Maternity Leave and Practicing EU Treaty Rights

[newJoiner]

Hi,

My husband and I will be moving to the UK soon. I am EEA (Austria), he is non-eea. He will be working while I will be home on maternity leave.

I am new to all of this.. Understand we need to apply for my husband's 5 years residence card during the first 6 months. A few questions:

1. I will be receiving maternity benefits from Irish Welfare (have been working in Ireland for the past 2 years). Does this qualify for 'practicing EU treaty rights'? Should I say I am still (officially) employed by by Irish employer and present previous payslips, or should I say I'm self-sufficient? Should I mention the maternity leave at all? Should I say I'm seeking for a job? What's best?

2. My husband family permit is valid for 6 months but I understand processing might take longer. Will he be able to go out and back in once that permit is expired? Is there another type of permit that needs to be acquired while waiting for the HO resolution?

Thanks!

[86ti]

1. I will be receiving maternity benefits from Irish Welfare (have been working in Ireland for the past 2 years). Does this qualify for 'practicing EU treaty rights'? Should I say I am still (officially) employed by by Irish employer and present previous payslips, or should I say I'm self-sufficient? Should I mention the maternity leave at all? Should I say I'm seeking for a job? What's best?

You certainly can move between member states while on maternity leave though I am not sure how long you can keep up this status (my guess would be as long as the Irish are paying). Self-sufficiency would unfortunately mean that you would have to take out private health insurance but I do not think that you should be classified as such. If you are indeed a job seeker register your unemployment and collect any proof of your job seeking.

2. My husband family permit is valid for 6 months but I understand processing might take longer. Will he be able to go out and back in once that permit is expired? Is there another type of permit that needs to be acquired while waiting for the HO resolution?

First of all, you do not need to apply for anything in the UK though it is strongly recommended for your husband. You will only receive a CoA (=certificate of application) after application, nothing else. If your husband needs to travel while the application is still pending (he would have to ask for the passport back) he would need another EEA FP to reenter. Family permits can only be applied for abroad. If he is a non-visa national he may be able to reenter but must have documents proofing his status.

[newJoiner]

My husband is a non-visa-required national, the only reason we applied for a visa now is that we do require a 'family permit' if he wants to wok in the UK. So if i understand you correctly - Once his family permit expires and his application is still processing he can basically go out and back in presenting his acknowledgment of application papers or whatever they're giving?

[86ti]

My husband is a non-visa-required national, the only reason we applied for a visa now is that we do require a 'family permit' if he wants to wok in the UK. So if i understand you correctly - Once his family permit expires and his application is still processing he can basically go out and back in presenting his acknowledgment of application papers or whatever they're giving?

Practically, this is possible though legally he would be required to obtain the permit. This may seem 'ambiguous' at first but the crucial point is that immigration officers can't just refuse entry to family members. If those family members can proof their status by other means they must be admitted. For that purpose he should carry with him the CoA (if you have it already), the marrage certificate in an appropriate form, a copy of your passport, proof of your presence in the UK (utility bills, etc.) and possibly proof of you exercising your treaty rights (may be difficult if not working or self-employed). This list just provides a few examples as it is difficult to guess what a particular immigration officer expects to see. In practice, you may also run into IOs not knowing their rules too well. See this document for more details.