House Mother Comprehensive Sickness Insurance

[cat123]

Need advice please.

My wife and I woke this morning very depressed and she began crying and I will go on explain why.

My wife moved over from France to the UK in 2011 to start a relationship with me, I'm UK Citizenship from birth and we got married in 2012 until the present date. We have 2 young girls through marriage (2.5 years of age and the other 6months of age) who both have British passports. So we've been married for 4.5 years. We put off her applying for the UK citizenship as we were not in a hurry due to EU Free Movement.

Because Brexit happened we decided to apply this week and noticed that in Nov 2015 the UK gov changed the British Citizenship requirement, adding residence card or certificate as a requirement. We looked through the EEA Permanent Residence form and we noticed something called Comprehensive Sickness Insurance which is required because she is comes under the category of 'Self Sufficient' (my wife stays at home taking care of our children). We had never heard of CSI until this point. So we called the Home Office and they said she'll have to get the Comprehensive Sickness Insurance for 5 years and then apply. Had I known I would have taken out CSI the day she stepped foot into the UK. We are very worried because Brexit potentially is only 2 years away and feel we have wasted 5 years for nothing.

Is there a way to have less then 5 years insurance because the rules for BC only changed in Nov 2015 and my wife has been here since 2011 and we've been married for 4.5 years?

Is there anything we can do so speed up her residency or British Citizenship?

Could my wife be asked to leave if Brexit happens?

We are worried for our childern's future.

Advice desperately needed please.

[noajthan]

Welcome.

It is not likely wife will be asked to leave UK as she has children here.

Does your wife have a French EHIC card?

[cat123]

No she does not have a French EHIC card. We genuinely did not know about these rules and wish the surgery or Hospitals brought it to our attention.

[ohara]

Is there a way to have less then 5 years insurance because the rules for BC only changed in Nov 2015 and my wife has been here since 2011 and we've been married for 4.5 years?

Is there anything we can do so speed up her residency or British Citizenship?

Nothing changed in this regard in November 2015. Your wife would have been just as ineligible before then as she is now.

Your GP and hospital would likely not have known about the CSI issue as it has no bearing on her right to free NHS case. It is only relevant for the purposes of obtaining the right of permanent residence under the EEA regulations.

http://www.eearegulations.co.uk/Latest/ByPage/part1_4

(c)“self-sufficient person” means a person who has—

(i)sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the United Kingdom during his period of residence; and

(ii)comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the United Kingdom;

Technically as she was not exercising treaty rights (due to not having CSI as a self sufficient person), she had no right of residence in the UK. Don't worry too much though, there's approximately a 0% chance that immigration agents are going to turn up and take her away, but you should certainly get CSI in place for here ASAP.

She will need 5 continuous years of exercising treaty rights to acquire permanent residence and therefore qualify her for naturalisation, but it is unclear at the moment whether she'll now be able to get to that point with Brexit coming.

[cat123]

Thanks but prior Nov 2015 my wife could have applied for BS without the need of PR as we had been married more than 3 years. Do you see my point?

[noajthan]

Thanks but prior Nov 2015 my wife could have applied for BS without the need of PR as we had been married more than 3 years. Do you see my point?

No that is a complete misunderstanding of the complex interaction between, and nuances of, EU and UK domestic law.

Settled status is always needed in order to naturalise.
Settled status takes 5 years whether by ILR for those on UK route or PR for those fortunate enough to be on EU route.
The '3 years residence' is a throwback to older domestic regs and is now subsumed into the 5 years for EU nationals.

Your wife has not been short changed or lost anything; it appears she has always been irregular here.

As suggested, best regularise her position asap,at least get CSI in place and apply for an EEA RC.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... orm-eea-qp

With Brexit looming any transitional arrangements, (eg any conversion to PR etc etc) are likely to depend on the traditional British sense of fair play plus possession of valid EU documentation.

[cat123]

Thanks noajthan

So my wife needed a PR from the beginning for 3 or 5 years before applying for BC as a spouse?

I've been looking into CSI but very confused because I've been reading some CSI will be rejected or not valid.
Does anyone know any obvious reputable CSI?

