EEA Residence Card visa application



If you have a family member who is a citizen of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland and they live in the UK following the requirements of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, then you may be able to extend your leave in the UK as a family member of an EEA national. If you are from outside of the European Economic Area and Switzerland, you may have a valid case for a Residence Card.

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Residence Cards are a form of confirmation of your right of residence under European law. This type of immigration status will usually be produced as a separate document called Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). If your application for a Residence Card is approved, you will usually be issued 5 years stay in the UK, which will be dependent on your European or Swiss family member remaining in the UK. The UKVI/Home Office is bound by the less restrictive European Regulations 2006 to make a decision within 6 months of your application.

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The European or Swiss national must be exercising his/her treaty rights in the UK or in other words EEA-national must be a qualified person. This means that they must be:

. working; or

working; or self-sufficient; or

self-employed as long as they are suitably registered as self-employed and paying the appropriate national insurance and tax; or

job seeker for no more than six months; or

student with comprehensive sickness insurance.

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The exercising of treaty rights is broken down in the European Regulations 2006 into five categories:

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Worker. If you EEA-national is employed, he is entitled to exercise free movement rights in the UK as a qualified person. He must be employed on a full or part-time basis, through the direction of his employer. He must be able to support himself and his spouse and other family members (if applicable) without recourse to public funds.

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If he temporarily loses his employment, he may still be regarded as a worker under regulation 6(2) if:

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temporary because of illness or an accident;

involuntary unemployment and has started vocational training;

he has voluntarily stopped working and started vocational training related to his previous employment.

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2. Self-sufficient person. EEA-national may be regarded as self-sufficient if:

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He has sufficient funds to provide for his, his spouse’s and other family members’ (if applicable) living expenses without needing to claim benefits in the UK, and

Has comprehensive sickness insurance in the UK for himself and any family members.

He is retired he may qualify as self-sufficient if he has investments and a pension to cover his living expenses in the UK.

Charity work may fall into the self-sufficient category, if he has enough funds to support himself and other family members, or the charity is meeting your living costs.

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3. Self-employed person. EEA-national must be registered for income tax and national insurance contributions as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). He will be expected to prove his self-employed status by way of documentary evidence, for example, self-assessment forms submitted to HMRC, invoices to confirm the work/business undertaken, business accounts, an accountant’s letter and bank statements.

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Regulation 6(3) of the European Regulations 2006, confirms that if a self-employed EEA national is temporarily unable to work because of illness or an accident, they may still be classed as self-employed.

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4. Job seekers. Under regulation 6(4) of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006, EEA- national must be able to demonstrate that he is actively seeking employment and that he has a realistic chance of securing the same. If he fits into the following criteria, he may also qualify to register under the scheme as a job seeker:

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Registered as a job seeker and were employed for at least a year before becoming unemployed;

Have been unemployed for no more than six months; or

Can provide evidence that he is seeking employment in the UK and have a genuine chance of being engaged.

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5. Student. EEA-national must be enrolled with a registered sponsor recognised as a training provider for a course that has started, has sufficient funds to meet your living expenses which can be evidence by way of bank statements and has comprehensive sickness insurance.

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Appealing a Refusal of Residence Card

If your application for a Residence Card is refused, you have the right to appeal against this decision. You will be given a reason for the refusal letter together with the relevant appeal forms. You have 10 working days to appeal such a refusal (or 5 working days if in detention) and the matter will be listed to be heard by an immigration judge at the Immigration and Asylum chamber (IAC) First Tier Tribunal.

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EEA RESIDENCE CARD LAWYERS IN LONDON

If you need assistance with applying for your EEA Residence card or have had a refusal, contact one of our London-based lawyers for a free initial assessment. We will help you to decide what your options are and once you understand your options, will offer you a tailor-made service for the process.

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We pride ourselves as a leading EEA Residence Card lawyers in London. Our high success rate to application submitted ratio gives us even more confidence in handling any type of residence card visa application. Be sure to take advantage of our free initial assessment over the phone to determine whether you meet the requirements to qualify or not.

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Contact us on 020 3540 7770 or e-mail us at info@reissedwards.com.