Proof of address and proving finances as student

[tuutikki]

Hi everyone,

First off, this forum has been a great source of info so thank you! I have a few questions I've not been able to find the answer to though, and any help would be much appreciated!

I'm applying for the permanent residence card as an EEA national. The 5-year period I'm using is one where I've been a student.

1. Does anyone know if letters from universities can be used as proof of address? I know they're not listed in the guidance but I'm struggling to find other proof for a couple of the years. What about certificates for help with health costs from the NHS? Again, they're not GP letters but still from the NHS... Related to this, my GP said they can provide an account of my previous addresses and stamp this, do you think this would be accepted as proof of address?

2. Proving I've been able to provide for myself while being a student. I have bank statements showing this and I know bank statements are in the list of "at least one of the following" forms of proof. However, I was wondering if it matters to them what the source of this money is? I have received money both from my parents and the Finnish government (a study grant). However, in both cases the money was first transferred to a Finnish account I had and I then transferred the money to my UK account. Therefore, on my UK bank statement this money is displayed as coming "from me" (i.e. my Finnish account). Would I still need to provide proof of the grant from Finland separately and have a written statement from my parents saying they've given me money? The latter in particular is sort of worrying me, the guidance states that if you get money from a relative they also need to provide proof of income like bank statements and pay slips. For my parents these would all be in Finnish and would need to be translated etc. So in short, would bank statements be enough in my case?

3. I live in Scotland. Should I include letters from SAAS saying they've paid my tuition fees? I don't have a letter for each year and it's standard procedure for SAAS in Scotland to pay EU nationals' tuition fees anyway.

4. There is a 3-month period between my undergrad and masters when I was not a student nor did I work. Do I need to justify this somehow? Would it be an issue?

Any help/advice would be much appreciated, thanks for reading!!

[LilyLalilu]

Did you have CSI or a non-UK EHIC whilst being a student?

1) You do not need proof of address but proof of residence. You could use a 'confirmation of enrolment letter' from your university. You could also use bank statements (order from bank for £10), utility bills or tenancy/license agreements from your student accommodation.

2) I thought a self-declaration was sufficient?!

4) Yes, this could be an issue as you are expected to exercise treaty rights continuously. You may be able to apply a self-sufficient if you had sufficient funds and private health insurance or a non-UK EHIC during those 3 months.

[tuutikki]

Did you have CSI or a non-UK EHIC whilst being a student?

1) You do not need proof of address but proof of residence. You could use a 'confirmation of enrolment letter' from your university. You could also use bank statements (order from bank for £10), utility bills or tenancy/license agreements from your student accommodation.

2) I thought a self-declaration was sufficient?!

4) Yes, this could be an issue as you are expected to exercise treaty rights continuously. You may be able to apply a self-sufficient if you had sufficient funds and private health insurance or a non-UK EHIC during those 3 months.

Thank you for the swift reply! I had non-UK EHIC, just been in touch with the relevant people in Finland to see if I can get some sort of certificate to prove this.

1. That's encouraging, I have random uni letters such as confirming a change of faculty etc. Cos of the EHIC thing I've had to use a 5-year period from ages ago so not so easy to find the proof. Today I went to a bank I used to have an account at to beg for statements and waiting to hear back...

2. I wasn't sure about the self-declaration, would a notary just sign that without proof of income? That would essentially mean I'd have to get the documentation I could use as evidence to send to HO anyway haha. I'd be relieved to hear this wasn't the case though! Also, the guidance says:

If a relative, friend or other person has been financially supporting you/your sponsor, you must
enclose a signed and dated letter from that person confirming that they have been supporting
you/your sponsor and for how long. You must also submit evidence of that person’s finances as
above.

So I guess that sort of threw me off but maybe I'm overthinking it.

4. I see, would I have to have some sort of separate declaration for that or could it be part of the self-declaration? I had both insurance and sufficient funds during the three months.

Again, thank you so much!!

[LilyLalilu]

1.) Just contact your Registry/School Office and they will give you a letter, should only take a few days.

2) I don't think it needs to be signed by a notary public, just needs to be a declaration by yourself/the person who financially supported you. And then just include a few bank statements as proof to be on the safe side.

4) I was self-sufficient for a bit for my PR and included: One bank statement showing funds and proof of private health insurance. No need for a self-declaration for the self-sufficient period, that's only required whilst being a student.

[tuutikki]

1.) Just contact your Registry/School Office and they will give you a letter, should only take a few days.

2) I don't think it needs to be signed by a notary public, just needs to be a declaration by yourself/the person who financially supported you. And then just include a few bank statements as proof to be on the safe side.

4) I was self-sufficient for a bit for my PR and included: One bank statement showing funds and proof of private health insurance. No need for a self-declaration for the self-sufficient period.

Great, thank you! The guidance does say it needs to be signed though unfortunately:

"(Student only) A declaration, signed and dated by the relevant EEA national, confirming that they have/had sufficient financial resources to cover them and any family members living in the UK (if applicable) not to become a burden on the UK’s social assistance system during their period of stay in the UK as a student – this should be witnessed and counter-signed by a Commissioner for Oaths, public notary, or magistrate."

[LilyLalilu]

It SHOULD be but doesn't have to be. But if you're happy to pay for it, it certainly won't do any harm to get it countersigned

[tuutikki]

It SHOULD be but doesn't have to be. But if you're happy to pay for it, it certainly won't do any harm to get it countersigned

Ah, wording is everything! I thought I'd read everything through about 50 times by now but still clearly not paying enough attention to detail!

[tuutikki]

Ok, so after mulling this over and thinking about the wording (!), it looks like I'd really have to get bank statements from my parents to prove they've been able to provide for me (cos proving that they've done just that clearly isn't enough, ugh...) cos the guidance says you MUST do that in addition to a signed declaration by them.

And of course, as they're in Finnish, I'd have to get them translated. I don't even know if my parents would be willing to send those off (they're old school and like to keep originals of everything, something I've learnt the value of in this process too haha). Do you think I'd stand any chance with just a declaration from them? Or even just my bank statements? I mean those prove that I've had money. But I guess that would be too simple haha

[tuutikki]

In case this is useful for someone else in my situation, I called the HO and was told that a declaration by my parents plus bank statements showing their name and the sum. (In my case this means obtaining bank statements from Finland in addition to my UK bank statements. He said one Finnish bank statement per year would be sufficient.) Hope this helps someone!

[halfpint91]

I'm wondering about the same thing at the moment. I'm about to send my application and I have gotten bank statements for all years when in uni. Most of the time I had a part time job enough to cover basics, but I also always had my Bulgarian card in which my parents could send me money if needed. So on my bank statements there are a couple of short gaps where i have been using my other account. Would these bank statements be enough or I'll need to provide anything else? If so can I just sign a declaration myself? I'm worried that if I have to wait for more documents being sent over I'm dragging my application and with March 2019 coming quick I want to be able to sort out my citizenship application after this as quickly as possible. I'll be grateful for any advice!