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**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Good afternoon,
I hope this message finds you well!

I aim to apply for naturalisation this year but I have a concern and I would really appreciate if you could offer your opinion. If it helps, I have been granted presettled status on 11 Feb 2019 and settled status on 7 Dec 2020.

My main concern is about employment and CSI. I have read all the posts but I am still very confused. I have moved to the UK in November 2015 and since then I have 3 years of employment, 2 years of maternity leave and 1 year of employment gap (I couldn’t find childcare and go back to work after my first child and I didn’t know that CSI existed).

Morning,

You may want to refer to this post: Lawful residence for applicants relying on settled status

...where you'll find:

It may be worth reading this article: Nobody has been refused citizenship for lack of CSI - Free Movement

...where we have:

Kevin Foster told the House of Commons: “no one has been refused British citizenship purely on the basis of the CSI requirement in free movement regulations”.

**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:11 AM

You don't tell us when your employment gap was. The relevant period is the last 5 years, that would mean starting from this time in 2017. The post above also says:

Lawful residence after obtaining settled or pre-settled status

Once you have been granted pre-settled or settled status, you would be lawfully resident in the UK under that status.

There is no longer a requirement to exercise treaty rights, nor have CSI cover for any periods of studies or self-sufficiency, since these are not requirements under the EUSS.

**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:13 AM

You may also want to refer to this post: Maternity leave, pregnancy and childbirth

...where we have:

You can count maternity leave towards PR if you were employed at time you went on maternity leave, as long as the break in employment isn't longer than 12 months. If, at the end of the 12 months, you can show evidence of job seeking, that should also count.

If you were self-employed and remained self-employed for that year, you may be accepted as continuing in self-employment, but may have to provide further evidence if your earnings for that year were exceptionally low.

In the case of St Prix v DWP, the ECJ found that a woman who gives up work, or seeking work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth, retains the status of ‘worker’ under EU law.

See: St Prix v DWP

Although the above was written with PR applications in mind, the principle is the same, as it refers to the treaty rights criteria. Obvioulsy this would only be relevant if the period in question was before you got pre-settled status and within the last 5 years, as per post above.

**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Please note that my husband, who is a NON-EEU citizen and now has settled status, has always been working full time, even during that year.

Under EU rules, only an EEA national can be a "sponsor" for this purpose, if you were supported by a non EEA or British spouse, then you would fall under the "self-sufficient" category and the CSI requirement, but see above.

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Also, on my HRCM app, it says I have 7 years of contributes.

NICs as such are not relevant to the application, you can also get NI credits when you claim certain benefits, so this is neither here nor there.

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Do you believe I can apply for naturalisation?

You mayalso want to refer to the following resources which are the starting point for citizenship applications:

And, as an EEA national, you may also want to consider the potential impact of becoming British if you wish to sponsor family members in the future: Impact on family members

**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:17 AM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

In addition, can I add my daughter to the application (with MN1 form) who is 2 years old, has settled status but was born ABROAD? We returned to the UK when she was 4 months old and she has lived in the UK ever since. From my understanding I think I could, but I’d like to make sure first.

If you look at this post: Children born abroad

...you'll find:

This document provides guidance on the registration of children under 18:

MN1 Guidance

On page 13, it says the following:

Registration at the Home Secretary’s discretion – Section 3(1) application

Children born abroad to parents who are applying for British citizenship

Where one or both parents are applying for British citizenship they may apply for one or more children who are not automatically British at birth (see “Automatic acquisition of British citizenship” above) to be registered as British citizens as part of a “family application”. Children in this category will be considered at the Home Secretary’s discretion and will usually be registered only if both the parents are granted or already hold British citizenship, or if one parent holds British citizenship and the other is settled in the UK.

**Site Admin** · 14-03-2022, 11:17 AM

As can be seen above, you can include a minor born abroad in your application.

**Angela10** · 16-03-2022, 12:42 PM

Hello Site Admin, thank you for your replies. However, I am still confused. In some posts it says that because I have settled status I don't need CSI, in others, it says it matters. My year gap is in 2018, when I wasn't working, I didn't have CSI because I didn't know it existed and my husband NON EEA citizen was working and providing for the family. Do you think I can apply? I'd like to make sure and I would honestly really appreciate your help as I can't afford to lose the money and I'm very confused.

**Site Admin** · 16-03-2022, 05:15 PM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Hello Site Admin, thank you for your replies. However, I am still confused. In some posts it says that because I have settled status I don't need CSI, in others, it says it matters.

Afternoon,

It's both yes and no, depending on the timing. Although the requirement is not CSI as such, but lawful residence, and once you have settled, or even just pre-settled status, you would be regarded as lawfully resident under that status, hence why it's no longer relevant for any periods AFTER getting EUSS status. Periods of residence prior to getting EUSS are regarded under EU rules, however, as noted in the article linked above, nobody has been refused just for not having had CSI, despite what the guidance may say.

