EEA options for Canadian on Tier 2 married to Greek

[Aek21]

Our situation is so confusing, I'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place but I would really appreciate some advice.

I am Canadian living in the UK on a Tier 2 visa since July 2013 with my husband who is Greek. I renewed my visa before it expired in July so the present visa expires in July 2019. I am currently on maternity leave after the birth of our daughter this June. We are spending my leave in Greece with his family so have been here since late May and will return beginning of January. We thought little of leaving for longer than 180 days in terms of my ability to receive ILR following the expiry of my visa because he is an EU national and we thought we would have other options. However, obviously Brexit has complicated things.

My question is: Upon returning to the UK is there anything we can do, eg switching to an EEA family visa so that we won't have to leave following my visa expiry? Complicating things further, we plan for my husband to stay home with the baby while I return to work in January. Does this mean he won't be a "qualified person"? If it makes a difference, I'm on a permanent contract, make £38k/year, we own a house in the UK (in my name), and my husband has done mostly zero hours contracts for the almost 3 years prior to my taking leave.

Apologies for my ignorance but we are quite worried about the future of our family! I've been googling but so confused by the specifics of our situation. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

[CR001]

Yes you can apply for an EEA residence card, but your husband is the one that has to be a qualified person for you to be able to that. If he is a stay at home dad, he can be 'self sufficient' but will have to have comprehensive sickness insurance to qualify as a 'qualified person'.

For ILR based on Tier 2, you are allowed 180 days absence per 12 month cycle. So depending on when you would qualify and apply for ILR, you need to calculate your absence backwards per 12 month cycle from date of anticipated ILR application.

[Aek21]

Thanks very much for the prompt and helpful reply.

What is this coverage? Can it be purchased after returning to the UK from a UK based company?

I wasn't aware of how the 22 months absence was calculated. Sorry if I'm being daft, but does this mean that if I qualify for ILR in July 2018 and apply for it in October 2018, my absence from October 1 2016-January 1 2017 would count as 3 months and then from May 30 to September 30 would be 4 months in another 12 month period and I would still be eligible? On the home office website it says "any 12 month period" so I thought we were screwed...

[Aek21]

Sorry typo...I meant how the 12 months absence was calculated

[noajthan]

Start here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

[ohara]

What is this coverage? Can it be purchased after returning to the UK from a UK based company?

Health insurance can be purchased in the UK, from a UK based company.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=health+insurance

If your husband goes the self sufficient route, he will not be classed as exercising treaty rights until he has such a policy in place, so neither of your PR clocks will be ticking.

[Aek21]

Thanks very much. By PR clocks you mean Permanent Resident...but mine would be as I'm still on my work visa?

From what I understand then, we have 2 options open to is: get CSI for him (and probably the whole family just to be sure), or hope that my 7 months maternity leave will be accepted as splitting across two separate 12 month blocks if I time my application correctly. I'm nervous about which would be our best bet with Brexit looming--apply for a residence card while we still have this option available to us or risk waiting 2 years and applying for ILR. I'm not sure if it's a bigger risk to lose my tier 2 visa by switching to an EU based visa given our timing (ie we won't be I the UK long on an eu visa before Brexit).

I'm quite nervous about this but leaning towards chancing ILR in 2018. Is this foolish?

[noajthan]

You have not yet understood the beauty and elegance of free movement.
Firstly there is no EU 'visa'. Drop that visa mindset.
Secondly, if hubby has been a qualified person since you first arrived in UK in 2013 then you have been his EU family dependent in UK since then.
(OK you happened to have a Tier 2 domestic visa too - that's fine).

Absence from UK due to childbirth and pregnancy are valid reasons for a one-off absence (and escape from our climate) for up to 12 months. Your sojourn falls within that.

If hubby is to be a stay-at-home dad on return to UK simply put CSI in place (for all) so that he assures his selfsufficient qualified person.
That keeps your PR clock running (both of you) - since 2013.
So it won't be starting from zero early next year

With qualifying period starting in 2013 (remember, not 2017!!) you may acquire the holy grail of PR status by 2018.
And despite all wild talk of Brexit UK is still likely to be in EU even as late as 2019.
So you have probably smashed it.

Takeaway
Confirm if sponsor was indeed a qp since 2013.
Get CSI.