Would it be better for my wife to get her EHIC from France as it will be more straight forward?

What benefit will be Registration certificate and will my wife even qualify?

Thanks in advance.

[noajthan]

Thanks noajthan

So my wife needed a PR from the beginning for 3 or 5 years before applying for BC as a spouse?

I've been looking into CSI but very confused because I've been reading some CSI will be rejected or not valid.
Does anyone know any obvious reputable CSI?

Would it be better for my wife to get her EHIC from France as it will be more straight forward?

What benefit will be Registration certificate and will my wife even qualify?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, and it takes 5 years to acquire PR.

There are two parts to PR, exercise of treaty rights and residence in UK.
Naturalisation is based on a different legal framework and different requirements; including different requirements for residence.

All that changed last year is that UK Gov, for some bizarre reason (best known to themselves), decided to make the purely confirmatory EU PR document (DCPR) mandatory before applying for privilege of citizenship.
Settled status (eg PR for those on EU route) has always been required. And normally taken 5 years to acquire.
All that's new is to possess a PR card before naturalising.

Members take CSI from the major insurance providers.

If wife already has a French EHIC she will have been covered as it can be used in lieu of CSI.
- if not its too late now - best go for the CSI instead.

As soon as that CSI is in place wife will be a qualified person and all above board.
As suggested above, she would be well-advised to apply for a residence certificate which simply confirms her status.

[Obie]

The option for your wife is to get a job or medical insurance, hopefully she will qualify after 5 years.

She will qualify for naturalisation in 10 years, owing to her residence without CSI, which in naturalisation terms, is considered as unlawful.

[cat123]

Thanks.

Please can you explain how she will qualify for naturalisation after 10 years, owing to her residence without CSI?

[ohara]

Thanks.

Please can you explain how she will qualify for naturalisation after 10 years, owing to her residence without CSI?

As part of the good character requirement for naturalisation, you must not have been in breach of immigration law at any time during last 10 years.

[cat123]

Advice needed please.

My wife is a French national and has been living and married with me since 2012. I'm a UK citizen since birth. I wanted to apply for her UK Registration Certificate asap.

She is applying a 'Self Sufficient' as she is a house wife and I am sending my payslips and bank statements as proof of financial resource for her. I have around 30k in current and savings account, would that be enough?

My main question is I'm sending:

- Our UK Marriage Certificate in 2012
- x 2 UK Birth Certificates of our children

Do I need to send my UK passport as well? It doesn't mention anything but I'm not sure and don't want a refusal. I'm traveling at the end of Jan.

Thanks

Link to form and gd: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... orm-eea-qp

[Obie]

As i previously advised, your wife will need a Medical isurance, unless she will be undertaking employment or self employment.

Otherwise EEA (QP) is likely to fail.

[cat123]

Thanks Obie I've bought Full Comp Medical insurance today.

My question is do I need to send my UK passport with her application as I'm her financial sponsor being her husband? There's no mention in the form but want to get it right first time.

[ohara]

Thanks Obie I've bought Full Comp Medical insurance today.

My question is do I need to send my UK passport with her application as I'm her financial sponsor being her husband? There's no mention in the form but want to get it right first time.

You are not her sponsor. Make sure she does not write that on the form. She is the main applicant.

She will have to show proof of your funds but that does not mean you are the sponsor in this context.

[cat123]

Desperate advice please.

I'm a UK citizen from birth and lived here all my life. My girlfriend moved from France to the UK to be with me in 2011. We got married in the UK on 2012 and we had our first child in the UK in 2014 and our second child in the UK in 2016. She has lived as a housewife and mother since her arrival and has never claimed benefits accept child benefit and the use of the NHS a few times. And I have been her financial support for the whole time.

Up until this time we had no clue about what the procedure was for EEA staying in the UK "legally" because we assumed Free Movement was all that was required. So it came as real shock when we realised that she had to register as 'self-sufficient' after 3 months. She has been here 5.5 years without any status or Comprehensive Med Insurance.

