An EEA Permanent Residence Card confirms a right of permanent residence in the UK. The application can only be made from inside the UK. It is not mandatory for an EEA national to obtain this card.

In order to qualify for an EEA Permanent Residence Card, the following requirements must be met:

EEA National

  • Applicant must have lived in the UK for 5 years as a qualified person

Non – EEA National

  • Applicant must have continuously lived with their EEA national family member for 5 years; and
  • The EEA national family member must have a right of permanent residence or must have been a qualified person in those five years

A person can also be eligible for an EEA Permanent Residence Card, if evidence of the following can be provided:

  • The applicant must have lived in the UK as an extended family member of the EEA national and has been a holder of an EEA family permit and residence card respectively for 5 years
  • The applicant must have entered and lived in the UK for 5 years as a family member of a British citizen under the ‘Surinder Singh’ Route

The applicant must have initially lived in the UK as a family member of an EEA national and thereafter, with a retained right of residence.