Applying as EEA national married to a British citizen

[paulie12]

Hello,

I am from a country previously known as an A8 EEA country and have been living in the UK since 2007. I have been married to my British husband since March 2013. I applied for Naturalisation in April 2014 however my application was rejected on the basis that I didn't meet the qualifying period of living in the UK. As I never registered with WRS I was informed that my time spent in the UK will only be considered from the date WRS ceased to exist (i.e. 1 May 2011). I have two questions:

1. Am I able to apply for the naturalisation now using the 3 year qualifying period as I am married to a British citizen?
2. I take it that I need to apply for PR card. Once I receive it can submit my naturalisation application straight away?

Many thanks!

[CR001]

1. Am I able to apply for the naturalisation now using the 3 year qualifying period as I am married to a British citizen?

Yes

2. I take it that I need to apply for PR card. Once I receive it can submit my naturalisation application straight away?

Yes, PR card first then you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have the PR proof.

[noajthan]

2) The earliest you could possibly acquire PR is this month if, as a worker you weren't properly registered for WRS.

How have you been exercising treaty rights as a qualified person?
Any time spent on maternity leave or sick leave?
Have you had any prolonged absences from UK?

[paulie12]

Hi Noajthan.
What does it mean exactly to exercise treaty right as a qualified person? I was employed full time from Aug 2007 to July 2014.
I went on maternity leave from July 2014 to July 2015. I then resigned and am now a stay at home mom. I have never claimed any benefits (other than SMP).
No prolonged absences from the UK.

[noajthan]

Hi Noajthan.
What does it mean exactly to exercise treaty right as a qualified person? I was employed full time from Aug 2007 to July 2014.
I went on maternity leave from July 2014 to July 2015. I then resigned and am now a stay at home mom. I have never claimed any benefits (other than SMP).
No prolonged absences from the UK.

No long absences is in your favour (fyi - any absence over 6 months would usually have broken your residence in UK).

Working is one way to exercise treaty rights as a qualified person.
Based on your stated timeline, you may have acquired PR about now.

Despite taking maternity leave you should have retained your status as a worker whilst on maternity leave as it was for no more than a year.
(Documentary supporting evidence will be required).

However becoming a stay-at-home mom may be problematic.
By switching to become a self-sufficient qualified person you need to have held CSI in order to have kept your PR clock running until now.

Do you have a CSI policy in place

[paulie12]

I had no idea that I needed CSI. I am covered under my husband's private insurance through his work so never considered anything else. Do I have to have it? Does me being a stay at home mom affect my application even though I don't claim any benefits?

[noajthan]

I had no idea that I needed CSI. I am covered under my husband's private insurance through his work so never considered anything else. Do I have to have it? Does me being a stay at home mom affect my application even though I don't claim any benefits?

A self-sufficient person must not be a burden on the state (so no benefits) AND have CSI.

No CSI and your PR clock will have been stopped since you stayed at home as a mom (from 2015 onwards).
That means your PR clock could have been reset to zero;
and, technically, you have no right to reside in UK if not a qualified person.

However, all is not lost.
You need to carefully check the details of hubby's policy and see if it is accepted by HO as a 'CSI policy'.

Hopefully it will turn out to be best investment he has made.
If the policy is acceptable as CSI you may proceed with your application for confirmation of PR.

Good luck.

[ohara]

The OP said they worked full time from August 2007 to July 2014, surely that's well enough to have acquired PR, in which case there would be no need to have had CSI once maternity leave started as there is no need to exercise treaty rights any more.

Or have I missed something

[CR001]

The OP said they worked full time from August 2007 to July 2014, surely that's well enough to have acquired PR, in which case there would be no need to have had CSI once maternity leave started as there is no need to exercise treaty rights any more.

Or have I missed something

A8 nationals were required to register WRS, OP did not do this so cannot count the time spent and working in the UK prior to May 2011.

[ohara]

Ah, I did miss something then

[paulie12]

Thanks guys. So in other words I can only apply for PR if my husband's policy can be used in lieu of CSI or wait till I have been married for 5 years?

