One of our most popular posts - Top reasons permanent residence applications are rejected or refused
This time we borrowed this headline from the UK Visas and Immigration: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-document-certifying-permanent-residence-or-permanent-residence-card-form-eea-pr/top-reasons-pr-applications-are-rejected-by-ukvi
We thought it would make a good post for European / EEA citizens and their family members.The page offers a list of reasons, although they are quite generic, such as no signature on the form or no correct fee paid. So, we thought we would expand on the subject and add most common non-admin reasons, ie most common eligibility-related reasons.
In descending order:
#5 Students being unaware of the health insurance requirement, which was – unfairly and unusually – applied retrospectively. This rule was added in June 2011, yet it refers to those studying even before that.
#4 Believing (wrongly) that this application is based on the last 5 years, ie 5 years immediately prior to the date of application. It would have been the case with a PR application under the UK law, however, under the European law it can be any 5 consecutive years ending 30 April 2006. For example, November 2009 – November 2014. So, if you have doubts about last 5 years (maybe a break in work) but don’t provide evidence of working before that, it may lead to a refusal of what otherwise could have been a successful application.
#3 Applying too early for a family member’s PR. Very often we see, say, a Romanian couple where one spouse came to the UK and started working, then the other spouse joined, say, a year later. The 1st spouse can apply first but the other would have to wait for another year (or they can both wait and apply together – not a good plan at the moment with uncertainty over Brexit).
#2 Being unaware that the rights of residency in the UK cover the EEA citizens in the sense that it is their economic activities being examined during the PR application – and not those of the family members. For example, a Brazilian spouse of a Polish citizen is applying for a PR but the application would (fundamentally, not solely) be based on the Polish spouse’s work in the UK. It makes a big difference (and often “breaks” the deal) if the Polish spouse took time off work while the Brazilian one continues to work and provide for both of them (doesn’t matter if hadn’t claimed benefits etc).
#1 – “the winner” – confusing “5 years of residence” rule with the real rule of “5 years of residence in accordance with the EEA Regulations”. In simple terms it means 5 years of working, for example, and not just 5 years of being in the UK. Very often we have clients who had a long break between jobs (including for childbirth reasons) or breaks between studying and working etc.
Our advice to the European citizens remains the same: apply to formally confirm your immigration status now!
For individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit: http://www.1st4immigration.com. We respond emails on the same working day and have almost 100% success rate!
1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. We operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.
