Completing application form ECAA 4

This page explains how you should complete application form ECAA 4 to apply for permanent residence (indefinite leave to remain) in the United Kingdom. You can download the form from the right side of this page.

You should use form ECAA 4 if you wish to apply for permanent residence in the United Kingdom as a citizen of Bulgaria or Romania who came here to establish yourself in business under the terms of the former European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) that applied until those countries joined the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007.

The ECAA lasped on that date and citizens of Bulgaria and Romania may now exercise their treaty rights of self-employment as citizens of the European Economic Area. See the section For European citizens for more information about this.

However, if you came to the United Kingdom with permission to stay here under the terms of the ECAA, you may apply for permanent residence in this category after you have lived here for five years.

In addition to your initial permission to come here in this category, you will need to have been given at least one extension of your stay. You do not need to obtain a second extension, even if this means your permission to stay here expires before you have lived here for five years. You must meet all the requirements of the ECAA throughout the five years.

You will also be able to apply for permanent residence under EU law after you have exercised your treaty rights as an EU citizen for five years, but those five years cannot be said to have started before Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007.

You may apply for permanent residence on form ECAA 4 if you are established in business and you:

• are a citizen of Bulgaria or Romania; and
• entered the United Kingdom with a valid visa as a person intending to establish in business under the provisions of an EC Association Agreement; and
• were given an extension of stay before 1 January 2007 to remain in business under the provisions of the agreement; and
• were established in business in the United Kingdom, spent a continuous period of five years in the United Kingdom in this capacity and are still in that business; and
• met the requirements in the paragraph below throughout those five years; and
• submit audited accounts for the first four years of trading, and management accounts for the fifth year; and
• have sufficient knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom

The requirements mentioned above are that throughout the five years:

• your share of the profits of the business has been sufficient to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without you needing to seek other work or help from public funds; and
• you have not taken or sought other work (apart from your business) in the United Kingdom; and
• you have also met the requirements in one of the two categories below.

If you have established yourself in a company in the United Kingdom which you effectively control, the requirements are that:

• you have been actively involved in the promotion and management of the company; and
• you have had a controlling interest in the company; and
• the company was registered in the United Kingdom and has been trading or providing services in the United Kingdom; and
• the company owned the assets of the business.

If you have established yourself as a sole trader or in a partnership in the United Kingdom, the requirements are that:

• you have been actively involved in trading or providing services on your own account or in a partnership in the United Kingdom; and
• you owned, or together with your partners owned, the assets of the business; and
• in the case of a partnership, your part in the business was not actually employment that you pretended was a business partnership .

There is no fee for making this application.

You must be in the United Kingdom to apply. Please do not send us your application more than 28 days before the end of your five-year qualifying period. If you do, we may refuse your application.

You can use one form for a joint application by you, your partner and any children you have who are aged under 18, if they are applying as your dependants. Children over 18 must apply separately.

If you have any questions about completing your application form, you can contact us.

You should post your application form and supporting documents to the address given on the application form. For this type of application you cannot apply in person at our public enquiry offices.

We cannot tell in advance how long it will take to decide your application so you should not make non-urgent travel plans until we have returned your passport to you. However, our current target times for deciding applications show how quickly we aim to make a decision.

You must fill in the form in block capitals using a black pen. Please enter all dates as dd-mm-yyyy, for example 29-04-2000.

Sections 1 and 2 - personal details

You must complete these sections fully. If you are including dependants on your form, you should put your own details in section 1 and details of your dependants in section 2.

Section 3 - knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom

This is the section where you provide evidence that you meet the requirements listed at knowledge of language and life in the United Kingdom. You must be able to meet these requirements before you make your application for permanent residence, unless you are in one of the categories that are exempt.

Section 4 - your home

You should provide details of your accommodation and evidence of the costs involved, such as council tax, and gas and electricity, including evidence of paying these.

Section 5 - your business

This is the section where you must provide evidence of the business you have established You must provide all the relevant documentation, including your business accounts for the past four accounting years.

Section 6 - your finances

You must complete this section fully.

Section 7 - evidence of income and expenditure

You must provide all the evidence requested for your income and total monthly spending in the listed categories. See Documents you should send to support your application on form ECAA(ILR).

Section 8 - personal history

You should complete this section on behalf of yourself and any dependants you are including in your application. The information you provide in this section may be checked with other agencies, so you should make sure you include all relevant details. If necessary, you can continue your answers to this section on a separate sheet of paper.

Section 10 - declaration

You must sign and date your completed application form. Your application will not be valid unless you complete this section. If you are including any dependants as part of your application they do not need to sign the application form.

Indefinite leave to remain (often known as ILR) is permission to stay permanently (settle) in the United Kingdom, free from immigration control.Someone who depends on you financially, such as a husband, wife, partner, or child.