[noajthan]

Thanks guys. So in other words I can only apply for PR if my husband's policy can be used in lieu of CSI or wait till I have been married for 5 years?

Yes, only if health cover counts as CSI.

Otherwise your 5 year PR clock will have to start all over again - once you become a qualified person.

Being married has nothing to do with it as hubby is not your EU sponsor.

Until you become a qp, (eg by setting up CSI), technically you will have no right to reside in UK.

[noajthan]

Ah, I did miss something then

Yep, the devil is in the detail.

[paulie12]

I can't believe this, I came on this board thinking I'll be able to apply now and it's turning out I have to wait 5 years? This is so frustrating. I'm wondering if there is a different way of approaching this - I have dual citizenship: I'm also a Canadian citizen. When I came to the UK I decide to use my EU passport thinking it would be much ease (no need for visa etc). How wrong was I. Is there anyway I can now try to start this process by using my Canadian passport? So try the angle of being married to a British citizen as a non EEA person?

[CR001]

Is there anyway I can now try to start this process by using my Canadian passport? So try the angle of being married to a British citizen as a non EEA person?

No, because you don't hold a visa under the UK Immigration rules in your Canadian passport, i.e. you don't hold a spouse settlement visa or an Ancestry visa if you qualified for one (both of which are also a 5 year route to ILR and costs substantially more than the EU route). There is no quick route unfortunately.

[noajthan]

I can't believe this, I came on this board thinking I'll be able to apply now and it's turning out I have to wait 5 years? This is so frustrating. I'm wondering if there is a different way of approaching this - I have dual citizenship: I'm also a Canadian citizen. When I came to the UK I decide to use my EU passport thinking it would be much ease (no need for visa etc). How wrong was I. Is there anyway I can now try to start this process by using my Canadian passport? So try the angle of being married to a British citizen as a non EEA person?

Don't be too hard on yourself, the need for CSI and so on catches a lot of people unawares.
Better to find out early so that you can do something about it.
And with all this talk of Brexit it may be prudent to regularise your stay.

Of the 2 routes (UK & EU), the EU route is still less financially demanding and much less rigorous in its requirements;
(for example, no LITUK test nor English test nor financial hurdles).

I am a BC and bringing my family to UK took years and was financially, emotionally and legally a most draining, white-knuckle experience (that I would not choose to repeat).

On whichever route you take its just a case of knowing requirements; understanding requirements; meeting requirements.
On the EU route the deal is the EEA national exercises treaty rights. It seems that many EEA spouses of BCs miss that vital point.

To switch to UK immigration route will, as per my understanding, reset your ILR clock; it usually takes 5 years to get ILR nowadays.

Your best bet is to dig into details of that health insurance cover. If its comprehensive, paid up to date and has covered you since 2015 then all may be well.

It will cost you less than £100 to apply for confirmation of PR (& see if your case stands up) rather than risking all on an application to naturalise.

Worst case: get a CSI policy and sit tight for 5 years; then apply again. At least you will have regularised your stay and re-established your right to reside in UK.

[noajthan]

fyi - this guide can help you get up to speed on EU free movement:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf

Incidentally, at the moment you may have a derivative right to reside via a school age 'child in education' (if s/he is attending primary/secondary school).
However such a derivative right will end when child completes their education and, in any case, it does not lead to permanent residence.

[Petaltop]

Incidentally, at the moment you may have a derivative right to reside via a school age 'child in education' (if s/he is attending primary/secondary school).

Her child is a 1 year old.

I went on maternity leave from July 2014 to July 2015. I then resigned and am now a stay at home mom.

[noajthan]

Incidentally, at the moment you may have a derivative right to reside via a school age 'child in education' (if s/he is attending primary/secondary school).

Her child is a 1 year old.

I went on maternity leave from July 2014 to July 2015. I then resigned and am now a stay at home mom.

True.
There may be another child (or even a child genius).

In any case, best bet is for OP to reinstate herself as a fully-paid up direct family member who is a qualified person (rather than relying on second-best and ultimately limited derivative rights).

