New changes to EEA Regulations

On the 3rd July 2018 Parliament introduced new changes to EEA Regulations, which will come into force on the 24th July 2018.

Dual citizenship

In November 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that EU citizens who move to the UK and then become British citizens will retain their rights to free movement under the EU law, as long as they exercised treaty rights before naturalising as British citizens. The Regulation were amended to incorporate this judgement and it will remain to be the case after Brexit.

Retaining self-employed status

The circumstances under which an EU citizen can retain the status of a self-employed person are brought into line with the conditions of retaining the status of employed EU citizen. A self-employed person is considered as a person who is exercising treaty rights and therefore, can continue legally reside in the UK, have access to certain benefits, have the right to bring their family members to the UK and also apply for permanent residency.

Self-employed EU citizens can retain their status if:

∙ They temporarily can not work as a result of illness or accident;

∙ Involuntary they had to officially stop their self-employment. They can either register as jobseekers or provide other proof of job search or search for self-employment options having a genuine chance to be engaged;

∙ Involuntary they had to officially stop their self-employment and undergo vocational training, or voluntarily stop their self-employment in order to undergo vocational training related to the previous occupation.

Those applicants who have already worked as self-employed for one year can maintain their status for a period of six months or longer by providing evidence that they continue their job search. Those who have worked for less than one year can also maintain their status for a maximum of six months.

Exclusion and deportation

New changes stated that a person subjected to deportation order or exclusion under the EEA Regulations does not have the right of admission, an initial right of residence, an extended right of residence or a permanent right of residence.

A citizen who has received a travel ban or deportation decision against them in accordance with EU rules is automatically deprived of the right to re-enter the UK. Thus, applications under EU regulation will be automatically deemed invalid if the applicant is subject to exclusion or a deportation order.

Primary carers of EU nationals

 The EU immigration rules provide that the primary carer of an EU national can obtain the right to reside in the UK. Under the EEA Regulations 2016 it was stated that in order to qualify for primary carer it is necessary to prove the fact of sole custody of an EU national or to share the custody with someone who is not an “exempt person”. For example, you can share care with a person who is not an EU citizen and who does not have a right to reside in the UK. The introduced changes widen the definition of the primary carer. Now in order to qualify for a primary carer, a person can share custody equally with someone else even if it is an “exempt person”.