Spouse of British citizen but asked for student health insu

[alinutzamica]

I have applied for naturalisation in July 2015 as the spouse of a British citizen. We have been married since 2009. Between 2009-2012 I was a student working part-time.

I got a letter from Home Office asking for original papers for
-University Letters confirming enrolment (I can get these)
- Bank statements showing sufficient funds (it will be expensive but I can get these too)
- Evidence that I held comprehensive health insurance (that's a problem).

During my studies no one asked me about health insurance so I never thought I would need one and therefore I can't get any evidence for this.

My question is, do I need all of these if I apply as a spouse of a British citizen and NOT as a student.
And if not, what do I need to do as they gave me less than 2 weeks to sort this out.

Many thanks

[vinny]

If you an EEA national, then you were expected to have CSIC while being a student under Regulation 4(1)(d)(ii), unless you were a family member of an EEA national with a right of residence in the UK or are subject to transitional arrangements.

[alinutzamica]

Thanks for your reply.

I am an EEA national.
My husband is British, therefore an EEA national too. During my studies I was married to him, therefore does that mean that I didn't need to held comprehensive health insurance?

Many thanks. Your reply and help is much appreciated.

[vinny]

Unfortunately, a British citizen is not considered as an EEA national in the UK, unless he previously worked in another EEA country while living there with you.

[alinutzamica]

So there is nothing I can do? That means that the neutralisation will be refused as I can't show evidence of CSIC even if I have been married for the last 6 years to a British citizen

I applied through NCS but they didn't mention anything about this. I am gutted!

[Casa]

You would only qualify if you had been following the UK route to permanent settlement (ILR) on a spouse visa.

[alinutzamica]

I have got The blue card for ILR in 2009 based on our marriage. Is that what you are referring to?
The blue card has been sent to HO too?

[vinny]

What does the blue card say?
Did you apply for it on the basis that you were a student?
When did your start to live in the UK?

[vinny]

You may benefit from CSIC > Chapter 6: permanent residence > Annex B – Comprehensive sickness insurance - transitional arrangements for students.

[alinutzamica]

Thank you so much for your help.

It says Residence documentation released Sept 09 Registration Certificate. No restriction on employment in the UK. I applied as the spouse of a BC not as a student but there is no mention of that in the certificate.

I remember that the women that took my documents at NCS said that it was good that I have the blue card. Maybe that's why she didn't mentioned the health insurance?

But then why the HO would not take that into account?

[vinny]

Actually, I don't think that 'spouse of a British citizen' was an applicable category for a blue card application, unless regulation 9 applied.

Or they could have considered you as self-sufficient, but this would also require CSIC too.

Did you state that you were a student in the application?

[alinutzamica]

I can't remember clearly if I stated in the application that I was a student, but it is possible. At that time I was a part-time student and would not have met the criteria for applying for the blue card anyway.

But I remember clearly that I gave copies of my marriage certificate and the whole application was based on this. On the front of the blue card states UK residence documentation for a national of an EEA state. I think this type of card was issued only for Romanians and Bulgarians. I am Romanian.

[vinny]

If you did state that you were a student, then I think you should benefit from the transitional arrangements.

Perhaps just state that you are subject to the transitional arrangements and see how they respond.

Perhaps apply for Confirmaton of PR in-person on the basis of your blue card and, if successful, send that in.

Otherwise, read the CSIC links for more ideas.

Perhaps contact Adam Weiss?

[alinutzamica]

Thank you so much for your help. It is much appreciated.
I will go through all the options you proposed. Hopefully all will end well.

Once again, many thanks

[noajthan]

So there is nothing I can do? That means that the neutralisation will be refused as I can't show evidence of CSIC even if I have been married for the last 6 years to a British citizen

I applied through NCS but they didn't mention anything about this. I am gutted!

Sadly, marriage to a BC does not really help much with naturalisation under EU route & EU rules.

Unfortunately, NCS should have picked this point up on your behalf.
That would have given you a chance to cancel submitting the application if fundamentally flawed.

There may be some remote chances to explore...

Did you hold a RC (residence card) issued to you as a student? (possibly a yellow card or blue card)
If so was it issued before or up to 2011?

Do you happen to hold a confirmation of PR card? (unlikely I suppose - as if you did you probably would have mentioned it).

Is there any special reciprocal healthcare arrangement in place between your home country & UK that may cover you?
Or is there any insurance that family members in home country may hold & that may extend & cover you in UK?
(In some countries these things can happen).

Did you hold a foreign-issued EHIC at time of being a student?

You also mentioned you were working whilst studying.
It's a longshot but what was that work, was it regular work & how many hours did it involve?

[noajthan]

Similar case in which a Romanian student was able to discover their old yellow & blue residence cards did actually qualify them as exempt from needing to hold CSI.

See http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... w#p1252751

Hope it helps.

[alinutzamica]

Thank you both Noajthan and Vinny,

I read the Annexe B transitional arrangements and I think (hope) that there might be a chance to qualify for this.

