EEA family member PR self-employment and MET

[pippiwy]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and find it extremely helpful. I have a question regarding my EEA sponsor's qualifying status.

My husband is a French national. I am currently holding 5 yr residence card from 2011 to 2016. I am due to change it to PR soon.

My question is about my husband's earning and working status.

My husband was in employment from 2006 to 2015. He set up his own business since 2013 and switched his employment to part-time. Since 2015 he is fully working for his own business as a MD. As the business is still at the early stage, he pays himself around £600-£700 per month, which is under MET. We have prepared the documents showing his business is genuine and lawful, e.g. VAT, corporation tax documents etc. However, I am worried they will consider his self-employment is marginal as it doesn't meet MET.

Has anyone been in the same situation before? What additional documents will help my application. Any suggestions and help are much appreciated!

[Casa]

You may find this thread helpful:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... 14974.html

[pippiwy]

Thanks! That post makes me more worried. It seems no way I can convince the case work my husband is exercising his treaty? He can clearly show how much VAT and corporation tax his company paying to this country.

Please help!

[pippiwy]

Anyone has any successful experience? Many thanks!

[noajthan]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and find it extremely helpful. I have a question regarding my EEA sponsor's qualifying status.

My husband is a French national. I am currently holding 5 yr residence card from 2011 to 2016. I am due to change it to PR soon.

My question is about my husband's earning and working status.

My husband was in employment from 2006 to 2015. He set up his own business since 2013 and switched his employment to part-time. Since 2015 he is fully working for his own business as a MD. As the business is still at the early stage, he pays himself around £600-£700 per month, which is under MET. We have prepared the documents showing his business is genuine and lawful, e.g. VAT, corporation tax documents etc. However, I am worried they will consider his self-employment is marginal as it doesn't meet MET.

Has anyone been in the same situation before? What additional documents will help my application. Any suggestions and help are much appreciated!

Under EU law hubby just needs to show the work is genuine and effective.

This MET test used by HO for this purpose is outside the relevant EU law.
It is used by HO to trigger further probing consideration of such edge cases. Failure of MET test will not necessarily result in a refusal of DCPR.

[pippiwy]

Thanks noajthan, very helpful. Do you know any additional supporting documents I can provide to convince the home office?

[noajthan]

Thanks noajthan, very helpful. Do you know any additional supporting documents I can provide to convince the home office?

You can get into the head of the caseworker who will weigh up and assess the case here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _clean.pdf
- ref self-employed section

[Richard W]

My husband is a French national. I am currently holding 5 yr residence card from 2011 to 2016. I am due to change it to PR soon.

My question is about my husband's earning and working status.

My husband was in employment from 2006 to 2015. He set up his own business since 2013 and switched his employment to part-time. Since 2015 he is fully working for his own business as a MD.

If, as I shall assume, your husband's employment mentioned above was in the UK, your question is irrelevant.

Your husband had acquired PR by the end of 2011. To obtain your PRC, you submit evidence that:
1) Your husband had acquired PR by the end of 2011 (or later if more convenient).
2) Your and your husband have had no absences from the UK longer than 6 months in any one year.
(I think weaker conditions apply.)

That is all the economic and residence claim that is required.

Note that your 5 years to qualify for PR will have started once you were married and both living in the UK. They may possibly have started earlier.

[pippiwy]

Hi Richard W, thanks for your reply.

I agree with you, I think my husband should have qualified for PR a while ago. However, he has never applied for any certificate of residence. So I don't know if HO will think the same way as us.

For my current application, I will send his pay slips from 2008 to 2012, when he was in employment and earned above MET. But my question is our marriage is from 2011 to now, so in my 5 year period, he didn't always earn above MET (from 2013 -now, he is self employed). Does the sponsor have to exercise treaty rights during the family member's 5 year period, even he has actually qualified for PR a way before that?

BTW, it's only me applying for PR as a family member. My husband doesn't want to do it at the same time. He is true believer of EU and thinks he has rights anyway, doesn't need the UK government to prove it

[noajthan]

Several misunderstandings here.

If hubby has acquired the holy grail of PR in the past then he doesn't need to exercise treaty rights since that time.
So recent lowly income etc is not an issue, as intimated above.
(That is, also assuming neither party has enjoyed prolonged absences from UK since that time).

In other words, your Union citizen sponsor may be someone with settled status (PR, in the EU migration context) rather than a qualified person.

This doesn't depend on HO 'choosing to agree', you have the full weight and power of EU law and the Directive behind you.
Ofcourse you still need rock-solid documentary supporting evidence to back your case.

But be careful, submitting only 4 years evidence of hubby's past exercising of treaty rights will not convince a hard-bitten caseworker that hubby actually has PR status.
You need to submit complete proof (including of identities, relationship, residence, absences).
A DCPR would be handy here and would help simplify your application.

Hubby sounds highly-principled and that is admirable but don't forget "Brexit is coming" (whether Jon Snow knows it or not).

In these interesting times, and with all the wild talk of Brexit, actual confirmation of hubby's status (DCPR) may well prove a worthwhile investment - especially if your joint future is to remain in UK.

On a practical note, a DCPR is also a lot easier to carry around than keeping hold of the evidence bundle that is required to prove one has acquired PR.