PR or ILR?

[szorsi]

Hello,
I am a EU citizen and have been living in the UK since 2004. I applied for British citizenship last year which got refused, because even though i registered when i arrived, I didn't stay in my first job for a year and didn't report the change. If I apply for ILR based on 10 years legal residency, could this still be a problem?
I understand that there was a change in the law in 2011 so probably i would qualify for permanent residency now. I have been self-sufficient in the past year and have comprehensive sickness cover but my family dont, could this be a problem? My son is British though and my husband is in full-time employment.

please give me some clarity!

[ohara]

Which month last year did you apply for naturalisation?

When you say you registered, I assume you are talking about WRS? That ended in April 2011.

Is your husband British?

ILR is meant for those on UK immigration route, and as far as I've seen there isn't a definitive answer on whether an EEA citizen who has been here legally under EEA free movement for 10 years or more can apply on this route (obviously most EEA citizens would go down the PR route since it's easier, faster and substantially cheaper).

[noajthan]

Hello,
I am a EU citizen and have been living in the UK since 2004. I applied for British citizenship last year which got refused, because even though i registered when i arrived, I didn't stay in my first job for a year and didn't report the change. If I apply for ILR based on 10 years legal residency, could this still be a problem?
I understand that there was a change in the law in 2011 so probably i would qualify for permanent residency now. I have been self-sufficient in the past year and have comprehensive sickness cover but my family dont, could this be a problem? My son is British though and my husband is in full-time employment.

please give me some clarity!

Using EEA migration time towards LR is at discretion.
And as you weren't exercising treaty rights (due to invalid WRS) you would be refused.

Time spent in the UK does not count as lawful residence under paragraph 276A of the Immigration Rules for third country nationals who have spent time in the UK as:

• the spouse, civil partner or other family member of an European Union (EU)
  an EEA national exercising their treaty rights to live in the UK but have not qualified for permanent residence

However, you must apply discretion and count time spent in the UK as lawful residence for an EU or EEA national or their family members exercising their treaty rights to reside in the UK.

Sufficient evidence must be provided to demonstrate that the applicant has been exercising treaty rights throughout any period that they are seeking to rely on for the purposes of meeting the long residence rules

Ref https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... .0_EXT.pdf
- page 30

Have you been working continuously since May 2011? (until when?).
- workers don't need CSI.

All the family dependents of a self-sufficient person need CSI in place.
Is your hubby your dependent? (in migration context).
Your child is excluded from needing CSI as he is British.

[szorsi]

Thank you for your quick response.
I was on maternity leave from September 2011-September 2012, then worked full-time till May 2015 and i have been self-sufficient since then. My husband is bulgarian and works with a blue card, he has been supporting me in the past year. I have a property rented and i am paying taxes on that, not sure if that counts. I also have a job lined up from September. Do you think i would qualify?

[szorsi]

My husband got the blue card when we got married

[noajthan]

Thank you for your quick response.
I was on maternity leave from September 2011-September 2012, then worked full-time till May 2015 and i have been self-sufficient since then. My husband is bulgarian and works with a blue card, he has been supporting me in the past year. I have a property rented and i am paying taxes on that, not sure if that counts. I also have a job lined up from September. Do you think i would qualify?

Qualify for confirmation of PR? Maybe.
ILR is out of the frame.

Before maternity leave were you working in UK?

If now self-sufficient do you have CSI? (health insurance - not just access to NHS!)

If hubby is to be you sponsor (instead of you applying in own right), how long has he been working in UK?
How long have you been married?

Have either of you enjoyed any prolonged absences from UK since arriving?

[szorsi]

Which month last year did you apply for naturalisation?

When you say you registered, I assume you are talking about WRS? That ended in April 2011.

Is your husband British?

ILR is meant for those on UK immigration route, and as far as I've seen there isn't a definitive answer on whether an EEA citizen who has been here legally under EEA free movement for 10 years or more can apply on this route (obviously most EEA citizens would go down the PR route since it's easier, faster and substantially cheaper).

