Have you or your family been refused permanent residence in the UK because you did not have private healthcare insurance?
The EU Rights Clinic would like to hear from you!
***Watch this video for a summary of the problem (from 16:45)***
At present, the UK does not accept that reliance on the public healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), constitutes a valid form of comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) for the purposes of claiming a right of residence in the UK on the basis of Directive 2004/38 as given effect by the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016.
The Home Office systematically refuses to issue residence documentation to EEA students and EEA migrants who do not work, as well as their family members, on the sole basis that they rely on the NHS for their healthcare needs.
This is despite the fact that, as a matter of UK law, all persons who are ordinarily resident in the UK can access the NHS for free at the point of use.
This has led to a number of reports in the press of EU citizens in the UK being refused permanent residence because they did not hold CSI during the time they did not work in the UK.
The EU Rights Clinic considers this to be a major breach of EU law. We intend on raising the issue once more with the EU institutions. We would therefore like to hear from those who have been affected by the UK’s policy on CSI.
We are therefore calling upon EU citizens living in the UK who have been refused permanent residence because they did not have private healthcare to contact us by email and share their experiences. Please send us your story to eurightsclinic – please insert “UK CSI” in the subject of your email).
We hope to use this information to formulate a complaint to the EU institutions so they can bring an end to the restrictive policy of the UK authorities.
All information received will be treated confidentially and will not be divulged without your explicit consent.
Thank you!
The EU Rights Clinic