercising treaty rights.

[cyrillic]

Hi Jumbo, the person was under 21 at the time and was dependent (economically) on his father who was on a highly skiller migrant visa.