stevesyjames wrote:I did not have CSI, as I was told it was unnecessary at the time. I was advised by the uni to simply register with a GP once I arrived in 2006 for my studies, which I did.
Don't worry, you are not the first person who has made this mistake and you certainly will not be the last. You would have not been refused treatment by the NHS, but in EEA immigration context you were not exercising treaty rights during your time as a student.
stevesyjames wrote:My work for 2009-2014 was continuous for 5 years, and for the year before that I was registered self-employed. It is the past 23 months that I have been off of Jobseekers and not employed.
You may have nailed it (see below)
stevesyjames wrote:I do not have a CSI in place, I was unaware that I needed one in order to maintain treaty rights. By the time I lost my job in 2014, I had been in the UK for over 7.5 years (including my years studying).
If you had not acquired PR already, then yes you would have required CSI in order to be exercising treaty rights as a self sufficient person. If you had acquired PR before you left your job, you would not have needed CSI as you do not need to continue exercising treaty rights once you have acquired PR.
stevesyjames wrote:Does my 5 continuous years of working (6 if you include self-employed) count as PR? Does it matter that I was a student until 2010? Do I have to make some sort of application to acknowledge PR, or is it inherent and the documentation I send enough?
It should do the trick. How many hours were you working during the whole time you were employed? You will need to show the work was
genuine and effective in order for it to count as exercising treaty rights as a worker, rather than a student (which would require CSI). Workers do not require CSI.
EEA residence documentation is not mandatory, and you do not need to apply for anything. The PR status is acquired automatically without applying for anything, and any documentation that is available is purely confirmatory and does not confer any rights. With the whole Brexit situation though, it is a good idea for you to apply for a
document certifying permanent residence (DCPR). It may be the key to invoking any future transitional arrangements once the UK departs the EU. If your partner has been here and married to you for the whole time, she also would have acquired PR in line with you and should also apply for a
permanent residence card (the non-EEA version of a DCPR). The application costs £65 per person.
If your child was born in the UK AFTER you acquired PR, she will automatically be a British citizen. You can directly apply for a British passport for her, using evidence of your 5 years exercising treaty rights which prove you had PR at the time of birth. If the child was born in the UK BEFORE you had PR, the child has an entitlement to be registered as a British citizen as soon as you do acquire PR. You need to make an application for registration using form MN1, using the same evidence of exercising treaty rights for 5 years to show you now have PR. Once the child is granted British citizenship, you can use the certificate to apply for her passport. The application currently costs £925.
It's worth noting that if you have your own ambitions for British citizenship, you must have a DCPR as it is now a required document for the application. Similarly, your wife must have a PR card if she also wishes to apply.
