Naturalisation for EEA family member - which RC to attach?

[AmitLondon]

Dear all,
I've found this website through Google and I've been reading the useful information on it (with many thanks to contributors and moderators).
However I've got a doubt:
I'm an EEA National and I have been living in the UK with my non-EEA husband for almost 5 years, exercising Treaty rights through employment.
My husband holds a Residence Card (EEA2) and is about to apply for his Permanent Residence Card (EEA4) in the next few weeks.
He would also like to apply for British citizenship one year after his P.R.C. is granted (fingers crossed obviously!)
Section 2.4 of the naturalisation AN form states “Please Note: Whilst the submission of a document certifying permanent residence or a permanent residence card is not mandatory, failure to submit one may lead to delays in reaching a decision on your application.”
Are they referring to the Permanent Residence Card that HE will (fingers crossed) receive or are they instead recommending that I (EEA National) apply for a residence card via EEA3 and include MY permanent residence card in HIS naturalisation application?
The reason I'm asking is because I was not planning on applying for a permanent residence card for myself (and I won't be applying for British citizenship either) unless it is recommended for HIS application that I ALSO apply.
I understand it is not mandatory to include a residence card at all, but since it is recommended to make the naturalisation application smoother (and avoid to prove the exercising of Treaty rights) we decided to wait the 12 months after the PRC is received.
However we are still not sure if I should also apply for one. In taht case we will apply jointly.
Many thanks to all!

[Jambo]

The wording in the form is not great. They refer to HIS PR Confirmation. You don't need to apply for one (so you can save £55) although you wil need to provide all your documents (including passport/ID card) to support his application.

If he waits 12 months after PRC, he can skip sections 2.4-2.6 when filling in the form.

[jotter]

Dear all,
I've found this website through Google and I've been reading the useful information on it (with many thanks to contributors and moderators).
However I've got a doubt:
I'm an EEA National and I have been living in the UK with my non-EEA husband for almost 5 years, exercising Treaty rights through employment.
My husband holds a Residence Card (EEA2) and is about to apply for his Permanent Residence Card (EEA4) in the next few weeks.
He would also like to apply for British citizenship one year after his P.R.C. is granted (fingers crossed obviously!)
Section 2.4 of the naturalisation AN form states “Please Note: Whilst the submission of a document certifying permanent residence or a permanent residence card is not mandatory, failure to submit one may lead to delays in reaching a decision on your application.”
Are they referring to the Permanent Residence Card that HE will (fingers crossed) receive or are they instead recommending that I (EEA National) apply for a residence card via EEA3 and include MY permanent residence card in HIS naturalisation application?
The reason I'm asking is because I was not planning on applying for a permanent residence card for myself (and I won't be applying for British citizenship either) unless it is recommended for HIS application that I ALSO apply.
I understand it is not mandatory to include a residence card at all, but since it is recommended to make the naturalisation application smoother (and avoid to prove the exercising of Treaty rights) we decided to wait the 12 months after the PRC is received.
However we are still not sure if I should also apply for one. In taht case we will apply jointly.
Many thanks to all!

They are referring to the permanent residence card (or sticker) of the actual person applying, so in the case of your husband it will be the permanent residence sticker he gets in his passport assuming his EEA4 application is successful. Whether you have a PR card or not will have nothing to do with it, so no need for you to apply for EEA3 on that score. Yes, it is a good idea to wait the 12 months after he gets his sticker so that you don't have to resubmit the treaty rights evidence at naturalisation time. It also means you don't need to fill in the section 2.4-2.6 on form AN.

I've followed the same path, applied alone for EEA4 as there didn't seem any need for my wife to go for EEA3 then waited the 12 months and I've now put in my BC application a couple of weeks ago with just the PR sticker in place of any treaty rights evidence. I must say that in hindsight, with the whole EU referendum issue blowing up 12 months ago, it has made us do a serious rethink about my wife getting her permanent residence after all, just for future-proofing. But that's a separate debate (speculation) for the EEA forums.

[AmitLondon]

Many thanks to you both, guys! Really really appreciated.
I hadn't realised that sections 2.4-2.6 were not to be filled in by Permanent Residence card holders. The EEA4 form in fact simply reads "2.4 If you are an EEA national or the family member of an EEA national, please complete the following section, showing on what basis you were in the United Kingdom for the last 6 years." but after reading your replies I checked the AN Guide which says "2.4 – 2.6 If you are a national of a member state of the EEA, or the family member of an EEA national, and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom you should complete these sections."
Wow can't believe the form is actually quite misleading as it does not include "and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom ", so thanks for pointing that out to me!
Now another quick question: If my husband is not to fill in sections 2.4-2.6 where and how is he supposed to prove he has been living in the UK for another 12 months after receiving his permanent residence card?
Many thanks for all your help!

