EEA1 (Registration Cer): Refusede to provide bank statements

[zab12]

Someone applied for EEA1: Registration Certificate with all the required documents including the exercise of treaty rights by working in the UK. No response or decision from the Home Office for almost 4 months. After 4 months, the applicant left his job and needed to travel abroad and asked his passport back from the Home Office. Home office sent his passport back by telling him his EEA1 application would take almost a year to be dealt with. However, they picked up his case (thinking he left permanently) and sent him a letter that their enquiries reveal that he was not exercising his treaty rights. So they asked him to provide evidence that he was exercising his treaty rights. The applicant responded by saying he was exercising treaty rights as a 'job seeker' and sent them the relevant evidence. Home Office asked for his bank statements saying they wanted to be sure he wouldn't become burden on public funds. The applicant refused by saying EU law doesn't require him to provide his bank statements. Home office refused his EEA1 application. My questions are:

1: The relevant EU law no where require that an EU citizen has to provide his bank statements in order to exercise his treaty
rights under the 'job seeker' category, particularly when they have completed intial 3 months in a member state. What basis
the Home Office has to demand bank statement in this case?

2: Registration Certificate supposed to be issued immediately, but Home Office was in default by delaying it for months. Had they
acted according to law by dealing this application immediately, the Registration Certificate would have been issued
a lot earlier when the applicant was in employment. Can Home Office take advantage of their own wrong?

3: It is against the spirit of EU law (as ECJ cases indicate) that HO delayed the EEA1 application, but it became active when
they suspected that the applicant may not be exercising his treaty rights anymore. In other words, the policy of start
dealing with the application when it can be refused but not when it can be granted. Any comments on this point?

4: Anyone has any experience of Statutory Review by the Home Office?If yes, what is the procedure?

I understand he can apply again once he starts work, but the issue is whether the Home Office's decision is wrong.

[John]

Your questions are reasonable, but I have one as well.

Why are you bothering to make an application on form EEA1. It is entirely voluntary, and any Registration Certificate is merely confirmatory, and does not give you any more rights ... it merely confirms you have those rights.

So why did you apply? What were you hoping to achieve?

[zab12]

Thank you John for the reply. I understand it is not compulsory but he applied to keep his record in this country. He is also aware that it may help him as an evidence of his length of stay in this country for PR/Nationality purpose.