Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens resident in the UK are eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Mr Robert Goodwill

EEA nationals who have exercised a Treaty right in the UK, for a continuous period of 5 years, acquire an EU right to reside here permanently. Exercising a Treaty right in the context means that the EEA national must have been a worker, a self employed person, a self sufficient person or a student.

Once they have fulfilled the relevant criteria, an EEA national automatically acquires this EU right to reside here permanently. They do not need to apply for documentation confirming this right.