Exercising Treaty Rights in two categories?

[Shef]

Hello forum,

Kindly enlighten me if it is possible for EEA national to exercise treaty rights in two different categories at the same time.

Wifey is Bulgarian and has been self employed for the past few years and she has a registration certificate as a self employed person, but she recently started studying in a college and want to register as a student with HO without losing her self employment status.

She'll like to register as a student in other to be able to work for 20hours per week and be employed for a year so as to have unrestricted access to the UK job market (Romanians and Bulgarians are restricted) but will not like to stop her self employment also.

The question is can she exercise treaty rights in two categories and have registration documents for both? I couldn't find any info about this question on the net.

Also will she need to submit a comprehensive medical insurance when applying as a student even though she is still working in a self employed capacity?

Your thoughts and advice would be highly appreciated.

[86ti]

I think you can only register under a single category and you can get only one document.

For the self-employment category she will have to show sufficient income and payment of NI contributions.

For the student category she will have to show sufficient income too and will also need comprehensive sickness insurance for both of you.

[Obie]

There is no restriction on the number of rights under the treaty that one can exercise. However the right/s being exercised, has to genuine, and not just for the purpose of circumvention. She has to be genuinely in business and pursuing studies at the same time.

[Shef]

Obie, I get your point. She is in no way circumventing the law as she has been genuinely trading for 2 years and she started last month at college and definitely not mainly for registration certificate purpose but to improve her English for future purposes.

But the rule that applies to Bulgarians and Romanians states if she works for a whole year as an employed person, she will have unrestricted access to take up any employment. She's been self employed for a while but she will want a chance to look for a good job after her studies without any restrictions.

[Obie]

Under the circumstance you have mentioned, she will not qualify for unrestricted access to the job market, unless she fall into the highly skilled category, or has accured 5 years of lawful residence under community law, and hence acquired the right of Permanent residence.

Please accept i was not insinuating she was seeking to circumvent any rules. I was merely stating the position of the rules.

If you are someone with a settled status, or British citizen, or A2 national who has been a dependant on your A2 national Treaty right status, then she will be able to benefit from your unrestricted access to employment status after a period of time.

[Shef]

Thanks Obie. No ill feelings but I beg to differ about not being able to have unrestricted access...after being employed in the UK for a continuous period of 12 months (including students workers), Bulgarian and Romanian nationals can apply on form BR1 for a registration cert (blue card) which grant them unrestricted access to jobs in the UK.

The question that remain unanswered is will HO issue registration cert as a student after issuing as self employed 2 years ago?

Thanks once more Obie.

[Obie]

That is strictly speaking incorrect. The rules are like this:

1. If the A2 national (Bulgarian or Romanian National ) had a live to remain before 2007 when these countries joined the EU, then they will be allowed to work unrestricted.

2. If they obtained work permit, then after 12 months of continuous employment, they will qualify for BR1 and have unrestricted access to employment.

3. Student 20 hours working, are not included in the 12 months continuous employment, as these people are not considered as worker, they are student, and only allowed to work inorder for the UK not to fall foul of the rule on discrimination.

I suggest you read through the rules from page 23, thoroughly. The rules ae quite complicating, but it should improve your understanding.

[Shef]

Extract from SECTION 9 on FORM BR1: Documentary Evidence

9.6 If you are applying for a registration certificate as a Bulgarian or Romanian national who has completed 12 month's continuous lawful employment in the UK:

Wage slips covering the last 12 months
Contract(s) of employment covering the last 12 months
Letter(s) from employer(s) confirming employment covering last 12 months
Students: Evidence that you have continued to exercise your treaty right as a student.

[Obie]

I think you are getting this confused and i don't blame you. The UK authorities seem to have deliberately set out to make things as complicating for these people as possible.


What that 12 months refer to is, family member of A2 national (Yellow Card Registration Certificate), whose family members (A2 Nationas) have been issued with a (Blue Registration certificate) valid for 12 months.

After that 12 months the A2 family members of the Yellow card holder will have unrestricted access to the Job market, if they can prove that the Student , Self Employed or Self- Sufficient A2 nationals on whom they are dependent, has been exercising treaty rights under this category for 12 months.

After these A2 nationals have acquired the right to unrestricted access to Job market by virtue of the Yellow Card Holder's rights. Then the Yellow card holders can become dependant on these people who were previously dependant on them, and they themselves will have unrestricited access to the Job market. Instead of these A2 nationals (Yellow Card Holder) showing evidence they had been working for 12 continuous months, they will rather be required to show they have been studying for 12 months complete, inorder to gain unrestricted access to the UK job market.

Quite complicating, but that is how it works, i am afraid.


Believe you me, if the rules were that easy for A2 national, there would certainly be little or no complaint at all.