Comprehensive Sickness Insurance no longer an issue in citizenship applications for students and self-sufficient persons

Past lack of Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) is no longer an issue for EU nationals trying to get their British citizenship, revised Home Office policy says.

The Home Office has now updated a third document, the Form AN guidance, to say that CSI is in fact a non-issue:

people who did not hold comprehensive sickness insurance under the EEA regulations whilst either a student or a self-sufficient person… can now meet the lawful residence requirement simply by showing you have been granted settled status under the EU [Settlement Scheme]. You also no longer need to explain why you did not hold comprehensive sickness insurance.

Having said that, the full naturalisation guidance maintains “it may still be appropriate to continue to apply the requirement in certain circumstances” and the good character guidance still mentions lack of CSI as an issue. So while people with an otherwise unblemished immigration record can relax, the Home Office may be reserving the right to hold CSI over a small minority of perceived undesirables.

Therefore, if you have a more complex immigration history, you should still seek legal advice.