Applying for Permanent Residency after EEA2 if regs change

[apricot1234]

I am in the process of applying for my residence card under the EEA2 form and I had a few questions for the period after receiving the residence card. The questions are below:

1) After obtaining the residence card which allows the spouse of the EEA national to live in the UK for 5 years let us say the regulations change or whereby Britain exits the EU would this mean that after the 5 years the EEA national and the spouse would have to leave the UK or would they still be given PR after 5 years since this was the regulation at the time of application for the residence card.


2) In order to gain permanent residency after receiving the residence card it states that the EEA national must be exercising treaty rights for a continuous period of 5 years. Does the spouse/partner also need to be paying taxes or have a job for 5 continuous years to qualify for a PR?



If you could help me answer these questions that would be great.

[sum1]

ad 1) Pointless speculation as nobody knows what's going to happen. BTW, it is not the RC that allows the spouse to live in the UK. It is the relationship to the EEA national and them exercising their treaty rights.

ad 2) The non-EEA family member must be resident for a continuous period of 5 years. A job would be only relevant if the EEA national relies on the spouses income to exercise treaty rights as a self-sufficient person.

[st pauli]

Britain will not leave the EU and even a new approach to freedom of movement rights isn't really a credible possibility - beyond simply applying the letter of the existing regs more strictly (i.e. 90 days and you're out if no job or funds) which has started to be talked about by the likes of Spain and may be replicated by other member states, not least Britain. That's about it. Freedom of movement rights are a pretty huge deal you know.

[jotter]

Britain will not leave the EU and even a new approach to freedom of movement rights isn't really a credible possibility - beyond simply applying the letter of the existing regs more strictly (i.e. 90 days and you're out if no job or funds) which has started to be talked about by the likes of Spain and may be replicated by other member states, not least Britain. That's about it. Freedom of movement rights are a pretty huge deal you know.

While you are certainly correct about the freedom of movement being fundamental to the EU, let's not categorically say that Britain won't leave the EU. It is, after all, within Britain's power to leave if it came to an in/out referendum and there are plenty of people in the UK who would vote out, particularly if Europe remains the economic mess that it is right now. It's unlikely that anything major will happen before the next election in 2015. I think that's about as much as we can say for now. I think the only thing that would really bury the EU in/out issue for the foreseeable future would be either the removal of the Conservatives from office or a marked improvement in the economic situation in Europe, such that the cost/benefit for the UK looks more promising.

[st pauli]

Britain will not leave the EU and even a new approach to freedom of movement rights isn't really a credible possibility - beyond simply applying the letter of the existing regs more strictly (i.e. 90 days and you're out if no job or funds) which has started to be talked about by the likes of Spain and may be replicated by other member states, not least Britain. That's about it. Freedom of movement rights are a pretty huge deal you know.

While you are certainly correct about the freedom of movement being fundamental to the EU, let's not categorically say that Britain won't leave the EU. It is, after all, within Britain's power to leave if it came to an in/out referendum and there are plenty of people in the UK who would vote out, particularly if Europe remains the economic mess that it is right now. It's unlikely that anything major will happen before the next election in 2015. I think that's about as much as we can say for now. I think the only thing that would really bury the EU in/out issue for the foreseeable future would be either the removal of the Conservatives from office or a marked improvement in the economic situation in Europe, such that the cost/benefit for the UK looks more promising.

You're correct of course, although the chance of the Conservatives forming a majority government after the next election seems remote. It can't just be called mid-term blues either when the gripes are based around things that are forecast to only get worse. Even after 2015, and the Conservatives defying the odds to form part of a government and then deciding to call a referendum their party leader seemingly doesn't actually want (in/out referendum) - a majority of the electorate would have to vote out (touch and go, could go either way) and then finally having voted out we'd have to buck the trend of other successful non-members like Switzerland and Norway by not signing up to/retaining freedom of movement rights. All of this needing to happen leads me to say it's pretty much as remote a possibility as it ever was, economic situation in Europe notwithstanding.