EEA Residence Card

An EEA national wishing to stay in the UK with non-EEA family members had to demonstrate that were are exercising a right guaranteed under the Treaty.

An EEA national could exercise Treaty rights through work, being economically, self sufficient or studying*.

* Individuals who exercised Treaty rights in the UK on the basis of study or self-sufficiency had to hold comprehensive sickness insurance cover in the United Kingdom which covered themselves and any dependants.

The definition of “family member” included spouses, civil partners, children up to the age of 21 and dependant parents.

Children over the age of 21, parents that could not show they were dependent, and other relatives are defined as “extended family members”.

Dependence in this instance meant either:

- the person is residing in an EEA State in which the EEA national also resides and is dependent upon the EEA national or is a member of his household; or

- the person is accompanying/joining or has already joined the EEA national in the UK and continues to be dependent upon him or to be a member of his household.

Students were only allowed to bring their partner and/or children to the UK.

Unmarried or same sex partners were considered to be “extended family members” for the purpose of the EEA regulations. Rather than having to demonstrate dependence, these individuals had to show they had formed a “durable relationship” with their EEA national partner. This was usually satisfied by showing they had lived together for at least 2 years. This period could be less if, for example, they had a child together.

A non-EEA national could also have qualifed for a derivative right of residence as the:

- primary carer of a British citizen child or dependent adult, where requiring the primary carer to leave the UK would force that British citizen to leave the EEA (‘Zambrano’ cases);

- primary carer of an EEA national child who is exercising free movement rights in the UK as a self-sufficient person, where requiring the primary carer to leave the UK would prevent the EEA national child exercising those free movement rights (‘Chen’ cases);

- child of an EEA national worker/former worker where that child is in education in the UK (‘Ibrahim and Teixeira’ cases);

- primary carer of a child of an EEA national worker/former worker where that child is in education in the UK and where requiring the primary carer to leave the UK would prevent the child from continuing their education in the UK (‘Ibrahim and Teixeira’ cases);

- dependent child under 18 of a primary carer in one of the categories set out above, where requiring that child to leave the UK would force the primary carer to leave the UK with them.

A non-EEA national family member would be deemed to hold permanent residence after 5 years in the UK so long as the EEA national had continued to reside in the UK and exercised an economic activity described above.

Although you are not obliged to lodge an application, to have proof of evidence the permanent residence, e.g. for an employer, an applicant had to make an application to the Home Office for the permanent residence card