EEA2 EU spouse unable to work! Please help.

[verity]

My husband is a citizen of an EU country and I am not. We are applying for EEA2. When we moved to the UK I had an EEA Family Permit and found a job immediately. I have a permanent full-time contract with a reputable company. My husband found work after a couple of months and we submitted our application based on his status as a worker, (November 2010) included all the required evidence he had a job (contract, stamp/signature from employer, payslips)

Now for the challenging part. I apologize for the slightly frantic state of this query. I am in a pretty miserable situation at the moment:

My EU husband worked for 3 months, then lost his job. He has now slipped into a deep depression. I am both incredibly worried about his mental health state and also worried that when my application is reviewed, they will discover he no longer has a job, require information about his new job or jobseeker status, which we won’t be able to provide then I will lose my job, husband, home and be kicked out of the country. He applied as a jobseeker about one month ago, but missed the required update appointment. He has no proof that he applied and I’m not sure what to do. He is in a dreadful state and I don’t see him getting a job soon, though I am hopeful. I’m worried he may even abandon me here in the UK. We’ve only been married a little over 1 ½ years so I wouldn’t qualify on my own if he abandoned me. I have a good stable and progressive job, but its not highly specialized or on the labor shortage list where I could qualify to apply for a work permit.

I had thought that perhaps I could buy us some private insurance and submit my job information (contract and payslips) to that this would buy him some time to seek therapy and get back to a healthy mind state to enable him to get back to work.

Do you think that me earning between £19 - £25K per year could qualify me as being the provider and we could claim him as self-sufficient? I don’t have much of a bank balance, to be honest. We are living off my income at the moment and it doesn’t leave much at the end of the month. Will they require me to prove how much is in my account?

Finally, do you know if I have any options on my own? In the very worst case scenario, if my husband were to lose it completely and abandon me here in the UK somehow, will I have any options apart from being deported?

Thank you very much for reading all this. Again, I am sorry to be so frantic. The love of my life is practically suicidal and furthermore, I’m just trying to hold it together, take care of the home, finances and do well at work despite knowing I’m at risk of losing it all. I have a great job and a good life here in the UK.

[86ti]

I would think that self-sufficiency (incl. the private insurance for both of you) on the basis of your income is possible esp. since you have a permanent contract. Savings, etc. are not required. Nevertheless you should try to get your husband to be a properly registered job-seeker.

As for the private component, sorry, there is hardly anything I could say except that you may need to seek professional advice.

[verity]

Thank you for a swift reply. Its what I though. I think I will do both, self-sufficiency and keep encouraging my husband to get in the jobseekers system.