[paulie12]

Thank you for all your responses. My daughter is only turning two in Aug and don't have any other children so that won't work. However, I think I could get lucky on the private medical insurance aspect. I checked the PR application and point 9.11 states.

9.11 For any period in which you were, or your sponsor was, a student or self-suf cient person, indicate below how you/they met the requirement to hold comprehensive sickness insurance cover (the insurance must also cover family members in the UK.)

Type of Insurance

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by an EEA member state other than UK (formerly form E111)

Form S1 (E106, E109, E121)

Form S2 (E112)

Form S3

Private Health Insurance Plan

Now, does anyone know if it's any private insurance? Or the type of coverage it needs to be? Or how I can find out?

[noajthan]

...

However, I think I could get lucky on the private medical insurance aspect. I checked the PR application and point 9.11 states.

...

Now, does anyone know if it's any private insurance? Or the type of coverage it needs to be? Or how I can find out?

The European Commission noted in its own guidelines on the implementation of Directive 2004/38 that:

Any insurance cover, private or public, contracted in the host Member State or elsewhere, is acceptable in principle, as long as it provides comprehensive coverage and does not create a burden on the public finances of the host Member State.

In protecting their public finances while assessing the comprehensiveness of sickness insurance cover, Member States must act in compliance with the limits imposed by Community law and in accordance with the principle of proportionality.

You could do worse than start here:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/compreh ... -needs-it/

For a steer on how a caseworker may weigh up someone requiring CSI, see internal HO guidance on this vital question:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... issued.pdf
- see paragraph C.4.

[paulie12]

Hello,

I am an EEA national married to a British citizen and would like to apply for my PR card. I will be applying as a self sufficient person (bit of background - I am from a formally A8 country but did not apply for my WRS hence can only go back to 30/04/11 as years spent in the UK. I was in full time employment up until July 2014, then was on maternity leave for 1 year and quit my job in July 2015 to be a stay at home mum). I have never purchased CSI but am covered under my husband's private health insurance. I have three questions if anyone could be so kind and answer them for me:
1. How can I find out if the private health insurance is sufficient enough to be used instead of CSI?
2. I will only be able to use my 3 years of employment + 1 year of maternity leave (is that correct? Or am not allowed to include maternity leave?) as a qualified person and the last year as a self sufficient person?
3. I understand I need to provide proof of income if applying as I self sufficient person and that means providing banks statements - do I need to provide monthly banks statement, or quarterly (or annual?)?

Also, does anyone know what the processing time for PR applications is at the moment? I will be travelling in June and will have to have my passport back (and since I'm applying as a self sufficient person I can't use the passport return service).

Thanks for all your help!

[noajthan]

1) See https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... issued.pdf

2) You could have retained worker status whilst on maternity leave.
Its a bit of a grey area if you didn't return to work.

See also FreeMovement blog post for a steer on this:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/eu-citi ... d-reasons/

4 or 6 months or more.
See timeline thread.
Your mileage may vary.

[paulie12]

Thanks for coming back to me. I think I should be ok under 1) and I was also covered under my husband's health insurance during the time I was on maternity leave so even if I can't use that time as a qualified worker I should be able to use it as a self sufficient person. On point 3) - what proof of income do I need to provide? Is it monthly statements for the past 3 years? I'm assuming I can't just print them off, they will have to be originals provided by the bank?

[noajthan]

Thanks for coming back to me. I think I should be ok under 1) and I was also covered under my husband's health insurance during the time I was on maternity leave so even if I can't use that time as a qualified worker I should be able to use it as a self sufficient person. On point 3) - what proof of income do I need to provide? Is it monthly statements for the past 3 years? I'm assuming I can't just print them off, they will have to be originals provided by the bank?

Dig into such vital questions here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

Yes, original bank statements would be good. Perhaps quarterly unless there were rapid fluctuations in the balances/s.

Any other bank printouts would have to be officialyy stamped by the bank (some branches are more helpful at doing this than others).