Hello, thanks for your response. Yes, i meant i registered under the WRS but only worked in my first job for 10 months and wasn't aware back then that i was supposed to register again when i changed. My husband is from Bulgaria, he has been here since 2007 and has blue card since 2011 when we got married.
Someone suggested me the 10 year long residency route but clearly it wouldn't work either. Guess I am going to try the PR then, hoping that one year maternity leave and 1 year being self-sufficient won't affect there decision...

[szorsi]

Thank you for your quick response.
I was on maternity leave from September 2011-September 2012, then worked full-time till May 2015 and i have been self-sufficient since then. My husband is bulgarian and works with a blue card, he has been supporting me in the past year. I have a property rented and i am paying taxes on that, not sure if that counts. I also have a job lined up from September. Do you think i would qualify?

Qualify for confirmation of PR? Maybe.
ILR is out of the frame.

Before maternity leave were you working in UK?

If now self-sufficient do you have CSI? (health insurance - not just access to NHS!)

If hubby is to be you sponsor (instead of you applying in own right), how long has he been working in UK?
How long have you been married?

Have either of you enjoyed any prolonged absences from UK since arriving?

Thank you again for answering so quickly.
I arrived in 2004 and worked full-time till 2011, when i took a year off to look after my newborn. I went back to work in 2012 and worked for 3 years, i stopped working last May. My husband has been here since 2007 and worked on and off as self-employed, but he has a full-time job for 3 years now. We have been married since 2011. We havent enjoyed any prolonged absence from UK. We own properties and just would like to settle here.

BTW, do I need him to be my sponsor? I mean, I want to work, i studied at university here it just takes time to find the right job.

[noajthan]

Hello, thanks for your response. Yes, i meant i registered under the WRS but only worked in my first job for 10 months and wasn't aware back then that i was supposed to register again when i changed. My husband is from Bulgaria, he has been here since 2007 and has blue card since 2011 when we got married.
Someone suggested me the 10 year long residency route but clearly it wouldn't work either. Guess I am going to try the PR then, hoping that one year maternity leave and 1 year being self-sufficient won't affect there decision...

If you didn't register properly for WRS then your PR clock could only have started in May 2011; (if you were working then).
You can still be classed as a worker (by retaining worker status) on taking maternity leave from later in that year. Documentation will be required ofcourse.

As asked above, do you have CSI in place to cover your subsequent period as self-sufficient?
If so all good, you may have acquired PR as early as May 2016.

if not suggest you apply as the direct family member/dependent of your EEA spouse;
that is, assuming you have been married at least 5 years (and neither has enjoyed long absences from UK since then).
Have you?

[noajthan]

Thank you again for answering so quickly.
I arrived in 2004 and worked full-time till 2011, when i took a year off to look after my newborn. I went back to work in 2012 and worked for 3 years, i stopped working last May. My husband has been here since 2007 and worked on and off as self-employed, but he has a full-time job for 3 years now. We have been married since 2011. We havent enjoyed any prolonged absence from UK. We own properties and just would like to settle here.

BTW, do I need him to be my sponsor? I mean, I want to work, i studied at university here it just takes time to find the right job.

No absences so no worries about continuity.

Married since 2011 so hubby could be your sponsor.
Then no need to worry about documentation for maternity leave & CSI whilst self-sufficient.

As an alternative option...
You mentioned university, so were you at uni from around 2004+?
At that time (if at uni), did you have CSI or foreign EHIC or an RC issued to you as a student?
If so you may have acquired PR around 2009 or so.

[szorsi]

You can still be classed as a worker (by retaining worker status) on taking maternity leave from later in that year. Documentation will be required ofcourse.

So taking a year off wouldn't be a problem? I got maternity pay only for 6 months.

As asked above, do you have CSI in place to cover your subsequent period as self-sufficient?
If so all good, you may have acquired PR as early as May 2016.

I took out comprehensive medical cover when i stopped working, but just saw that my family also supposed to have one. Does this apply to my husband who has been in full-time employment for years?

[szorsi]

I studied from 2010 till 2013, had no sickness cover then, but i worked till 2011 September, then took a year off for maternity and went back to work in September 2012.
I will look into my husband being my sponsor. He got the blue card when we got married in 2011, can he still be my sponsor as he gained full rights through me?
Thank you so much for your help, I highly appreciate it.

