CSI obligatory for residence card?

[someoneone]

Hello I understand this topic may have been discussed already but I cannot find the right thread so I am posting my case with hopes some members will be able to advise.
I am a Polish national and I want to apply for a residence card. My history is as follows:
2006-2007 full time employment
2007-2012 full time student (PhD), apart from a 4 month gap for full-time employment
2012-2015 full time employment
Jan 2016 not employed
Feb 2016 onwards - full time employment
It seems that as a PhD student I did not hold CSI. Will this disqualify me from applying for a residence card? Does it mean I have to wait until 5 years have passed from my graduation? Thanks.

[secret.simon]

To acquire PR, you need five continuous years of exercising treaty rights. You can exercise treaty rights either by working or seeking work or by being a student or self-sufficient person with comprehensive health insurance.

There are transitional measures in place if you held a student Residence Card while you were a student before 2011.

Otherwise, your clock will start ticking from the time you have either been employed or seeking work continuously. Your graduation has nothing to do with it. You can have been working before your graduation and that will count.

Why is there a gap in employment in January 2016? Were you seeking work and if so, do you have proof of it (applications, interview/rejection/acceptance letters, etc)? If you were not working and not seeking work, your clock would have stopped again.

[noajthan]

Were you registered on WRS too? (if working before 2011)

[someoneone]

Thanks simon. The gap in employment was for job seeking. I don't have any proof of that tho. I was out of the country travelling for 2 out of the 4 weeks.
I was registered on WRS in 2010. My employment before that was without WRS.
Simon you said "Your clock will start ticking from the time you have either been employed or seeking work continuously. Your graduation has nothing to do with it. You can have been working before your graduation and that will count."
So my working before my degree counts? Could I apply for residence on the basis of a continous period 2006-2011 for example? Would that rid me of the CSI requirement for my study period? (that only came came into play in 2011)?

[noajthan]

Thanks simon. The gap in employment was for job seeking. I don't have any proof of that tho. I was out of the country travelling for 2 out of the 4 weeks.
I was registered on WRS in 2010. My employment before that was without WRS.
Simon you said "Your clock will start ticking from the time you have either been employed or seeking work continuously. Your graduation has nothing to do with it. You can have been working before your graduation and that will count."
So my working before my degree counts? Could I apply for residence on the basis of a continous period 2006-2011 for example? Would that rid me of the CSI requirement for my study period? (that only came came into play in 2011)?

A brief gap (eg for jobseeking) may be permitted and let go. If not, your PR clock will have been stopped at that time.
A short gap due to being abroad is acceptable.
This 4-week gap is probably the least of your concerns.

If you were supposed to register for WRS but did not register properly or fully then your whole working period up until 2011 (when WRS was terminated) may not count towards acquiring PR.
You may get away with having registered late but then complying fully with the 12-month rule.

What exactly happened in relation to your WRS?

The need for CSI has existed since (as per my understanding, 2006), it began being enforced in 2011 in UK.
As a student, you cannot avoid the need for it before 2011 without having an alternative exemption/transitional arrangement or alternate cover.

[someoneone]

noajthan - I worked for 2 companies 2006-2007 without WRS, I was not aware of it. I then obtained WRS for a job which started September 2010. So I am assuming I can count the job Sept 2010 onwards as my residency period.

W/r to CSI, I am trying to find out if I may have been covered by health insurance back in Poland, I have read on IB of people obtaining residency successfully with a letter from the Polish health authority.

[noajthan]

noajthan - I worked for 2 companies 2006-2007 without WRS, I was not aware of it. I then obtained WRS for a job which started September 2010. So I am assuming I can count the job Sept 2010 onwards as my residency period.

W/r to CSI, I am trying to find out if I may have been covered by health insurance back in Poland, I have read on IB of people obtaining residency successfully with a letter from the Polish health authority.

If you were registered for 12 months when you did finally register, (or at least until end of WRS), my understanding is it may be accepted as a late registration.
Not sure. Don't bank on it.
HO does tend to play hard ball in this area.

Historical document related to WRS as fyi:
http://www.esolscotland.com/welcomepack ... eaflet.pdf

See also paras 9.3 + here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... Policy.pdf
- see, in particular, 9.19

If the EU8 national applied outside of the 30 days window, the qualifying period starts from the date on which the WRS card was issued.

Note that any period of unauthorised work before the EU8 (formally A8) national registered on the scheme has no effect as to whether or not they have met the WRS requirement.

Yes, if there is some dual cover health agreement between UK and your country (or you were covered by, for example, a parents' scheme which extended to you in UK) then that may rescue your carefree student years in terms of counting towards acquiring PR.