For EEA nationals and their family members, making an application to the Home Office isn;t always straight forward. The first step will be to identify the relevant EEA form for the type of application you want to make.

A number of Home Office EEA forms are available for use by EEA nationals and their family members looking to evidence their residence in the UK:

•Form EEA(PR)

•Form EEA(QP)

•Form EEA(FM)

•Form EEA(EFM)

While use of these is not mandatory for making your application, using the relevant form can be effective in ensuring you provide the relevant and correct information to the Home Office in order for your application to be processed.

Regardless of whether you use an official EEA form, you are still required to submit supporting documentation and pay the relevant processing fee.

Form EEA PR

Form EEA PR form is used to apply for a document that certifies UK permanent residence status if you are an EEA or Swiss national, or non-EEA national who is a family member to an EEA national.

You may only apply if you have been resident in the UK for at least 5 years, exercising your Treaty rights prior to applying. In other words to have been resident in the UK as a qualified person, ie working, as a student, self-sufficient or actively seeking employment.

A non-EEA national must have been resident for 5 years in the UK as a family member of an EEA national qualified person or a permanent UK resident.

However, should the EEA national that sponsored you die, cease activity, leave the UK, or you are no longer married to or living with them but have retained you right of residence, you may still use the EEA PR form to apply for a permanent residence card.

Family members of British citizens who have worked in a different EEA state prior to returning to the UK may apply under Surinder Singh cases may also use the EEA PR form.

In each circumstance, you will need to have documentary evidence that you have been residing in the UK for the 5-year period continuously prior to applying for permanent residence status. This will mean having first obtained the relevant residence documents using one of the forms listed below.

Should you wish to go on to apply for British citizenship, you will first need to obtain permanent residency.

The EEA PR form is 85 pages long making it extensive and notoriously difficult for applicants to complete. It is therefore advisable to seek legal advice when filling in the EEA PR form.

Applying for Permanent Residence using EEA PR Form

You may apply for permanent residency certification online or in paper form.

Should you wish to apply online, you will need to have all supporting documents prepared in advance. The online form will only ask you to complete the relevant questions and will skip any that do not apply to you based on the information you give. Once completed, you will need to pay the £65 processing fee, print off the form and send it with all supporting documents to the Home Office.

To use the paper form, you will need to print off a copy of the form, fill out all relevant sections and enclose all supporting documents prior to sending to the Home Office. You will need to pay the £65 fee before your EEA PR form can be processed.

You may add qualifying family members on one form, each individual will need to pay the £65 fee. So for example 2 individuals applying will cost £130, 3 = £195 and so on. Failure to pay the correct fee will result in your application being rejected.

Summary of supporting documents required

All supporting documents should be in their original format.

You will need to provide 2 passport-sized photographs with your name written on the back, as will every family member applying using the EEA PR form. Your sponsor will also need to supply a passport sized photograph with their name written on the back.

You will need to send your valid passport, national identity card or travel document. Non-EEA national family members will also be require to give their biometric information, finger prints and digital photo which can be obtained from any post office with a Home Office Biometric Enrolment centre.

Any family members will be required to provide proof of their relationship status to the EEA national, birth certificates and marriage certificates are examples of these.

Previous residence documents, evidence of your living arrangements, employment records or school letters if applying for a child of school age, will all need to be sent with your form.

There is an awful lot at stake when applying for permanent residency, so it is important to get it right. It is highly advisable to seek legal advice to ensure that you have met all the conditions and filed the forms correctly to avoid unnecessary delay or even refusal.

Form EEA QP

Form EEA QP is for EEA nationals who wish to register as a Qualified Person and apply for a Registration Certificate to confirm their right of residence, to exercise Treaty rights. A qualified person is a person who is either a worker, self employed, self sufficient, a student or a jobseeker.

Applying for a registration certificate using the EEA QP form

You may apply using the EEA QP form either online or in paper form. If you are applying as a student or self sufficient person, you will need to apply using the paper form.

As with all the online processing, you will be asked to only complete the questions relevant to you and you will need to have all your supporting documents to hand if using the online form.

There is a fee of £65 to process the application that is payable before processing will begin. Only one person may use this form.

You will need two passport sized photographs of yourself with your name written on the reverse and one named passport sized photograph of your sponsor.

Your valid passport, or valid national identity card will be required.

Summary of supporting documents required

You will need to provide evidence of you employment status, this could be with wage slips. Or if self employed evidence of income/tax paid and national insurance contributions.

If you are claiming self sufficiency, you will need to provide evidence of your funds such as bank statements.

