Not having Comprehensive Sickness Insurance when you were required to have it can result in the citizenship application being refused. Please log in again. The UK Home Office defines comprehensive sickness insurance as ‘any form of insurance that will cover the costs of the majority of medical treatment’ in the UK.. Confusingly, under the UK’s … {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}. The petition calls for the removal of “comprehensive sickness insurance as permanent residency requirement for EU/European Economic Area students, homemakers, carers, retired, and … Marcin is an EEA national came to the UK with his parents in 2012, when he was 15 years old. Hong Kong BN(O) visa rules and prices revealed, Hong Kong: New UK Immigration route for British Nationals Overseas (BNO). Ask Your … “CSI is a legal requirement for EU, EEA and Swiss students, self-sufficient persons and their family members who are residing in the UK with them.The form asks the applicant if they had comprehensive sickness insurance during their time spent in the UK… However, it is very much relevant to a citizenship application. However, he can, instead, show that he acquired permanent residence in 2017 as he has lived in the UK as the family member of an EEA national (his father) who has worked for 5 years. https://t.co/WQc2T8KNZlabout 1 hour ago, Five top tips on UK Investor visas https://t.co/FvvtWagWxP via @freemovementlawabout 6 hours ago, Big crowds at Heathrow airport 'incredibly worrying', says Labour https://t.co/0pHKOZKdtNabout 3 days ago, 2nd Floor 8 Elmbank Gardens Glasgow G2 4NQ Tel: 0141 248 6552, 34 Lochrin Buildings Edinburgh Midlothian EH3 9ND Tel: 0131 228 2083. However, most people were completely unaware of the requirement, so would not have purchased this. My husband, I am absolutely pleased with their meticulous and organized work. … This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. To become a British citizen, EU citizens who were students or self-sufficient will need to show that they had ‘comprehensive sickness insurance’ (for any qualifying periods before the grant of pre-settled or … EEA nationals who did not have comprehensive sickness insurance when they were supposed to (i.e. Since 20 June 2011, it has been necessary for these categories of EU citizen to have held Comprehensive Sickness Insurance while living in another member state. As a student, Marcin may think he needs CSI. She did not have private health insurance or an EHIC during her studies. Olivia is a Swedish national who came to the UK in 2014 and completed her Master’s degree. His father has worked continuously since the family’s entry to the UK. Whether or not the continuous residence was lawful and complied with all the immigration requirements is not relevant to the EU Settlement Scheme. The role of Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) CSI is a private health insurance policy that covers the holder in full when accessing medical treatment in the UK. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. To book your appointment, just book below. The key difference is that in order to be granted Settled Status, you only need to show that you have been resident in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Permanent residence is acquired automatically so it does not matter that he has never had a document certifying permanent residence. Note … The term ‘Comprehensive Sickness Insurance’ (CSI) has suddenly become a hot topic among EU citizens in the UK. If you spent some of that time in the UK as a student or as a self-sufficient person, and had comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI), a copy of your sickness insurance policy Not required in your … Thank you! Guidance for family members of EEA national students required to hold comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) in the UK. Part time work can, in some circumstances, constitute genuine and effective work. There has been a fair amount of reports recently whereby European Union Citizens who reside in the UK and left for holidays and/or business purposes, have been stopped at the UK Border control when trying to re-enter the UK, due to the fact that do not have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance. Guidelines specify that the health insurance … They were updating me regularly about the progress. Introduction For EU Citizens who secure Settled Status in the UK under the provision made in Appendix EU of the Immigration Rules the path to a further stage of integration, naturalising as a British Citizen… National Insurance … We will absolutely be using them for all our issues/needs moving forward. In 16 years living in the UK, Hedwig Hegtermans had never heard of comprehensive sickness insurance. CSI is not required for settled status or pre-settled status. Discretion The Home Office does have the discretion to grant an application to naturalise as a British citizen… It is sometimes possible to get a letter from your national Government confirming cover. Download our free guides which cover a number of key areas of immigration law, Why are people still flying into the UK despite Covid-19 rules? When deciding citizenship applications, the Home Office will now look at the last 10 years and, if you were in the UK during that period, they will assess whether CSI was required. … Marcin attended school until the age of 18 and is currently at University. Two of these categories require EU Citizens to hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance, namely a student or self-sufficient person. They require “full health insurance”, but are quite