Dear Ots, Im Italian National, First Came To Live And Work In Uk 26 Years Ago I Was Always Employed

Dear OTS, I'm Italian national, first came to live and work in UK 26 years ago. I was always employed in UK from 1990-2003, then had to relocate back to Italy due to family reasons (terminal illness of mother), until coming back to UK again in 2006 (2 1/2 yrs later). I was then in permanent employment from 2006 to 2012 but since 2012 I have been a stay-at-home mum. Children were born in UK in 2008 but have EU passport. Husband is also EU citizen (Irish, although was born in UK) and self-employed here and we also own our house (mortgage) here. Do my last 6 years' work (2006-2012) qualify me to apply for Permanent Residence as individual applicant - EEA(PR)? Could my current "unemployed" status be reason for refusal, despite meeting the 5-yr period and not claiming any benefits? Many thanks

Dear OTS, I'm Italian national, first came to live and work in UK 26 years ago. I was always employed in UK from 1990-2003, then had to relocate back to Italy due to family reasons (terminal illness of mother), until coming back to UK again in 2006 (2 1/2 yrs later). I was then in permanent employment from 2006 to 2012 but since 2012 I have been a stay-at-home mum. Children were born in UK in 2008 but have EU passport. Husband is also EU citizen (Irish, although was born in UK) and self-employed here and we also own our house (mortgage) here. Do my last 6 years' work (2006-2012) qualify me to apply for Permanent Residence as individual applicant - EEA(PR)? Could my current "unemployed" status be reason for refusal, despite meeting the 5-yr period and not claiming any benefits? Many thanks

Public Answer

Thank you for your question.

To qualify for a permanent residence Certificate you need to show you have been exercising your Treaty rights in the UK for five continuous years. Exercising Treaty rights includes being employed, self-employed, economically self-sufficient or a student. Self-sufficient persons and students also need to have comprehensive sickness insurance to qualify for a permanent residence Card.

If you can show evidence of five years continuous Employment for the time you were working (for example payslips etc) then you may qualify for permanent residence.

The fact that you were out of the country for 2.5 years may affect your application and a letter from us may need to be written to the Home Office explaining the absence.

Please note, this answer cannot be taken as a legal advice until we have your full instructions. The answer provided above is for information purposes only, if you would like to proceed to full legal advice and consultation with our Immigration solicitors, please let us know your availability for an appointment by contact us on 0207 936 9960 or through our contact form.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Best regards,

OTS Solicitors

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