A student will be required to provide evidence of the course they are enrolled on and attending.

For a job seeker, you will need to be able to provide proof that you are actively seeking and stand a good chance of gaining employment.

This evidence is crucial to your application being successful and as such is important to get right. It is therefore advisable to seek legal advice to ensure you have everything that is required.

Form EEA FM

Form EEA FM is for family members of a EEA national who wish to apply for a registration certificate as an EEA national, or a registration card if a non-EEA national. These documents give you the right to live and work in the UK for a period of 5 years to enable you to take the next step and apply for permanent residency.

Family members include spouse, civil partner, child, grandchild, parent or grandparent of the EEA national.

Applying for a registration certificate/card using the EEA FM form

You may apply using the EEA FM form either online or in paper form.

As with all the online processing, you will be asked to only complete the questions relevant to you and you will need to have all your supporting documents to hand if using the online form.

There is a fee of £65 to process the application for each individual listed on the application form.

You will need two passport sized photographs of yourself and any other applicants listed, with names written on the reverse and one named passport sized photograph of your sponsor.

Each applicant will be required to provide a valid passport, travel document or valid national identity card with the EEA FM form.

Summary of supporting documents required

You will need to provide proof of your relationship to the EEA national who is the sponsor. This may be via a marriage or civil partnership certificate or birth or adoption certificate if a child, grandchild, parent or grandparent of the EEA national.

Your sponsor will be required to prove their qualified residency status with employment records, HMRC or NI documents, bank statements or letters from college or university proving their student status. Job seekers will need evidence from the Job Centre Plus amongst other things to prove that they are in receipt of benefits.

Non-EEA nationals will need to supply their biometric information, fingerprint and digital photograph, which can be obtained at any post office which has a Home Office Biometric Enrolment counter.

The application form is 100 pages long and the supporting documentation required is extensive. It is important to provide the correct information as there is so much at stake, which is why it is highly advisable to seek legal advice.

Form EEA EFM

Form EEA EFM is for extended family members of a relevant EEA national who wishes to apply for a registration certificate, if you are an EEA national, or a residence card in you are a non-EEA national.

The relevant EEA national is a person who is in the UK as a qualified person as mentioned above.

Extended family members include partners who are neither married to nor civil partner of the EEA national, but are in a durable relationship. Other extended family members include individuals such as aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins or siblings of the relevant EEA national.

To apply as the relative of an EEA national you will need to have been dependent on them either financially or due to health issues or be a continuous member of their household.

Only one person may apply per form, each individual who wishes to apply using the EEA EFM form must complete their own application form.

Applying for a registration certificate/card using the EEA EFM form

Applications can be made online or in paper form. However there are certain circumstances where it is only possible to apply using the paper form, such as applying at a different time from your sponsor, you are a student or self-sufficient person with financial responsibility for another family member or you are applying on the basis of retained rights.

Online applications will only ask you the relevant questions and will move past any questions that do not apply to you. You will still be required to print out the form once completed and send it with all supporting documentation to the Home Office.

A fee of £65 will need to be paid when submitting your EEA EFM form.

Non-EEA nationals will need to include their biometric information with the application before it will be considered. Biometric data contains a digital image and fingerprint of the non-EEA national and can be obtained from a post office that has a Home Office biometric enrolment counter.

Summary of supporting documents required

As with all applications, supporting documents must be in the original format unless you can demonstrate reasons beyond your control.

You will need to provide 2 passport sized photographs of yourself with your name written clearly on the back and your sponsor will need to include one named passport size photograph.

You must also include your valid passport, travel document or national identity card. Your sponsor will need to include a valid national identity card.

It is also required that you show proof that you are related to your sponsor. This may be done with documentation such as birth or adoption certificates. If you claiming under a durable relationship, you will need to provide evidence of this relationship with documents that can prove you have been living with your partner for at least 2 years.

As with the above EEA forms, your sponsor will need to provide evidence of their status.

The application form is 78 pages long and the supporting documentation required is extensive. It is important to get this right, so it is advisable to seek legal advice to ensure you have complied with all the requirements.

DavidsonMorris can help with completing your EEA form

DavidsonMorris are specialists in UK immigration. We advise individuals including EEA nationals and their families on how to secure their immigration status in the UK, with guidance on completing the relevant EEA form.

At the time of writing (June 2018), under proposed immigration reforms, EU citizens and their family members are expected to be required to apply for the new ‘Settled Status’. However, at this current time the rules remain unchanged and individuals still need to apply for relevant residency status within the existing system. We can advise on any queries you may have.