EEA student route to UK citizenship

[spikie]

Hi,

I'm wondering about the best way to obtain permanent residence, and then British citizenship later on.
I'm a 21 year old university student born in an EEA country, Hungary. I've lived in the United Kingdom for 2 years so far, attending university full-time. I have 2 more years left until I finish my undergraduate BA degree. After that, I plan to find full time work in the UK, and settle down. I do not have any student loans, I am supported financially by my parents who work in Hungary and I also work part-time during the university terms, sometimes full-time during the summer months.

I'm unsure about the route I need to take as an EEA citizen to obtain citizenship. Some of the questions that I have:
1. Do I need a residency certificate or is that useless for me as an EEA citizen?
2. Should I just wait until the end of the 5 years and apply for permanent residence? From when does the 5 years start? I entered the UK for my studies in September 2014.
3. How do I prove my residency in the UK? I came to UK to study in September 2014, have only left for a few weeks since then for summer holidays. I have lived in a university accommodation, is the contract for that enough proof? Flight tickets?
4. I am currently a holder of a EHIC from Hungary, do I need anything else to prove health insurance? Is that even a good thing that I have that, or should I give that up and get private medical insurance in the UK?
5. What are the best/quickest options to obtain permanent residence and then citizenship at the moment for me? I know 5+1 years would be the best case scenario, is there something I should get done now to ensure I am not delayed?
6. Is there anything I should definitely look out for to ensure the time I spend here as a student now counts towards my PR time?

Thank you in advance!

[LilyLalilu]

1) No need. It's to really required but would confirm that you are exercising treaty rights and in which category.
2) Yes.
The 5 years start from the day you started exercising your treaty rights. In your case as a student (as you had a valid EHIC and sufficient funds).
3) You can use any of the following: Letter from your university proving that you were a student, tenancy agreements, bank statements, council tax/utility bills, GP letters.
4) An EHIC replaces CSI as long as your stay is temporary. If you plan to stay here long term, you could get CSI just to be on the safe side. Once you are in work this will no longer be needed (as long as the work you do is genuine and effective).
5) Ensure you exercise your treaty rights continuously. Once you have 5 continuous years under your belt apply for a DCPR, once you have held PR status for 1 year you can then shoot straight for citizenship provided you meet all other requirements.
6) Make sure that your EHIC is valid and that you do not lose it. Or else get CSI in place

[noajthan]

Hi,

...

I'm unsure about the route I need to take as an EEA citizen to obtain citizenship. Some of the questions that I have:
1. Do I need a residency certificate or is that useless for me as an EEA citizen?
2. Should I just wait until the end of the 5 years and apply for permanent residence? From when does the 5 years start? I entered the UK for my studies in September 2014.
3. How do I prove my residency in the UK? I came to UK to study in September 2014, have only left for a few weeks since then for summer holidays. I have lived in a university accommodation, is the contract for that enough proof? Flight tickets?
4. I am currently a holder of a EHIC from Hungary, do I need anything else to prove health insurance? Is that even a good thing that I have that, or should I give that up and get private medical insurance in the UK?
5. What are the best/quickest options to obtain permanent residence and then citizenship at the moment for me? I know 5+1 years would be the best case scenario, is there something I should get done now to ensure I am not delayed?
6. Is there anything I should definitely look out for to ensure the time I spend here as a student now counts towards my PR time?

Thank you in advance!

1) Optional - its a confirmatory doc used to prove rights; its doesn't confer them.

2) 5 years of exercising rights as a qualified person (in the context of EU law not educationally) is required

3) Make sure you generate a papertrail of official documents.
File and keep everything from tax office (eg P60s), council (tax), university, student finance, medical authorities, voter registration, utility bills, also payslips, job contracts & etc.

When you come to seek work do the same; register as a jobseeker and generate a papertrail of application letters & etc.

4) That EHIC is your Willie Wonka-style golden ticket. Do not lose it and do not let it lapse.
You could get CSI to make doubly sure.

5) Only option is to comply with EU law as it is transposed into UK EEA regulations.

There is the somewhat drastic step of marrying a BC if you wish to skip the +1 year free from immigration time restrictions. Not recommended just for that reason.

6) Keep everything on file.
Keep any absences from UK within prescribed limits in order to maintain continuity of residence.

Think ahead; you will need referees for the subsequent naturalisation and passport procedures - start cultivating suitable professional and personal referees now.

[spikie]

Thanks for your response and advice, it is really helpful!

3) You can use any of the following: Letter from your university proving that you were a student, tenancy agreements, bank statements, council tax/utility bills, GP letters.

I've just realised after reading your reply that I forgot to mention that I do not have to pay council tax, as I get an exemption for the years while I am a full-time student. Does this count as receiving benefits from the state and will it defer my application in any way?

4) An EHIC replaces CSI as long as your stay is temporary. If you plan to stay here long term, you could get CSI just to be on the safe side. Once you are in work this will no longer be needed (as long as the work you do is genuine and effective).

As my goal is to gain citizenship in the end, I plan to stay here long term. I understand that CSI would be a safer option, I will certainly take a look at that and get that started.
But just to make sure, while I am a student I should be fine with my valid EHIC, and as I start working that will not be required, but will they accept my permanent residence application if I was only covered by EHIC during my qualification 5-year period and I have not planned staying here only temporarily (as evidenced by the PR application)? I hope you understand what I mean.