unclear on what this actually means. On a UK Border Agency website I found that the following are not accepted: • The following is not acceptable as evidence of comprehensive sickness insurance: o a health cash-plan scheme will not be considered, as these policies do not cover medical treatment in the majority of circumstances; o reliance on the UK … This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Mrs McGill and her team are very efficient and experts in the immigration and visa section. In particular, EU citizens with settled status may, depending on their circumstances, have to show they held CSI during their period of UK … Are short gaps without Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) acceptable for citizenship applications? Comprehensive Sickness Insurance as a condition for Permanent Residency in the UK An European national will automatically qualify for UK Permanent Residence (PR) if they have lived in the UK as a … Alternatively, if you can show that you were engaged in genuine and effective work during your studies, you can be treated as a worker, rather than as a student, meaning that no CSI is required. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. These days Facebook groups of EU nationals are filled with questions on how to get permanent residence or citizenship in Britain. They're absolutely the best at helping you out with immigration and visa issues. For many European citizens, this will be the first time they become aware of the need to have had Comprehensive Sickness Insurance and so the issue can be quite confusing, especially as many will have made successful applications for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme without any problems. He has never worked in the UK. Since 20 June 2011, it has been necessary for these categories of EU citizen to have held Comprehensive Sickness Insurance while living in another member state. CSI … CSI is only required for EEA nationals who have not worked continuously for 5 years. Alternatively, if you had an EHIC card issued by your country of nationality, this will meet the requirement. In both of these examples, the applicants would need to provide evidence to establish that they have acquired permanent residence at some point in the past by providing, for example, P60 certificates. The UK government are also quite vague in what they mean by comprehensive sickness insurance. The Home Office have updated their Good Character policy guidance to confirm that they will now assess whether you have complied with immigration requirements in the 10 years prior to your citizenship application. However, there is not a lot of detail about what circumstances lead to discretion being exercised. How can BNO Nationals with Leave Outside the Rules prove their right to work in the UK? Again, Javier may think he needs CSI as he is not currently working and is not the family member of an EEA national who is working (as British citizens are not included within the definition of “EEA national”). It is a legal requirement for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens residing in the UK to have CSI … In the past few days, the misleading term ‘Comprehensive Sickness Insurance’ (CSI) has suddenly become a hot topic among EU citizens in the UK. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. However, Sweden has a publicly funded healthcare system and, had she fallen ill whilst studying in the UK, the cost of her treatment would have been covered by the Swedish Government. If you have lengthy gaps in employment, have never worked, or have studied in the UK within the last 10 years, then you will need to consider whether you need to show CSI before applying for citizenship. McGill and Co helped us through a very difficult visa process, and after being let down by a series of other lawyers, they thoroughly took control of the situation and helped us get a long-awaited and wonderful outcome to our case in a very short time. Copyright © McGill & Co 2021. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. He was granted settled status in 2019 and wants to apply for citizenship. Comprehensive sickness insurance and Settled Status With the UK leaving the European Union, the rules of permanent residency have changed for EU nationals and in light of Brexit, the … However as he acquired permanent residence in 2015, he does not require CSI. Unfortunately, those who did not have this were technically not complying with the immigration requirements and this is now impacting their citizenship applications. For many of them, as well as their British … The change in policy relates to the good character requirement for citizenship applications. If you would like to have a better idea of whether your application may be affected, we would welcome you to book a free consultation with a member of the personal immigration team at OTB Legal so we can offer some initial advice. EU nationals may now have to pay for “comprehensive sickness insurance” (CSI) for the duration of their time in the UK, meaning those already living here – in some cases for decades – face a fresh five-year wait before they can apply for citizenship. She can request a letter from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency confirming the dates she was covered and use this to meet the CSI requirement for her period of studying. