Thank you very much for your reply.
Would you know any decision, etc. I could possibly refer to in an appeal if I was going to go down the route of retaining my worker status?
With regards to my removals job I, one fine Monday morning, was denied access to the office and told that I "no longer worked for them" ... (as said above, the company was the most chaotic bunch I've ever met/worked for). I filed for 'unfair dismissal' with the Employment Tribunal (including ACAS, etc.) straight away but my claim was subsequently dismissed by the Tribunal because I had worked for them only for less than 12 months, which apparently means that one can not claim unfair dismissal. I got masses of paperwork regarding this.
So in the end, I did exactly what you stated as possible route to retain my right as worker:
1) signed up for contribution based JSA again,
2) tried to find a job (at the height of the recession)
3) picked up a copy of the Evening Standard and found out about an 'open event' at the university on a Saturday,
4) attended the 'open event'
5) passed all the tests and interview
6) was offered the place as student the following Tuesday and
7) started the 3-year-course 2 weeks later ...
I qualified as DipHE with distinction, started, as said, to work as Nurse on April 8th 2013, continued with a BSc (Hons) Top-Up which I was awarded a '1st Class' degree, worked as Nurse ever since and - based on my past academic achievements - have been accepted straight away for a 2 year PgDip as Physician Associate (starting in September this year).
In the end, my private life has turned out to be rather successful (sorry I didn't mean to show off) but I struggle to understand why the fact that I did not have CSI is now a problem despite the fact that I successfully passed all the habitual residence tests for JSA and the course at university ...
Thanks a lot. TJW