pocket_rockets wrote:Hey everyone!
I'm an EU national who moved to UK as a full-time student in 2010. It's been over 5 years now and I want to get the British citizenship.
I've passed the Life in the UK test, filled all the form and booked the checking service. However, they told me that I need permanent residency before applying, which I thought was represented by my registration certificate (also known as blue card). I was obviously wrong but there's one thing that I find strange.
They told me that I need to have exercised treaty rights for the last 6 years, which is what the AN form says. However, if you go to the last 2 pages of the same form where they list all the required documents, it says that you only need to prove it for the past 5 years which confused me. Any ideas why they contradict themselves in the AN form?
Anyway, I'm now planning to get the permanent residency first. The problem lies with the sickness insurance (odd way to describe medical cover). I have a health insurance from my home country but when I moved here I didn't transfer it which means that I can't prove that I exercised treaty rights whilst I was a student from 2010 to 2013.
However, during my uni days I was working part time. To be fair, it was a 0 hour contract and I would get a shift every now and then. Sometimes, there were 4-6 weeks gaps in between shifts. I moved in Sept 2010 and I started working in Feb 2011 as I had to wait for my student work visa (yellow card) to be approved. I didn't pay tax as I was making less than £10k a year but I still paid NI which was my contribution towards certain state benefits, including the NHS. There was also a gap of employment of about 4-5 months in my last year of uni.
I don't have any payslips but I was thinking to call HMRC to get them to send me P60s and what not to prove that I paid NI, hence contributed to the NHS. Not sure if it counts for anything, but I never claimed benefits or any sort of welfare.
Based on your experience and knowledge, do you guys think my application would be successful? I've called HO but they couldn't give me a definite answer, they just said if I worked part time then that means I exercised treaty rights. But as mentioned above, there were quite a few gaps which worries me.
I've done everything else for the citizenship, so I'm willing to risk it and send the permanent residency application anyway rather than wait 2-3 more years. It's not the end of the world if I lose £65.
What do you guys think? I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks!
No, a RC is not a confirmation of PR (nor is it a visa). It's simply a confirmation of the holder's status in UK
at the time of issue.
It is
5 years as
qualified person exercising
treaty rights continuously in UK that is required to acquire PR (
automatically).
If not married to a BC you have to be free of
immigration time restrictions for
12 months;
as an EEA national that means having PR.
Note Once someone has PR they don't
have to exercise treaty rights anymore (they are settled already). So you don't need proof of 6 years of exercising treaty rights, just 5.
Summary: get PR in 5 years, then hold it for 1 year.
You may be able to claim you were a worker for some of the time in UK
BUT the gaps are going to be problematic;
especially if you can't show you were then a 'jobseeker' in those gaps, (ie registered & actively looking for work, etc).
Going back to student category; did you have an EHIC from your country for your period of studies
At a pinch that can substitute for a full CSI policy especially if, at the time, you 'intended' to leave UK after completing your studies.
Note for students studying before 2012 (as you were);
although it was a requirement for a student, having CSI was not enforced until 2012.
When the need for CSI started being enforced there was a
transitional arrangement put in place, this is contingent on the applicant for PR holding a valid RC at the time.
This may help you.
btw CSI is not about access to NHS it's just a requirement for immigration purposes.
And paying NI or tax doesn't help in the need for CSI in connection with treaty rights.
(Nor does never going to see a doctor!).
As a last resort you could shoot for 'self-sufficient' person but again that category requires evidence of CSI (& no transitional arrangement available there).
So self-sufficiency is a long-shot and the gaps in your employment are problematic (even if HO accept your parttime work counts as exercising treaty rights
instead of rejecting it as 'marginal').
Let's see what can be done about your student status
To summarise...
You may still qualify in the student category of qualified person exercising treaty rights (
if you had RC on/before 2012) due to the transitional arrangement.
Something to dig into (as well as seeing if you had EHIC at the time).
When was your RC issued
Your PR clock may then have started in 2010 so PR to be acquired sometime in 2015.
As you rightly say it's worth investing £65 to check out the quality of your application & your supporting evidence.
Hold PR for 12 months & shoot for privilege of citizenship sometime in 2016.
That is the timeline unless you do something drastic & marry a BC (
);
then no need to hold PR for 12 months.
This assumes all other requirements for citizenship can be or have been met by that time too;
ie as well as residency:
absences within limits, proof physically present in UK 5 years before date of application, sound mind, good character, referees, KOLL & etc).
Good luck.
