EEA4 CSI advice needed please.

[mallakxxxx]

Hey.
I am a non-EU national looking to apply for permanent residence as our five years were up in march 2015.
My residence card runs out in October.
My wife- the EU national....was working from 2010 to 2013 and has been self sufficient since . I have been in employment throughout.
Now looking at the EEA4 form, the requirement for CSI requires to send in a ehic card....which is the part that I am confused about.
Should we just send her valid non-uk ehic card as proof or do I need something else as the requirement states that family members must be covered also?

Any advice would be much much appreciated.
Thanks

[mallakxxxx]

Anyone?

[rosebead]

EHICs only cover you if your stay is temporary. EEA students could possibly argue that fact but I'm not sure whether your wife can really argue that her stay was temporary after working for 3 years in the UK. There's no harm in trying, I suppose. However EHICs only cover the holder, I believe, if I remember rightly how they work. That leaves the problem of you not being covered for CSI, as you do not have an EHIC card. I'm afraid self-sufficient EU citzens and their family members must all have CSI for their residence to be counted towards PR.

[mallakxxxx]

Boo.
Thanks for your reply.
I thought the same .
Obviously we dont cover the requirements but i'm just hoping we can figure out a way to cover the missing bits.

The eea4 form lists this as evidence for self sufficiency:

Study or self-sufficiency (comprehensive sickness insurance)

Schedule or other document from a private medical insurance provider outlining
the level of cover
Note: this must cover/have covered you/your sponsor/your family member(s) for
the majority of risks while in the UK.

Valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) (formerly form E111) issued by an
EEA Member State (not the UK)

Now i know obviously I am not covered but where does it specify the but about temporary stay? I am thinking of just sending it in with her card and hope for the best or is that a lost cause already?

Thanks for your time

[rosebead]

If you want find out about the rules for using EHIC cards, you can find it on the NHS site. EHICs are definitely for temporary stays only. The rules for the usage of these cards have nothing to do with a body like the Home Office as they do not issue them. You can try your luck, I suppose, as there's no harm in it, but technically you do not qualify for PR.

[mallakxxxx]

Unfortunately Yes I don't . I was just hoping that since it states on the form that one can send in a valid ehic card as a proof..there might be some window but oh well....i'll send it in anyways and see what happens.

Moreover, since my residence permit runs out in October , is there a possibility to take out the csi now for both of us if she decides to go back to work and just apply to extend my residence card ?

.thanks

[rosebead]

Your wife could try applying for a PR certificate first, as I get the feeling that caseworkers are more lenient with EEA nationals than they are with non-EEA nationals. As well as submitting her EHIC card, she could also try getting CSI now to cover you both and submit that with the application too. I know CSI can't be backdated but a caseworker may accidentally overlook things as sometimes they do. If your wife can get her PR certificate, you could submit that with your PR application and definitely get a PR card.

You could certainly get another EEA2 in the way that you described above.

[mallakxxxx]

Got it. Thanks. That is exactly what we shall do . Thank you for your time and advice.

[rosebead]

Might I add that if she decides to go back to work, no CSI is required for either of you. However if she wishes to remain self-sufficient on your earnings then CSI for all of you is required, and if you're not doing it already, it might be a good idea to have a joint bank account or at least transfer money regularly into her account from your account as proof that she has been getting an income to live on and so is therefore self-sufficient.

[mallakxxxx]

Hey.Thanks for all your advice.
We have got the insurance now. And she is looking for work. And I am transferring funds to her account since we were just using one account and had just an extra user added but that doesn't make it a joint account. I just have couple of question's if you would be so kind to help me out a bit more.

First, we got married in 2010, but she has been in UK since 2008 and did work but obviously it would be a bit hard to get those records now, i have asked tax office if they can send us her n.i records or something for that period. Now we do have the relavent documents for 2010-2013.
If we do manage to track down the proof of employement for 2008-09, that would tick the requirements for her being a qualified person to apply for PR in her own right or am I wrong?

Secondly, suppose she gets her PR, how would that help us cover the period of 2013-2015 which are the last two years of the five year qualifying period? As you mentioned that her having her PR would make it certain that I would find it easier to get mine.

Just trying ti exhaust all avenues of avoiding the longer route, so thanks a lot for ur time.

[rosebead]

If you can prove that she worked from 2008-2013, then she can get a PR certificate based on those years. In fact you can apply for PR card yourself with those proofs without her needing to get a PR certificate. That said, some people prefer to sort out the EU national's PR papers first as that about guarantees PR for the family member, providing of course that the family member has resided in the UK for five years at the same time as the EU sponsor. You do not need proofs for 2013-2015 if she can prove 2008-2013. Permanent residents do not have to exercise Treaty rights in any case.

[mallakxxxx]

Ah ok . Did not know that . Thanks.

[mallakxxxx]

Hey I was hoping someone can clarify this.
I have spoken to UKBA EU Helpline.....very helpful I must add.....who informed me that since the CSI requirement came into being in 2011, we might be eligible for being self sufficient if she was not working throughout.

Now, for 2008-2010, I had a mortgaged property where we were living and renting out the other rooms so financially we were pretty alright. Can the bank statements from that period, along with support letters form myself, friends and family, be used to show that she was self sufficient as we were and didn't apply for any benefits or such?

Thanks a lot.