EEA4 Eligibility

[heath2006]

Hi All,

I hope someone can help me with my enquiry and set my mind to rest...

I am wondering if we can apply for my husband's PR earlier than 2016 given following history:

I am the EU citizen and came to the UK in 2005 to study. I finished my studies in September 2006 and started a job in February 2007. I was employed in 3 different positions until April 2009 and was out of a job for a few weeks inbetween. From April to June 2009 I was volunteering and in July 2009 we went abroad and lived in my husband's Non-EU country for over a year (this was a requirement as part of his course). We came back in August 2010 and I was looking for a job until December 2010 and started my new job in early 2011. I have been working at the same place ever since.

We have been living together since early 2007 and got married in 2010. I have never paid for CSI because we were unaware that EEA applications existed. My husband holds the EEA2 residence permit since August this year. I know that PR states that one has to live in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years and one can only be out of the country in exceptional circumstances. Would our year abroad count as exceptional circumstances? Are the few months here and there that I was out of employment be a problem? I know that he would be eligible for PR in early 2016 if I continue to exercise my treaty rights but we would obviously like to apply earlier if at all possible.

I would appreciate it if someone could tell me if we have a fighting chance or whether we would be wasting our time.

Thanks a lot

[Jambo]

Time before marriage can't be counted if one didn't hold a RC as an unmarried partner. It's seems that your husband would obtained PR in 2015, 5 years after he started living in the UK as married to you.

You might be able to obtain PR earlier than that. During the 1 years absence from the UK, have you visited the UK at all or was it a continuous absence?

[heath2006]

Thanks for your quick reply, Jambo.

It was a continuous absence for over a year. We did not visit the UK during that time.

We got married abroad and came back to the UK a few months after that. Upon returning to the UK I was unemployed and it took me a few months to find a job. Does that mean he could apply for PR in early 2016 (after 5 years of my continuous employment) or in August 2015 (5 years after we came back to the UK)?

[Jambo]

One can exercise treaty rights as a job seeker if he can provide evidence of the job search (obviously getting a job at the end helps) so make sure you keep copies of job applications, job interviews etc to prove the period from August 2010 (technically you are not required to exercise treaty rights in the first 3 months).