Advice; Route for naturalisation as British Citizen (Polish)

[lidia666]

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

[chocolateorange88]

The marriage route would be the easier option in my opinion as for that, employment is not a requirement for it. But there are more people with more extensive knowledge that will know better than me. Do you have Permanent Residence?

[lidia666]

Thank you for your reply. I don't have the document certifying the permanent residence.

Thanks,

Lidia

[chocolateorange88]

I believe you need to have PR to be eligible but i could be wrong. Please await some more concrete advice.

[Ziuta]

Easiest option would be applying in 2016 as married to BC. If you've never registered with WRS earliest when you can apply would be 2017, 5 years after WRS expired and 1 year PR (which I believe is automatic after 5 years residency in UK - that is for EEA)
Hope it helps.

[noajthan]

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

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.

[noajthan]

Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... n_2015.pdf

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

[lidia666]

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.

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

[noajthan]

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

Lidia,
I don't claim to be a PR expert (my wife is non-EEA national so followed an immigration rules-route & not EU law).
But I understand treaty rights need to be exercised continuously by 'qualified persons' (student, worker, self-sufficient, etc).

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.

Worst case, it's try around this time next year.

So, over to the PR & EU law experts

[Torex]

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.

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.

She will be eligible to apply for naturalisation on 3-year (spouse of BC) rule when gained PR status, which would be 5 years after WRS was abolished.

[secret.simon]

Did you have either comprehensive health insurance or an EHIC card issued by the Polish authorities during your time as a student?

[lidia666]

Did you have either comprehensive health insurance or an EHIC card issued by the Polish authorities during your time as a student?

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]

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.

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.

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.

[lidia666]

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.

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.

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.

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

[noajthan]

...

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

WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).
But to acquire UK citizenship one of the requirements is you do need to be 'settled';
for non-EEA nationals that usually means having ILR, for EEA nationals it means achieving PR.

Having a British spouse does not exempt you from being settled in UK, it's still a critical requirement.
Hope it makes sense.

[secret.simon]

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?

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.

Secondly, you were not married to your future husband then. Even if you were able to prove a durable relationship with him from 2007-2009 (the required two years for a durable relationship to be proved), I do not think that would matter under EEA Regulations, as he is a British citizen, not an EEA citizen himself.

Broadly, you can not mix-and-match between EEA Regulations and Immigration Rules (for spouses of British citizens) until you are settled in the UK (PR for EEA citizens/ILR for non-EEA citizens). I'm not even sure that you can choose one over the other, in your case, as you are an EEA citizen and hence will automatically be governed by the EEA Regulations.

Citizenship is a completely separate process and hence you can apply as the spouse of a British citizen even after getting PR under EEA Regulations.

[secret.simon]

WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).

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.

Similarly, comprehensive health insurance or a non-UK EHIC card is required for the student years to count towards exercising treaty rights

[lidia666]

WRS in itself is not compulsory for naturalisation, (you could have been a self sufficient person for example).

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.

Similarly, comprehensive health insurance or a non-UK EHIC card is required for the student years to count towards exercising treaty rights

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

[noajthan]

...

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

Sadly being settled in the legalistic immigration sense does not just mean "settled down".

Property ownership is not a factor in naturalisation.
There is a need to show "good character" and employment history is now taken into consideration as one indicator of good/legal behaviour.
This includes your PAYE or other tax records. So being a reliable tax payer 'helps' in some way.

An EHIC card will only be useful to you now if, when naturalised, you travel abroad and need to use another EEA/European health service.

Your LITUK certificate does not expire. If your name has changed since taking the test you need to show the link between names (eg submit marriage certificate).

Good luck.

[lidia666]

Sadly being settled in the legalistic immigration sense does not just mean "settled down".

Property ownership is not a factor in naturalisation.
There is a need to show "good character" and employment history is now taken into consideration as one indicator of good/legal behaviour.
This includes your PAYE or other tax records. So being a reliable tax payer 'helps' in some way.

An EHIC card will only be useful to you now if, when naturalised, you travel abroad and need to use another EEA/European health service.

Your LITUK certificate does not expire. If your name has changed since taking the test you need to show the link between names (eg submit marriage certificate).

Good luck.[/quote]

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

[noajthan]

...

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

Lidia,
There are other posts on this forum from EEA A8 people who didn't register for WRS &/or didn't have CSI (if a student); they also fall short when claiming PR. But some of them have been here in UK for fewer years than you & so will just need to wait longer to make up the time.

I haven't seen many (any) recent posts in this forum about 'illegal' EEA workers being penalised or refused naturalisation due to WRS 'violations'.

In relation to your employment history, HMRC already has your tax records & will be sharing them with HO when you apply to naturalise.
Anyway, you were arguably a student as well as a worker until early 2011 (when you graduated).
From then it's a very short period until WRS was abolished.

You may have been ill-advised (or not advised at all ), firstly whilst at uni (about the need for your national EHIC card) & then by your first employer (about WRS). That is all.

In meantime hope you're not losing too much sleep over this.
Hopefully your co-EEA nationals who have travelled this path already can also comment & reassure you.

[lidia666]

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

[noajthan]

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

I don't think HO will remove the question.
People don't just apply for confirmation of PR over past 5 years, some members who came to UK in 1990s or early 2000s are still (for some reason ) getting round to applying for DCPR etc.

You have to reply to the questions in the form.
And sign the Declaration vouching for completeness and veracity.

Alternately, use an earlier (simpler) form. Its not a legal requirement to use the latest 'monster' form.

[lidia666]

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

[noajthan]

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

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).

Just google WRS exemptions - that's all I can do.

Look on Gov UK archive website for earlier forms.
Don't forget to use HO address from current form.
Also pay correct fee not some old fee from years ago.
And include biometrics page from current form or application will be refused..

For old forms, search Gov UK archives - start here:
eea-route-applications/137-pages-eea-ap ... v#p1175013