Settle status..

[Phone]

As some of you are aware, I have my non eea card valid until March 2020.
My French wife has been in UK since April 2012. She has work full time until 2015. 2015 may to 2016 July no job, no insurance... Due to new born baby.. She did not take any benefits.. As we do not have any money issue. She also has blue ukba card issued July 2012.

I want to know where do I stand for settle status... In late 2018...

English marriage since June 17 2013. Before that Islamic marriage April 2012.

I am pakistani national.

Plz do guide me... Thanks

[Obie]

You both may qualify for PR now.

[at12]

Hi obie, just wondering if you could clarify why they qualify. I would have thought that because she might have taken more than 52 weeks for maternity, then there is a risk they would not be eligible for PR. Isn't the maternity leave limit 52 weeks? Thank you.

[secret.simon]

What is a ‘reasonable period’ after birth?

The judgment leaves open the question of how long a woman retains the status of worker after giving birth. CPAG argued (on behalf of Ms Saint Prix) that this should be equated with the national rules on when women are exempted from being available for work, which in the UK’s case is the period of eligibility for IS on grounds of pregnancy – ie, 11 weeks before the expected due date and 15 weeks after the birth. The Court went further than this. It said that the national authorities should take into account ‘all the specific circumstances of the case... and the applicable national rules on the duration of maternity leave’. As the duration of statutory maternity leave in the UK is 52 weeks, this leaves open the argument that worker status should extend for longer than the eligibility period for IS.

EU law is supremely flexible. You could argue (with proof) that it was necessary for your wife to take the time off for pregnancy and hence her residency was valid through a maternity leave longer than 52 weeks.