Changes to the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006
07 November 2012
On 8 November 2012, the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 will change.
The amended regulations will set out the rights of EEA nationals and their family members to enter and reside in the UK and will also confirm the criteria for rights to permanent residence.
The key changes to the regulations include:
• removal of the requirement in regulation 8(2(a) that an extended family member must have resided in a country in which the EEA national also resides. This gives effect to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) judgment in the case of Rahman (C83/11)
• amendments to confer rights of entry and residence on the primary carer of a British citizen. This gives effect to the ECJ judgment in the case of Ruiz Zambrano (C34/09)
• amendments to who is to be regarded as a primary carer for derivative rights
• amendments to regulation 26 so that a person claiming to be the durable partner of an EEA national may only appeal where they have provided sufficient evidence of the relationship with that EEA national
• amendments to enable the Secretary of State to accept alternative evidence of identification and nationality where a person is unable to provide a valid ID card or passport due to circumstances beyond their control.
A right to reside in the UK on the basis of ECJ judgment in Ruiz Zambrano does not stem directly from Directive 2004/38/EC and is therefore referred to as a 'derivative right'. This means that the recognition of this right by the UK is not equal to rights under the directive.
This also means that those who acquire derivative rights are not eligible to acquire permanent residence in the UK, or to sponsor family members in to the UK once they have acquired a right to reside.
A new application form for persons applying on the basis of Ruiz Zambrano will be available on our website shortly. Until this form is published, applicants must complete form EEA2 (see right side of this page) and include a covering letter explaining the reason for their application. Applicants should post the form and letter to this address:
UK Border Agency
European Applications
PO Box 306
Dept 110
Liverpool
L2 0QN
Guidance for applicants will be available on our website soon. This will be published in the European nationals section.