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Work (& WRS) is not required for the marriage route to UK citizenship per se.lidia666 wrote:Hello,
I was wondering if someone may be able to advice me on the route I should take for obtaining British passport. I am a Polish passport holder (which makes me an A8 national).
I have came to UK in October 2006 to study for my PhD (I had a 3.5 years industrial case scholarship funding) and I have graduated in January 2011. I have started permanent employment in June 2010 and I still work for the same company. I have never registered under the worker registration scheme (actually I have only became aware if it when I started to fill the document certifying permanent residence and my company never enquired about it).
Does this mean that if I wanted to go the 'working route' I would need to wait until April 2016 for the 5 years after WRS has expired? Also I have married a British citizen in 2013 (we were living together since 2007). At the time when I have started my employment he had a permanent job- does this mean that I could be exempt from applying for the WRS?
If I wanted to go the 'marriage route' is the lack of the WRS registration a problem? I suppose even if I go the marriage route I will still need to obtain the document certifying permanent residence (as a first step in the naturalisation process) and in the forms there is a large section regarding the WRS.
I would highly appreciate any advice.
Kind regards,
Lidia
You should also bear in mind that if you are not married to ... British citizen you will need to have been free of immigration time restrictions for a further 12 months after acquiring PR
noajthan wrote:lidia666 wrote:Hello,
Work (& WRS) is not required for the marriage route to UK citizenship per se.
But you need to be settled in UK &, for an EEA national, that means PR.
Arriving in Oct 2006 your 5 years PR could have been established by Oct 2011 at the earliest.
As a student there was no need to register for WRS.
WRS was abolished on 1 May 2011.
As you started work in June 2010 you couldn't have completed 1 year on WRS as it was abolished when you had been working for about 10 months.
However it seems that to continue exercising treaty rights as an A8 worker (after your initial time as a student) you should have been enrolled in WRS; (1 month at the latest after starting work).
The crossover when you were working before you graduated is interesting; were you working full-time?
Were you classed as a 'student' or 'worker' from June 2010 to January 2011?
It may be possible to claw back 6 or 7 more months as a 'student'; (no need for WRS).
But even that approach (if it is valid) still leaves you as a worker from Feb 2011 to end of April 2011.
Your 5-year PR clock may have stopped due to you being unaware of WRS and not registering at the appropriate time.
If so your treaty rights clock must have restarted anyway on 1 May 2011 and the 5 years now completes in May 2016.
As you have a British spouse you will not have to wait an additional 12 months after satisfying the 5-year immigration time restriction.
Good luck.
Lidia,lidia666 wrote:Thanks for that! I was working full time in that 'cross over period' and writing up my PhD thesis at the same time (so the letter form my employer will have 1st of June 2010 as my start date). But you may be right that technically I may have been a student as well. So do you think that the fact I haven't registered under WRS wiped out 3.5 years when I have been a student as well?
thanks
No, she cannot use any of her time as a student. As she hasn't registered on Working Registration Scheme when started employment, she worked illegally until WRS was abolished in May/2011.noajthan wrote:Yes - I'm calculating your 5 years from the abolition date of WRS.
If you can in fact retrieve some of your student time then your 5-years may complete earlier & you could then apply earlier;
assuming all other requirements (absence, KOLL etc) are met.
I had a European health card issued by polish equivalent of NHS during the first year (30/09/ 2006- 30/09 2007) of my PhD. I was never asked for it when using the University Health service so I didn't bother to extend it when expired.secret.simon wrote:Did you have either comprehensive health insurance or an EHIC card issued by the Polish authorities during your time as a student?
Your student years when not having an EHIC card likely do not count either. Based on that, I would discount your time as a student.lidia666 wrote:I had a European health card issued by polish equivalent of NHS during the first year (30/09/ 2006- 30/09 2007) of my PhD. I was never asked for it when using the University Health service so I didn't bother to extend it when expired.