[Jambo]

The same way he would prove the other 4 years of residence required for naturalisation (the PR Card doesn't prove residence as the requirements for naturalisation are different from the ones for PR) - using his passport. For naturalisation, one doesn't need to submit many documents.

[jotter]

Many thanks to you both, guys! Really really appreciated.
I hadn't realised that sections 2.4-2.6 were not to be filled in by Permanent Residence card holders. The EEA4 form in fact simply reads "2.4 If you are an EEA national or the family member of an EEA national, please complete the following section, showing on what basis you were in the United Kingdom for the last 6 years." but after reading your replies I checked the AN Guide which says "2.4 – 2.6 If you are a national of a member state of the EEA, or the family member of an EEA national, and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom you should complete these sections."
Wow can't believe the form is actually quite misleading as it does not include "and do not have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom ", so thanks for pointing that out to me!
Now another quick question: If my husband is not to fill in sections 2.4-2.6 where and how is he supposed to prove he has been living in the UK for another 12 months after receiving his permanent residence card?
Many thanks for all your help!

Regarding section 2.4-2.6, the background to that is that once you've had your PR card/sticker for 12 months and apply for naturalisation, you are not actually applying 'as an EEA national' at all. You are applying as a person who has been settled for 12 months and it's no longer relevant whether you came via the EEA or the UK-law route, as long as you have the proof of being settled for 12 months and meet the other standard requirements. That's why you don't need to fill that section out.

If your husband makes an EEA4 application and is successful, he will receive a stamp in his passport. This stamp will confirm his permanent residency and it will also be marked with the date of confirmation. Once that date is over 12 months ago, it acts as sufficient proof on its own that the EEA treaty rights requirements were previously met, so all you need to provide to meet the residence requirements is your passport with the stamp in it. Please note that while BC applications are more straightforward in the evidence you need to provide, they are stricter than EEA applications on a couple of key points, including absences from the UK and the good character requirement, so that's something to prepare for in advance.

[AmitLondon]

The same way he would prove the other 4 years of residence required for naturalisation

mmm I'm a bit confused now. What "other 4 years"? I thought EEA nationals need to prove to be holding permanent residence (=5 yrs of treaty rights) for at least 1 year= 6 years in total.

- using his passport. For naturalisation, one doesn't need to submit many documents.

Ok but the RC sticker on his passport will only prove he has spent FIVE years in the UK as a family member of an EEA national exercising treaty rights, not that he is still living here!
You are saying that he won't have to prove that he LIVED in the UK for another 12 months after receiving his RC? No other proofs of residence at all???

[AmitLondon]

Regarding section 2.4-2.6, the background to that is that once you've had your PR card/sticker for 12 months and apply for naturalisation, you are not actually applying 'as an EEA national' at all. You are applying as a person who has been settled for 12 months and it's no longer relevant whether you came via the EEA or the UK-law route, as long as you have the proof of being settled for 12 months and meet the other standard requirements. That's why you don't need to fill that section out.

Wonderful explanation, now it is all making sense to me!

Please note that while BC applications are more straightforward in the evidence you need to provide, they are stricter than EEA applications on a couple of key points, including absences from the UK and the good character requirement, so that's something to prepare for in advance.

ANd again, thanks! I'm learning so much. this is so different from the EEA applications, all about showing P60's, payslips and bank statements!!!
Your replies were priceless.
Many many thanks indeed

[Jambo]

The same way he would prove the other 4 years of residence required for naturalisation

mmm I'm a bit confused now. What "other 4 years"? I thought EEA nationals need to prove to be holding permanent residence (=5 yrs of treaty rights) for at least 1 year= 6 years in total.

- using his passport. For naturalisation, one doesn't need to submit many documents.

Ok but the RC sticker on his passport will only prove he has spent FIVE years in the UK as a family member of an EEA national exercising treaty rights, not that he is still living here!
You are saying that he won't have to prove that he LIVED in the UK for another 12 months after receiving his RC? No other proofs of residence at all???

The requirements for naturalisation are different than previous applications.

For naturalisation only the last 5 years of residence are relevant. So even if you apply after 6 years (or 10 years or 20 years), only the last 5 years are relevant (in terms of meeting the absences requirements for naturalisation).

Read the last page of form AN to see what evidence is required but normally only a passport is enough to prove residence. No need for P60s, bank statements etc.

[jotter]

No problem at all. And yes, you understood Jambo correctly that your passport is sufficient to prove the residence requirements. I agree it's a bit of an odd one for EEA nationals and family members because they don't get their passport stamped at entry, but that's how it is. Perhaps the UKBA has some other mysterious ways of checking if you've been gone. Anyway, be honest about your absences just in case.

[AmitLondon]

Thanks Jambo and Jotter. You were incredibly useful!

[stanik]

Hi, can someone please advice, for EEA national with PR status, how to prove 5 years lawful residency in UK if passport does not cover all 5 years?