Useful definitions
- European Union (EU) national
- The European Economic Area (EEA)
- The Overseas Territories
- Ordinarily Resident
- Norwegian or Swiss ‘Worker'
European Union (EU) national
You are an EU national if you are a national or citizen of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden or the UK.
The European Economic Area (EEA)
The EEA is a larger area than the EU. It is made up of all countries in the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The Overseas Territories
The “overseas territories” are Anguilla; Aruba; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Ducie & Oeno Islands; Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands; French Polynesia; French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Greenland; Henderson; Mayotte; Montserrat; Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten); Pitcairn; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha); St Pierre et Miquelon; the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies; Turks and Caicos Islands; and Wallis and Futuna.
Ordinarily Resident
You are ‘ordinarily resident’ if you have habitually, normally and lawfully resided in that area from choice and for a settled purpose.
Norwegian or Swiss ‘Worker’
A Norwegian or Swiss applicant can be employed or self-employed in the UK, either on a full-time or part-time basis.
Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the EEA. However, since 01 June 2002, Swiss nationals have had rights which are similar to those of nationals of EEA countries.
Students who give up work to start a course should still be treated as workers if their course is related to their former job or area of work.
