non-EEA spouse on EEA family permit and NHS

[mjolnir]

Hello,

my wife (a Canadian) and I (an Italian) will soon move to UK. She is applying for an EEA family permit. I have an open-ended job contract, and unless something goes wrong, we aim at living in UK permanently.

My question regards NHS: Will she have immediately access to the NHS, also for non-emergencies? In particular, we would like to have children soon, and we are wondering whether we will need to postpone that just because of immigration rules.

Thank you for any advice you will be able to provide.

[Imshzd]

Hello,

my wife (a Canadian) and I (an Italian) will soon move to UK. She is applying for an EEA family permit. I have an open-ended job contract, and unless something goes wrong, we aim at living in UK permanently.

My question regards NHS: Will she have immediately access to the NHS, also for non-emergencies? In particular, we would like to have children soon, and we are wondering whether we will need to postpone that just because of immigration rules.

Thank you for any advice you will be able to provide.

Read this link.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1087.aspx?c ... goryid=162

[mjolnir]

Thank you, Imshzd!

From the information at the link it would seem that we will be immediately entitled to the full use NHS. One thing that I would like to double check is whether the information there is up to date. I have the impression that there have been changes in immigration law recently, and the information on that website is updated only up to 16/04/2013

Actually, inspired by your suggestion, I searched the actual NHS website. In my case, it is NHS Scotland, http://www.nhsnss.org/, since we are moving there. I could find some information here

http://www.nhsnss.org/pages/contact/ove ... sitors.php

In the first link there

http://www.hris.org.uk/index.aspx?o=6603

I found

"Can my family get health care from the NHS?
• If you are registered as an NHS patient, your husband, wife or civil partner,
and any of your children who are in Scotland with you, can also get health
care from the NHS. The children must be aged under 16, or under 19 and in
full-time education.
Staff at the GP surgery will ask you to fill in a form for your husband, wife or civil
partner and for any children. You may need to show your marriage or civil
partnership certificate, and birth certificates for your children. "

Again, I hope this information is up to date. It should, since it is the official NHS Scotland website, but I will double check contacting NHS Scotland.

Thanks again!

[mjolnir]

I got this information from NHS National Services Scotland:

"The NHS in the UK is generally about residency and as long as you can prove that you are working in Scotland, you should be entitled to NHS care. I know you have looked at a number of websites but the best one to follow is: http://www.hris.org.uk/index.aspx?o=3936#1
The reason we cannot be more specific is that the rules around entitlement to health care are very complicated. However as you are an EEA citizen; your spouse is also covered. You should arrange to register with a local NHS General Practice as soon as you have a permanent location in Scotland. You will be asked to produce evidence of your address/employment status/marriage certificate for your wife."

[mnbf9rca]

maternity care is considered "immediately necessary treatment". See http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/wp/ad ... om-abroad/

[chaoclive]

Anyone have experience in non-EEAs getting access to the NHS in Northern Ireland?

I am an Irish citizen and registered with a GP in my hometown, although I will be moving to Belfast in the next few weeks and will register with a GP there. Just worried that my Chinese partner might have a problem.

Cheers
C

[ninjaman]

Anyone have experience in non-EEAs getting access to the NHS in Northern Ireland?

I am an Irish citizen and registered with a GP in my hometown, although I will be moving to Belfast in the next few weeks and will register with a GP there. Just worried that my Chinese partner might have a problem.

Cheers
C

there will be no problems at all as far as I know, if your partner has medical card that should be enough. I'm non-EEA and my wife is Irish/British, when we moved to NI from England, she went to her GP and asked if her husband can register there as well?
they said yes, and they arrange an appointment for me to go for my first checkup with the medical card.

That was it

[chaoclive]

The problem is that he doesn't have a medical card/number, I do though.

No idea how to get him a medical card/number as I thought that was only allocated to people on registration with a GP?

[Mrs.mdeben]

Hiya.

I don't have any idea how NHS works in Scotland and northern Ireland but since I am a non eu spouse of a brit cit who just came back to UK last june26 via Surinder Singh, I just want to share what I did, so when i came back 3weeks ago, I immediately register myself to GP and national insurance number, then just last week, I received a letter from NHS that I am now registered and they gave me medical number and just yesterday I received my national insurance number.

Just to let you know, I didn't have COA when I did that because I didn't applied for my EEA2 yet as Im waiting for my passport and everything went well.

Hope you will sort out everything.

[LunarGirl]

I can confirm that my husband registered with the GP before getting his UK RC, and he didn't have a FP either. He just went into the nearest surgery, filled out a form and provided a copy of his passport and our marriage certificate. From what I hear on FB doctors' receptionists are frequently known to say ''we are not immigration police''. Honestly, this is one of the easier boxes to tick once in the UK (at the time of writing ).

[jbminger]

Agreed, getting registered at the GP was relatively easy. I registered in my wife's hometown (village) in NI. The national insurance number was also relatively easy. I got both of these without a CoA, but I did have a valid Family Permit at the time.

Getting a bank account at HSBC has proved to be difficult/not possible, even with a CoA. Funny thing is, HSBC willing to take my money (I currently have a job, my wife doesn't (but she's dual Irish/UK, so no big deal about treaty rights, etc). So my wife opened the account in her name and I will be paid into it...stupid banks

[LunarGirl]

We're in NI too!
We opened a joint bank account in First Trust Bank relatively easily, shortly after my non EU husband got here, with no FP.
No fees on their current account as long as you stay in credit. We each got debit cards a few days after the account was opened.