What should my husband apply for?

I am British (born here). My husband is a Dutch National. We have two children (British, both born in the UK). My husband has lived here for 15 years and always worked.

I want to find out what he should apply for that would ensure he could stay in the UK if he lost his job, could claim benefits if he lost his job and would be able to stay in the UK without a visa if the UK leaves the European Union?

I am not sure if it would be necessary for him to get British Citizenship or if he only has to get Permanent Residence Status or Right to Remain (I have no understanding of the differences or protections these various different legal definitions offer).

Also, Holland does not offer dual nationality and he would like to keep his Dutch passport if at all possible. So, if he were to become a British Citizen, he would have to resign his Dutch passport.

Therefore, I would appreciate any advice on the best possible route to take. Thank you in advance.

get Permanent Residence Status

This one would be the easiest to apply for - Confirmation of PR. Although it can be lost if he is absent from the UK for 2 or more years.

Even if he wanted to apply for British Citizenship, he would still need to provide proof of PR so best to apply for it anyway.

CR001 wrote:

get Permanent Residence Status

This one would be the easiest to apply for - Confirmation of PR. Although it can be lost if he is absent from the UK for 2 or more years.

Even if he wanted to apply for British Citizenship, he would still need to provide proof of PR so best to apply for it anyway.

Thank you. Can you please point me to the correct form on the UK Gov website as the only one I am seeing that comes up under Permanent Residence for an EU national is this one, which only refers to a "registration certificate"; https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _07-15.pdf

Also, this is probably a silly question but what is your view on how the UK government would approach EU Nationals who have UK Permanent Residency status if the UK were to leave the EU?

This is the form you need (link below)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... orm-eea-pr

PR = settled and my opinion is that the UK won't just retrospectively kick people out. Your husband will of course have the option to apply for British citizenship if he wishes to. Also, bear in mind that any decision on remaining within the EU will take quite a long time to 'untangle and sort out' if that makes sense, i.e. it won't be overnight basically.