UK entry date and NHS cover for non-EU parents with EUSS FP

[butchikMD]

Hello,

Apologies in advance if my questions are already answered in previous posts. I am struggling to search for the right answers.

So my non-EU parents have just filed their EUSS FP application from abroad. We're advised processing time is 15 working days so the decision might come before Christmas. We're hoping to fly them to the UK this December but with the pandemic and the upcoming festive holidays, it's a bit of a challenge. Now my questions are:

• When must they arrive in the UK if we plan to apply them for pre-settled status? Just a bit confused if they should be here by 31s Dec or if they can enter or before the expiry of the EUSS FP or 30th June, whichever comes first.

• When they get here in the UK with EUSS FP, can they already use NHS in full? By full service, I meant including specialist referral, not just the free GP and A&E service extended even to tourists.

Thank you!

[kamoe]

When must they arrive in the UK if we plan to apply them for pre-settled status?

Anytime between now and June 30th 2021. Considering this is the deadline to apply for Pre-Settled Status, obviously it is in their best interest to allow sufficient time.

Just a bit confused if they should be here by 31s Dec

That is the deadline for the relevant EU sponsor (You) to have started residing in the UK. This is not a deadline for non-EU family members. From your previous posts I gather that your residence in the UK already started, and in that case, you do not need to worry about December 31st at all.

or if they can enter or before the expiry of the EUSS FP or 30th June, whichever comes first.

Obviously you need to respect the validity of their FP, and also the actual deadline that applies to your parents. So your answer is whichever comes first of EUSS FP deadline or June 30th.

When they get here in the UK with EUSS FP, can they already use NHS in full? By full service, I meant including specialist referral, not just the free GP and A&E service extended even to tourists.

Unless someone else can offer a different insight, It seems reasonable to expect with a EUSS FP they are entitled to access the same NHS services they will access when they get their Pre-Settled Status. This is not all free, for some services you have to pay (e.g. dentists, and other specialities, as far as I am aware).

[butchikMD]

Thanks kamoe for the very comprehensive reply! The EU sponsor is my sibling, currently pre-settled and will be settled soon. I'm on a different route though but been helping out processing our parents papers. They're both over 70 and both have life-long medical conditions so really keen to get them on NHS as soon as they get here.

[JB007]

Unless someone else can offer a different insight, It seems reasonable to expect with a EUSS FP they are entitled to access the same NHS services they will access when they get their Pre-Settled Status.

I think it is more, the same as a British citizen can have. That, of course, can change as we saw with the UK suddenly saying a few years ago that-
- BCs living abroad could no longer use the NHS for free and had to pay; 50% added to the bill if no insurance to pay.
-For those living in another EEA country, the UK suddenly changed their S1 requirements, so that those who tried to renew their UK S1 found that the UK would now only give them an S1 (pay their healthcare in that EEA country) if they were in receipt of a UK state pension. A UK state pension requires at least 10 tax years of National Insurance paid before UK state pension age.

I'm reading that the S1 will only be valid for an other 6 months if there is ne deal and they have received letters about this, but that all those pensioners will be able to use the NHS for any treatment they need. Which means the EEA country (often the poor southern EEA countries) lose that money that funded their healthcare system and the jobs it provided.I'm not sure how this will work in the UK as each area has their own NHS Trust and each Trust has limited funds: they decide what treatments their budget will pay and who will have that treatment.

In answer to the OP, under present rules they will be allowed to get in the NHS queues in their Trust area. It's always a postcode lottery for the elderly as to what they will receive for free and some areas have high numbers of elderly.

[JB007]

I think it is more, the same as a British citizen can have. That, of course, can change as we saw with the UK suddenly saying a few years ago that-
- BCs living abroad could no longer use the NHS for free and had to pay; 50% added to the bill if no insurance to pay.
-For those living in another EEA country, the UK suddenly changed their S1 requirements, so that those who tried to renew their UK S1 found that the UK would now only give them an S1 (pay their healthcare in that EEA country) if they were in receipt of a UK state pension. A UK state pension requires at least 10 tax years of National Insurance paid before UK state pension age.

I should have added that the UK S1 is also given to those in receipt of certain UK benefits