She will be applying for EEA RC(QP) and the evidence I am submitting is:
- My 5.6 years of pay slips (I earn around 36k a year)
- My Bank statements for the 5.5 years
- Marriage and Birth Certs and a few utility bills on my name, her UK driving license
- I've have taken Comprehensive Med Insurance for my wife

Questions:
- The form ask how long has she been here. I've stated since June 2011. Will that cause any problems?
- We didn't take out any Comprehensive Med Insurance for previous years because we didn't know about. Will that cause any problems?
- What other evidence will I need?
- Should I submit her banks statements? There has not been a lot in there as I give her cash monthly.
- Will the use of the NHS cause issues?
- Please could anyone highlight any other potential pitfalls?

Thanks in advance.

[noajthan]

Desperate advice please.

I'm a UK citizen from birth and lived here all my life. My girlfriend moved from France to the UK to be with me in 2011.
...

Questions:
- The form ask how long has she been here. I've stated since June 2011. Will that cause any problems?
- We didn't take out any Comprehensive Med Insurance for previous years because we didn't know about. Will that cause any problems?
- What other evidence will I need?
- Should I submit her banks statements? There has not been a lot in there as I give her cash monthly.
- Will the use of the NHS cause issues?
- Please could anyone highlight any other potential pitfalls?

Thanks in advance.

1) Presence from 2011 won't cause problems.
Noone will burst through your windows (or climb down chimney) and arrest her.

2) You didn't have CSI; now you do and so partner can qualify as selfsufficient; that's fine.

3) Get up to speed on qualified persons here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf

4) There are two aspects to the application.
Its important to prove both treaty rights and also residence in UK (and any absences from UK within prescribed limits).

Bank statements will help prove partner's presence in UK.
As will:

• council tax bills;
  voter registration/electoral roll;
  driving license;
  car/house insurance;
  medical letters (doctor/dentist/optician etc);
  registration with RHA;
  any utility bills

& etc etc

5) No, people who are ordinarily/habitually resident in UK can use NHS.
That's nothing to do with the need for CSI under EU law.

6) Unfortunately partner doesn't have time to acquire PR in the normal way (it takes 5 continuous years as a qp and now Brexit is looming).

You will have to rely on the British sense of fair play and any transitional arrangements (yet to be) put in place for the thousands on an EU migration trajectory who now find themselves in similar position.

Don't be too hard on yourself, you are not the first and won't be the last.
Here's a lady in a similar position:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... r#p1431073

Usually such arrangements depend on possessing EU documentation by a certain key date so its very prudent to invest in the RC.

[cat123]

Thank your for the reply. By the way the link you posted is our post.

[noajthan]

Thank your for the reply. By the way the link you posted is our post.

Posts merged.
No need for multiple posts when its all the same case!

[cat123]

Ok thank you.

Another question please. I'm applying for a RC for my wife and on the website it says:

--
1. Overview
You can apply for a document to prove your right to live in the UK if you’re a citizen of a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.

You’re usually eligible for a:
- registration certificate if you’ve lived in the UK for less than 5 years
- permanent residence document if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years (or earlier in some situations - for example, if you retire)

https://www.gov.uk/eea-registration-cer ... e/overview
--

My wife has lived here over 5 years. Will that be a problem?

[ohara]

No it's not a problem.

[cat123]

Thank you Ohara

[cat123]

Advice please:

On the EEA QP form there's a question "how long have you been living in the U.K. as self-sufficient" do I put the day my wife moved to the UK which was over 4 years ago but hasn't had medical insurance or day the she got medical insurance which was only 1 week ago???

Does the definition of 'self-sufficient' need to include medical insurance as well?

[noajthan]

Advice please:

On the EEA QP form there's a question "how long have you been living in the U.K. as self-sufficient" do I put the day my wife moved to the UK which was over 4 years ago but hasn't had medical insurance or day the she got medical insurance which was only 1 week ago???

Does the definition of 'self-sufficient' need to include medical insurance as well?

The definition of ss in an EU context means someone with health cover in place; so my understanding would be as from date such CSI policy was in place.