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Because of their efficiency we got the documents completed before the expected time. The login page will open in a new tab. In practice, the extent to which your citizenship application will be impacted by these issues will depend on your specific circumstances. How do I show I have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI)? We are an independent website created to help customers find the best possible … If a … I had applied for presettlement and a dependent visa. The important point about the Comprehensive Sickness Insurance is that once this EU national self-sufficient or student decides to apply to be naturalised a British citizen with Settled Status in the future, this person will need to prove that they held comprehensive sickness insurance OR that they held a European Health Insurance … These cookies do not store any personal information. Confusingly, under the UK's … Self-sufficiency is when an individual … However, they do say that if your insurance … If you did not have CSI when this was required, this is considered to be a breach of UK immigration law. Please let us know the nature of your enquiry, Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession - January 2021 Update, Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents – Updated 7th January 2021, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association. Nothing in this post applies to those types of application. Excellent communication, with very clear 'yes' and 'no' answers, we were never in doubt at any point in the process. But she cannot apply for British citizenship because of the unfair Comprehensive Sickness Insurance … Without this you are not meeting the requirements of the Regulations. If you were an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or their family member in the UK as a student or self-sufficient person, there was a requirement for you to hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance during that time. His wife is a British citizen; her earnings are sufficient to provide for the family. Data Protection Registration number: ZA215411 Any reference to the Partners should be read as Directors. McGill & Co is a Scottish immigration law firm specialising in UK immigration, nationality and refugee law. This can throw up an unexpected problem for some EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members who have been in the UK as students or self-sufficient persons. An EHIC issued by the UK is not sufficient. If you are unable to rely on a historic period of residence or part time work, then you need to meet the CSI requirement. Proof of Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) is one such requirement for some, but not all, UK naturalisation applicants. If you were an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or their family member in the UK as a student or self-sufficient person, there was a requirement for you to hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance during that time. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The most obvious is that you had private health insurance cover. Good afternoon, if you have settled status under eea national route then comprehensive sickness insurance will be required to show you have insurance when applying for British citizenship. I recommend their efficiency to all. The UK Government implemented Comprehensive Sickness Insurance as a requirement for EEA nationals present in the UK as students or self-sufficient persons from 20 June 2011. Since 2011, Comprehensive Sickness Insurance has been a requirement for all EU/EEA citizens who are studying or living self-sufficient lives in the UK. If you have always worked and paid National Insurance contributions, then you do not need to read any further. This is likely to have the biggest impact on people who have studied or been self-sufficient in the UK but have not held acceptable comprehensive sickness insurance during that time. For many, as well as for their British relatives and friends, this was the … If you can show that you acquired permanent residence at some point in the past, then you do not need to show you had CSI. When deciding citizenship applications, the Home Office will now look at the last 10 years and, if you were in the UK during that period, they will assess whether CSI was required. Javier came to the UK in 2010 and worked continuously until 2016, when he stopped working in order to take care of his children. He is now 22. Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) is a legal requirement for EEA and Swiss students, self-sufficient persons and their family members who are residing in the UK with them. If you are considering applying for British citizenship, and are concerned that the CSI requirement may be a problem, then please get in touch. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. If it was required, and you did not have it, your citizenship application can be refused. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The UK can require you to provide proof of comprehensive sickness insurance cover for yourself and your family members. He has been a ‘stay at home dad’ since. McGill & Co is the trading name of G M McGill & Co. Ltd ( SC503508 ) registered office at Edinburgh. One of the requirements is causing some headaches as it has often been neglected: the Comprehensive Sickness Insurance … Although he is no longer a family member (as he is over 21), once you have acquired permanent residence CSI is no longer required. She studied for the 2014-15 academic year and has worked continuously since September 2015. However, the guidance states that decision makers can consider why an applicant did not have Comprehensive sickness Insurance and there is room for decision makers to exercise discretion based on these considerations. 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