Also, will the EHIC be enough if there is a time after university when I have finished my studies but I have not found a job yet? Ideally this would not be the case, but certainly it's possible.
Would the time I spend here NOT studying and NOT working yet either reset my clock, or would it just stop it or would it still count in my PR clock? I would be covered by EHIC during this time too.

I really appreciate all the help!

[noajthan]

Also, will the EHIC be enough if there is a time after university when I have finished my studies but I have not found a job yet? Ideally this would not be the case, but certainly it's possible.
Would the time I spend here NOT studying and NOT working yet either reset my clock, or would it just stop it or would it still count in my PR clock? I would be covered by EHIC during this time too.

I really appreciate all the help!

For any intermediate RC (QP) application, a statement of intent letter is required (showing you have ties to home country and your sojourn in UK is, by definition, temporary).
This requirement is not there for confirmation of PR applications.

Jobseekers don't need CSI either.

Gaps are your enemy here.

Any gap, (not studying, not working, not jobseeking etc) will reset your PR clock.
Any other period without documentation risks resetting the PR clock too.
However EU law and HO are not philistines, absences from UK are permitted (within limits).

Re CSI see HO guidance to get inside the head of the caseworker weighing up and assessing your case:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... issued.pdf.

Takeaway: You will need good, rock-solid documentary supporting evidence of your status as a qualified person for a continuous 5 year period (ie proof of exercising treaty rights in one or more categories).

[spikie]

3) Make sure you generate a papertrail of official documents.
File and keep everything from tax office (eg P60s), council (tax), university, student finance, medical authorities, voter registration, utility bills, also payslips, job contracts & etc.

Thanks noajthan, extremely informational and useful. I will certainly keep all the papers safe from this period.

My question is the same as to the person who replied me above, I do not pay council tax while being in full-time education, I get an exemption from the government. Will this defer my application for permanent residence and citizenship in any way?

Think ahead; you will need referees for the subsequent naturalisation and passport procedures - start cultivating suitable professional and personal referees now.

I will definitely try to think ahead now, I really appreciate all this information. It seems like a daunting task at first, but this forum is such a great resource, thank you!

Any gap, (not studying, not working, not jobseeking etc) will reset your PR clock.
Any other period without documentation risks resetting the PR clock too.

So as I understand, you suggested to register as a jobseeker after university in case I do not have a job right away, would that be enough for exercising treaty rights? Along with being economically self sufficient at that time.
I will have a think what I can do to make 100% sure I have no gaps at all.

[noajthan]

3) Make sure you generate a papertrail of official documents.
File and keep everything from tax office (eg P60s), council (tax), university, student finance, medical authorities, voter registration, utility bills, also payslips, job contracts & etc.

Thanks noajthan, extremely informational and useful. I will certainly keep all the papers safe from this period.

My question is the same as to the person who replied me above, I do not pay council tax while being in full-time education, I get an exemption from the government. Will this defer my application for permanent residence and citizenship in any way?

...

Any gap, (not studying, not working, not jobseeking etc) will reset your PR clock.
Any other period without documentation risks resetting the PR clock too.

So as I understand, you suggested to register as a jobseeker after university in case I do not have a job right away, would that be enough for exercising treaty rights? I will have a think what I can do to make 100% sure I have no gaps at all.

If you're entitled to not pay CT as a student then so be it.
You will not be penalised when applying for a PR card (or when naturalising) for that legitimate reason.

Self-sufficient is a different category from jobseeker and would also require CSI in place.

When jobseeking its once again all about generating the papertrail.
HO evidently has this rather quaint notion of diligent jobseekers writing out application letters & etc. Just like in '19-forgotten'.

Anyway as you have to submit a papertrail do what you can to generate one.
And do register as a jobseeker, via JobCentre, even if you don't expect it to help find you graduate level/professional employment.

Here's HO guidance to give a steer on what HO expects for each category of qp:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

[LilyLalilu]

My question is the same as to the person who replied me above, I do not pay council tax while being in full-time education, I get an exemption from the government. Will this defer my application for permanent residence and citizenship in any way?

Not a problem at all.

So as I understand, you suggested to register as a jobseeker after university in case I do not have a job right away, would that be enough for exercising treaty rights? Along with being economically self sufficient at that time.

Yes, good plan. Also keep a record of all applications you send, invitations to interview and offer/rejection letters you receive.

If you are not doing anything for a little bit (i.e just living here and not jobseeking, studying or working), you could still exercise treaty rights as a self-sufficient person provided you have sufficient funds to sustain yourself and have CSI or equivalent.

[spikie]

Here's HO guidance to give a steer on what HO expects for each category of qp:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

Amazing, thank you so much for all the information, it is so extremely helpful. I will start reading the documents and the forum, making sure I think ahead for all possibilities. Really thankful.

Yes, good plan. Also keep a record of all applications you send, invitations to interview and offer/rejection letters you receive.

If you are not doing anything for a little bit (i.e just living here and not jobseeking, studying or working), you could still exercise treaty rights as a self-sufficient person provided you have sufficient funds to sustain yourself and have CSI or equivalent.

Thank you so much for your replies, really helpful, everything is already a lot clearer. I'll get to reading more about the process and making sure everything is covered and in order as it should be. Thanks a bunch once again, so happy I found this forum.

[ohara]

Nobody in full time education pays council tax, and those who live alone and DO pay council tax are entitled to a 25% discount. This is not a benefit or public funds etc. Everyone is entitled.