[noajthan]

You can still be classed as a worker (by retaining worker status) on taking maternity leave from later in that year. Documentation will be required ofcourse.

So taking a year off wouldn't be a problem? I got maternity pay only for 6 months.

As asked above, do you have CSI in place to cover your subsequent period as self-sufficient?
If so all good, you may have acquired PR as early as May 2016.

I took out comprehensive medical cover when i stopped working, but just saw that my family also supposed to have one. Does this apply to my husband who has been in full-time employment for years?

12 months is a reasonable maximum for maternity leave as per my understanding.

Maternity pay (and thus supporting documents as evidence) for 6 months but being on maternity leave for 12 months may be a problem.

The question is what your status was for the remaining 6 months. Not sure.
You can investigate that vital question here:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/eu-citi ... d-reasons/

Did you have any agreement in writing from employer to cover the 12 months period (even if it was unpaid)?

If applying in your own right and not sponsoring anyone only you need the CSI.
Hubby is a Union citizen/EEA national and seems to be a qualified person in his own right - so he is not dependent on you.
If children are British they are not considered in this context either.

It looks like you may be able to apply in own right, as:

• worker;
  retained worker on maternity leave;
  self-sufficient;

The only question seems to be around documents to justify your retained worker status. Can you dig into that?

[szorsi]

Did you have any agreement in writing from employer to cover the 12 months period (even if it was unpaid)?

I worked for a company but as self-employed till i gave birth so maternity leave was paid by the government. A year later i joined a different company as a full-time employee.
Thank you for the link I will have a look.

[noajthan]

Did you have any agreement in writing from employer to cover the 12 months period (even if it was unpaid)?

I worked for a company but as self-employed till i gave birth so maternity leave was paid by the government. A year later i joined a different company as a full-time employee.
Thank you for the link I will have a look.

Ah, self-employed is another twist.

See also http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/right-re ... nant-pause

Its just a case of drawing up your precise timeline plus all the evidence to support each activity.
See if it adds up to a continuous 5 year period in accepted categories of qualified person.

[szorsi]

Ah, self-employed is another twist.

See also http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/right-re ... nant-pause

Its just a case of drawing up your precise timeline plus all the evidence to support each activity.
See if it adds up to a continuous 5 year period in accepted categories of qualified person.

One last thing: If I apply for PR after September 2016, then they wouldn't ask for my self-employment before 2011 September, would they? Also, I was in full-time education at uni in UK from 2009-2013, so even when I was on maternity leave for a year I was also in full-time education. I didn't have CSI back then, but had the 52 week maternity cover as my son is British. Do you think this makes it different?

[szorsi]

Hello,
I am an EU citizen and have been here since 2004. For silly reasons, like not having private medical insurance while a student + mom at home, I haven't qualified for PR. My sister, who has been here for 5 years is about to apply, can she be my sponsor for PR? Can I apply in the same application with her?

[noajthan]

One last thing: If I apply for PR after September 2016, then they wouldn't ask for my self-employment before 2011 September, would they? Also, I was in full-time education at uni in UK from 2009-2013, so even when I was on maternity leave for a year I was also in full-time education. I didn't have CSI back then, but had the 52 week maternity cover as my son is British. Do you think this makes it different?

You would put the details in the form but you would only be confirmed as having acquired PR on the basis of a valid and continuous 5 year qualifying period.

if an earlier period didn't qualify it will just be ignored.
Just as you would declare your student years but if you didn't have CSI (or alternative) they would be ignored.

You can only retain worker status while on maternity leave if you had been a worker immediately before going on leave (not a student).

[noajthan]

Hello,
I am an EU citizen and have been here since 2004. For silly reasons, like not having private medical insurance while a student + mom at home, I haven't qualified for PR. My sister, who has been here for 5 years is about to apply, can she be my sponsor for PR? Can I apply in the same application with her?

To apply as extended family member of sis you would need an EFM RC issued to you with her as your sponsor;
you would have to show financial dependency on sister for your essential needs (food, housing) and/or membership of your sister's household.
Was she supporting you before you came to UK or did you live in her house (where she was head of the house) in some other country?