EEA Partner Exercising Treaty Rights - Clarification Needed

[breadfan]

I'm a non-EEA national married to an EEA national. I'm looking to apply for ILR (form EEA4) and it states that my EEA partner needs to demonstrate that they have been exercising treaty rights in the UK for 5 (consecutive - I've been told) years.

The form lists valid categories:
• Worker
• Self-employed
• Student
• Economically self-sufficient
• Retired
• Incapacitated

My question is, can they have exercised more than one of these categories within those 5 years? In my case, my wife was a "worker" then a "student" then a "worker" and then a sort of "student/worker". Can that be classified at 5 consecutive years of exercising treaty rights?

Her details (roughly):
• Working for 1 year (receptionist)
• Then did a master's degree for a year (did some part-time work but not throughout the whole of the year)
• Then went back to work for 1 more year (call centre)
• Then enrolled in midwifery NHS programme (6 months in theory/pracitice - receiving a stipend) and now 6 months in residency, receiving payment from the NHS.

Any clarification much appreciated.

[Marco 72]

Yes, that should be no problem. I got my ILR last year, after more than four years spent as:

- student (most of which time I was working as well)
- economically self sufficient, while I was looking for a job
- full time worker.

Yes, they need to be consecutive years, and they have since been increased to five. I applied for ILR for my wife and myself, and a Residence Permit for myself, in case my ILR was denied. Surprisingly, I received both RP and ILR. So now I have a RP which expires in 4 years, and ILR, which never expires. However, my American wife did not get her ILR but only a "right to reside in the United Kingdom with your husband who is a European Economic Area national exercising a Treaty right in the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Rome", valid for five years. This is most likely what you are going to get. Once your wife gets ILR you can apply for a spouse visa as the husband of an ILR holder. Then two years later you can apply for ILR for yourself, if you want to.

[breadfan]

See now that's a bit troubling that your wife didn't get an ILR even though she applied for one. Cuz I'd be in the same boat as your wife. Did she have a right to reside permit and lived in the UK for 4/5 years prior to her ILR application?

I had a family permit for 1 year (in 2002) and have had the right to reside permit since 2003. At the moment I'm a bit over 4 years in the UK and when it comes the time next year, I'd like to get an ILR and not an extension on my right to reside. I wonder if your change in status (student/self sufficient/worker) had anything to do with the decision.

Furthermore, the new 04/06 regulations state pretty clearly that the EEA national does not need to have an ILR for the non-EEA to get one. It even says so in the EEA4 form (Section 3, bottom of page 7).