In the Annexe it says

2. Transitional arrangements are being introduced, so that an application
for permanent residence as a student will not be refused solely on the
grounds that there is no evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance
on the date of decision where:
 UKBA issued a registration certificate to the applicant on the basis of
their residence in the UK as a student before 20th June 2011.

I got the registration certificate (blue card) in 2009 well before 2011.

What do I need to do to draw the attention of the HO to this fact?

Unfortunately, they only gave me one week to show evidence for health insurance so I will need to act fast.

Many thanks

[vinny]

Perhaps draw their attention in a covering letter to the fact that you were granted an EEA registration certificate when you were a student in 2009. So, you must be subject to the transitional arrangements for students. This is sufficient to satisfy the CSIC requirements.

[noajthan]

The RC must have been issued to you as a student.

If you did have an EHIC at the time then dig it out from your files too, it can only help.


Good luck.

[alinutzamica]

Thank you Noajthan for pointing this to me. Te blue card was received while I was a student and it is very likely that not for being a student (can't remember clearly on what basis i got it. thought that it was based on being the spouse of a BC). However, as Vinny pointed out, i will emphasize that a registration certificate was granted while i was a student before 2011. I hope that this would qualify me for the transitional arrangements. I will also send self-employment tax return papers for 2009-2010, P 60 for 2010-2011. Although P60 were sent for the last 3 years (as per NCS advice), it seems that they didn't count. There is one year (2012), however, when I did an internship where I didn't receive a salary, but the company can confirm that i was an intern and i received only travel and lunch money. This appears on the bank statements that I will send anyway. I hope I will not have problems because of this.

I will let you know if this will end well. Fingers cross!

Thank you sooooo much. You have been of such great help!!!!!!!!

[ArtfulBadger]

I'm a German applying for citizenship, living permanently in the UK since 2002, have been a student on and off since then, have worked for various companies and have also had a small business since 2004. Have paid National Insurance for over 10 years. I've been married to a British-born citizen since 2009.

Two months after submitting my application in March I received a letter asking for my financial history and the dreaded insurance card. In 2002 I had no idea about this and no one had ever mentioned it. And I've never heard of these yellow and blue cards that people are mentioning.

I've heard nothing since that letter in May, phone calls and registered letters have gone unanswered. My MP has contacted them, waiting for some sort of reply.

My application seemed pretty straightforward, but now I don't think so. In early March applications from people outside Europe, with less time in the country than me and with no British spouse were getting approved in three weeks.

All this is very unsettling.

[noajthan]

Thank you Noajthan for pointing this to me. Te blue card was received while I was a student and it is very likely that not for being a student (can't remember clearly on what basis i got it. thought that it was based on being the spouse of a BC). However, as Vinny pointed out, i will emphasize that a registration certificate was granted while i was a student before 2011. I hope that this would qualify me for the transitional arrangements. I will also send self-employment tax return papers for 2009-2010, P 60 for 2010-2011. Although P60 were sent for the last 3 years (as per NCS advice), it seems that they didn't count. There is one year (2012), however, when I did an internship where I didn't receive a salary, but the company can confirm that i was an intern and i received only travel and lunch money. This appears on the bank statements that I will send anyway. I hope I will not have problems because of this.

I will let you know if this will end well. Fingers cross!

Thank you sooooo much. You have been of such great help!!!!!!!!

We're rooting for you.

File your supplementary evidence in good time so application does not time out by default.
Send to HO by recorded or signed-for (tracked) delivery.
Suggest keep copies of all communications for future reference.

Good luck.

[alinutzamica]

Dear All,

I just want to thank you all for your amazing help and support.

On the 24th of December I received all my documents back from Home Office and a letter letting me know that my application was successful.What a Christmas present! I still can't believe it!!! Thank you!

In case you want to know what I did, I have wrote back to them asking to be considered for the transitional arrangements and also why I would be a good British citizen. I would have not thought of this if it were not for your help!

Have a very wonderful and happy New Year!!!

[CR001]

Dear All,

I just want to thank you all for your amazing help and support.

On the 24th of December I received all my documents back from Home Office and a letter letting me know that my application was successful.What a Christmas present! I still can't believe it!!! Thank you!

In case you want to know what I did, I have wrote back to them asking to be considered for the transitional arrangements and also why I would be a good British citizen. I would have not thought of this if it were not for your help!

Have a very wonderful and happy New Year!!!

Congratulations. Very happy to hear you had a positive result. Best ever Christmas present. Thank you for coming back to update us.

[noajthan]

Dear All,

I just want to thank you all for your amazing help and support.

On the 24th of December I received all my documents back from Home Office and a letter letting me know that my application was successful.What a Christmas present! I still can't believe it!!! Thank you!

In case you want to know what I did, I have wrote back to them asking to be considered for the transitional arrangements and also why I would be a good British citizen. I would have not thought of this if it were not for your help!

Have a very wonderful and happy New Year!!!

Happy to hear your good news. A ray of hope for others too.