How can I settle in the UK by combining more than one qualifying activity?
Obtaining permanent residence through more than one qualifying activity gives an applicant the right to live, work and study in the UK without immigration restrictions. An EEA national exercising their Treaty rights can apply for a permanent residency after 5 years of continuous residency in the UK. An applicant must be a ‘qualified person’; a worker, student, jobseeker, self-employed, self-sufficient or a combination of these.
This article will focus on how to obtain permanent residence by combining two or more of these qualifying activities.
What can I combine?
Any qualifying activities can be combined over five years. For example, an applicant may have first been a worked for a year, then a job-seeker and then a student. The evidence required for this will depend on the activities an applicant has participated in.
Below is a list of qualifying activities that can be combined:
Worker:
Employment must have been either full or part-time and genuine and effective. Applicants must provide evidence of the employment including letter from the employer stating the dates of employment, wages, hours of works, and the reason employment ended.
Jobseeker:
A jobseeker is defined to be an EEA national who enters the UK to seek employment, seeks employment after residing as a worker, student, self-employed or self-sufficient, and can provide evidence of actively seeking employment.
Self-Employment:
An applicant who has been self-employed for a certain period of their 5 continuous residence must prove that they have worked for themselves and generated an income in a self-employed capacity.
Student:
If an applicant has been studying for a period of time during their 5 years of continuous residence the must provide letters that they were enrolled on the chosen course, start and end date of the studies, and had a comprehensive sickness insurance in place.
Self-sufficiency:
Applicants must prove that they have been able to maintain themselves without becoming a burden on the social assistance system in the UK and comprehensive sickness insurance in the UK.
Students can provide evidence of a grant, scholarship, bursary or a declaration that they have had sufficient income.
How can NA Law help?
We are a specialist immigration firm with years of experience in permanent residence applications for European nationals. We will guide you through the entire application process and advise you on the validity of the evidence collected in order to ensure that the application is at the highest possible standard before its submission.