I appreciate this isn't as clear cut as you would probably like it to be, but that's what we have to work with.

**Site Admin** · 16-03-2022, 05:20 PM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

My year gap is in 2018, when I wasn't working, I didn't have CSI because I didn't know it existed and my husband NON EEA citizen was working and providing for the family. Do you think I can apply? I'd like to make sure and I would honestly really appreciate your help as I can't afford to lose the money and I'm very confused.

I posted above a reference to maternity leave and not working, based on the St Prix case. It's not clear cut either, since you will note that the St Prix case says:

Specifically, Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, ‘must be interpreted as meaning that a woman who gives up work, or seeking work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth retains the status of ‘worker’, within the meaning of that article, provided she returns to work or finds another job within a reasonable period after the birth of her child’ (paragraph 46). In order to decide whether that latter period was reasonable, the national court should ‘take account of all the specific circumstances of the case in the main proceedings and the applicable national rules on the duration of maternity leave…’ (paragraph 42).

As stated in the Freemovement article, so far, nobody has been refused over not having CSI, so that is one side of the scale, the other side is the fact that you are not just applying for yourself, but also for a child not born in the UK, whose application hinges on yours also being successful (as per wording I posted above). In theory at least, this could mean that, if your application was refused, so would the child's. Again, I've not seen this happen.

If you want to be more certain that the period in question won't affect the applications (as, in this case, they are kind of linked, since the child was born abroad), it may be $afer to wait till you have had 5 years' lawful residence, bearing in mind there's no requirement to be British for any practical purposes, other than being able to vote in GEs, and there's not going to be one for years. If there's a reason why this isn't a viable option, then you may want to consider some legal advice, particularly because you are making two connected applications.

**Angela10** · 23-05-2022, 07:31 AM

Originally posted by Site Admin View Post

Under EU rules, only an EEA national can be a "sponsor" for this purpose, if you were supported by a non EEA or British spouse, then you would fall under the "self-sufficient" category and the CSI requirement, but see above.

NICs as such are not relevant to the application, you can also get NI credits when you claim certain benefits, so this is neither here nor there.

You mayalso want to refer to the following resources which are the starting point for citizenship applications:

And, as an EEA national, you may also want to consider the potential impact of becoming British if you wish to sponsor family members in the future: Impact on family members

Good morning SIte Manager,
I hope you are well!

I am back on this post as I am gathering information to apply for naturalisation this summer.

My only concern at this point is the fact that I haven't worked after my first maternity leave, for a little over 1 year - this falls in the 5 years period. The reason for that is that we were relocating to London and we didn't expect long waiting lists for nurseries for my baby. We couldn't literally find a place for her until 1 year later. As mentioned in the thread, I am an EEA citizen, sponsoring my non-EEA partner, who kept working. It was easier for him to continue working as I was also breastfeeding and caring for our daughter. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be working, instead of my husband, at the time.

I know I could wait a couple of more years but I would prefer to apply now as I have done the English test.

Do you have any advice for me? Do you think it is something for which home office could certainly refuse the application? Alternatively, what could I do to prevent this from happening (eg. writing a letter to explain)?

Alternatively if a lawyer could possibly advise it would be very helpful, as I am afraid to lose the full amount of the fee.

Thank you very much once again.

**ClaudLatina** · 27-05-2022, 02:32 PM

Originally posted by Angela10 View Post

Good morning SIte Manager,
I hope you are well!

I am back on this post as I am gathering information to apply for naturalisation this summer.

My only concern at this point is the fact that I haven't worked after my first maternity leave, for a little over 1 year - this falls in the 5 years period. The reason for that is that we were relocating to London and we didn't expect long waiting lists for nurseries for my baby. We couldn't literally find a place for her until 1 year later. As mentioned in the thread, I am an EEA citizen, sponsoring my non-EEA partner, who kept working. It was easier for him to continue working as I was also breastfeeding and caring for our daughter. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be working, instead of my husband, at the time.

I know I could wait a couple of more years but I would prefer to apply now as I have done the English test.

Do you have any advice for me? Do you think it is something for which home office could certainly refuse the application? Alternatively, what could I do to prevent this from happening (eg. writing a letter to explain)?

Alternatively if a lawyer could possibly advise it would be very helpful, as I am afraid to lose the full amount of the fee.

Thank you very much once again.

The forum is now closed and if you need urgent advice, I am afraid you will need to contact an immigration lawyer privately, this will attract a fee.
You can access the details of our trusted team of lawyers in this post: Our Legal Team - UKCEN Citizenship and Residence for European Nationals and their families

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