From:
Free Movement Operational Policy Team
Subject:
Comprehensive sickness insurance for family members
of students
Date:
1st June 2015
Issue number:
06/2015
Purpose of notice
1. This notice provides guidance on assessing applications from family
members of students who are required to hold comprehensive sickness
insurance (‘‘CSI’’) in the UK following amendments to the Immigration
(European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (as amended)(‘’the
Regulations’’).
Background
2. Prior to amendments to the EEA Regulations which came into force on 6th
April 2015, EEA nationals who are residing in the UK as students were
required to hold CSI for themselves, but the Regulations did not explicitly
require such persons to also hold CSI for any family members who are
residing in the UK with them. This is in contrast to the requirements for
self-sufficient persons, who are explicitly required to hold CSI for
themselves and any family members.
3. Changes have been made to the Regulations to bring the requirements
for family members of students in line with those for the family members of
self-sufficient persons.
Implementation
4. Whilst changes to the Regulations were made on 6th April, for operational
reasons, the requirement for family members of students to hold CSI will
only be applied in practice from 22nd June 2015. The change will be
communicated on the gov.uk website two to three weeks before this date
to enable customers to comply with the requirement.
Registration certificates and residence cards – applications received on or after
22nd June 2015
5. Applications for registration certificates or residence cards received
on or
after 22nd June will be decided in line with the amended Regulations. This
means that evidence of CSI must be provided to cover the EEA national
and any family member also residing in the UK with them. Where there is
no evidence of CSI for the EEA national or their family member(s), the
application must be refused in line with regulation 4. For full details of
what is sufficient evidence of CSI, see the modernised guidance [hyperlink
redacted].
Registration certificates and residence cards – applications received before 22nd
June
6. In order to give applicants the opportunity to comply with the amended
Regulations, where an application for a registration certificate or residence
card has been received
prior to 22nd June, and that application remains
outstanding, caseworkers can proceed to issue a document where the
EEA national student has evidence of CSI and all other requirements of
the Regulations are met. This means that you must not refuse an
application where the family members of the EEA national do not also
have CSI on the date of decision (even if that decision date is after 22nd
June). In order to make applicants fully aware of the change in
requirements, where it is proposed to issue a registration certificate or
residence card, caseworkers must issue an accompanying letter which
explains that any subsequent applications (including for permanent
residence) must show full compliance with the new requirements for CSI.
A copy of this letter can be found at Annex A of this notice.
Permanent residence cards and documents certifying permanent residence
7. Applications for permanent residence must be assessed according to the
qualifying period under consideration. For example, a family member of an
EEA national student applied for a permanent residence card on 15th
February 2015 and this application remains outstanding on 22nd June
2015. They have provided evidence their EEA national sponsor was a
student and that the EEA national held CSI for the period January 2010 to
January 2015. As this qualifying period preceded changes to the
Regulations, we can accept for the purposes of CSI, that the Regulations
have been met.
8. Contrast this to a family member of an EEA national student who applies
for a permanent residence card on 15th September 2015. This application
relies on a qualifying period of between September 2010 and September
2015. In this case therefore, we would require the family member to
provide evidence that they also have CSI, in addition to their EEA national
sponsor for the period between 22nd June 2015 and September 2015 (i.e
the period after which the requirement to hold CSI was applied). Any
period preceding 22nd June, we can accept evidence of CSI for the EEA
national only.
Enquiries
9. Masterclass sessions on the modernised guidance will be available for all
decision-makers who require it over the next few weeks. If specific
training is required on any section in particular, please email the Free
Movement Operational Policy Team mailbox at the following address in
the first instance: [email address redacted].
[name redacted]
Head of Free Movement Operational Policy Team
01 June 2015
Annex A
This letter is to notify you of changes to the Immigration (European Economic
Area) Regulations 2006 (as amended) (‘’the Regulations’’) which came into
effect on 6th April 2015. From this date family members of EEA nationals who
are exercising Treaty rights in the UK as a student, will be required to hold
comprehensive sickness insurance (‘’CSI’’) in the UK. This is in addition to
the EEA national also holding CSI. This requirement is being applied to all
applications for a registration certificate or residence card made on or after
22nd June 2015. This will also apply to applications for a document certifying
permanent residence or a permanent residence card.
As your application for registration certificate/residence card
[delete as
appropriate] was received prior to 22nd June, your application has been
considered in line with the previous Regulations and it has not been
assessed whether any family members also hold CSI. Please note, however,
that any subsequent applications made under the Regulations after 22nd June
will be decided on the basis that CSI is required for any family members of an
EEA national who is exercising Treaty rights in the UK as a student.
For more information on these changes, please see the Gov.uk website at the
following link modernised guidance [hyperlink redacted].