Thanks for your reply. It sounds like May 2016 than. One last thing I could think of is trying to prove I was exempted from the WRS.secret.simon wrote:Your student years when not having an EHIC card likely do not count either. Based on that, I would discount your time as a student.lidia666 wrote:I had a European health card issued by polish equivalent of NHS during the first year (30/09/ 2006- 30/09 2007) of my PhD. I was never asked for it when using the University Health service so I didn't bother to extend it when expired.
I would say that your best bet is to apply in May 2016 for confirmation of PR (on the basis of 5 years after WRS was abolished). Once that is received, you can immediately apply for citizenship as the spouse of a British citizen.
You may be able to skip the confirmation of PR stage (as PR is acquired automatically) and jump straight to the application of citizenship in May 2016. But be prepared for delays as I would not expect the citizenship team to be au fait with EEA Regulations. PR (EEA Regulations), ILR (Immigration Rules under the Immigration Act 1971) and citizenship teams (British Nationality Act 1981) are separate teams within the Home Office and I would expect each team to know the other's work or rules.
WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).lidia666 wrote:...
Thanks for your reply. It sounds like May 2016 than. One last thing I could think of is trying to prove I was exempted from the WRS.
At the time when I have started my employment I was already living with future husband (BR) and he had a permanent job- does this mean that I could be exempt from applying for the WRS?
Thanks in advance
I doubt it. The WRS applied to citizens of the A8 countries in the UK, who were in the UK and working for a UK employer in exercise of their treaty rights. So, if you were exercising EU rights to work, you needed WRS.lidia666 wrote:At the time when I have started my employment I was already living with future husband (BR) and he had a permanent job- does this mean that I could be exempt from applying for the WRS?
WRS is required for a citizen of an A8 country who is employed by an EU employer not of the same country as the citizen for the period to qualify towards citizenship.noajthan wrote:WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).
Thank you for your message. I guess that owning a house and paying tax over the past 5 years doesn't count as a proof of being settled? Also should I apply for the European health card now (I also have a private corporate health insurance through work)? Or is this only important for the 'student years'? Are you aware if the passed 'Life in the UK test' have an 'expiry' date?secret.simon wrote:WRS is required for a citizen of an A8 country who is employed by an EU employer not of the same country as the citizen for the period to qualify towards citizenship.noajthan wrote:WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).
Similarly, comprehensive health insurance or a non-UK EHIC card is required for the student years to count towards exercising treaty rights
Sadly being settled in the legalistic immigration sense does not just mean "settled down".lidia666 wrote:...
Thank you for your message. I guess that owning a house and paying tax over the past 5 years doesn't count as a proof of being settled? Also should I apply for the European health card now (I also have a private corporate health insurance through work)? Or is this only important for the 'student years'? Are you aware if the passed 'Life in the UK test' have an 'expiry' date?
Again many thanks,
Lidia
Lidia,lidia666 wrote:...
Thanks for your reply.
I am wondering now if the fact that I have not registered under the WRS will count against my 'good character' ?
Do you think that the WRS section will disappear from the forms as of May 2016? I feel a bit unsure about signing the statement that I have worked illegally.
Thanks
I don't think HO will remove the question.lidia666 wrote:Hello,
I have just revisited the application for a document certifying permanent residence and the section about the WRS is still present despite the fact that it has been over 5 years for the transitional period to be finished (for the A8 nationals). The latest version of the document from the gov.uk website is from March 2016 so I suppose that this document has not been updated yet.
Could anyone please advice me on what should I do? Feel the form admitting that I have worked without permission or can I just skip this paragraph?
Many thanks for your advice.
Lidia
Hubby cannot sponsor you unless you have done Surinder Singh as BCs are not normally treated as EEA nationals (in this context) under UK law. (Even before Brexit).lidia666 wrote:Thanks for your prompt reply.
Would I have to fill the part about the WRS if I applied for the PR via the sponsor route (through my British husband)?
Also with the WRS they are some cases of exemption/ not being required to register under the WRS- do you know what they are?
And the last one, where can I find the earlier version of the PR form?
Thanks in advance,
Lidia