In order to qualify for a Frontier Worker Permit, you must demonstrate to the UK Visas and Immigration that you were not primarily resident in the UK immediately before 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020, and that you continued to be resident outside the UK thereafter.

You will be considered as not being primarily resident in the UK at any particular time if:

• You have spent less than 180 days in the UK in the 12 months period prior to the date your application for a Frontier Worker Permit is considered;
• You have spent more than 180 days in the UK in the 12 months period prior to the date your application for a Frontier Worker Permit is considered and, you have returned to your country of primary residence at least once in the 6 months period prior to the date your application is considered and twice in the 12 months period prior to the date your application is considered;
• You have spent more than 180 days in the UK in the 12 months period prior to the date your application for a Frontier Worker Permit is considered and, there are exceptional reasons for your not having visited your country of residence once in the 6 months period prior to the date your application is considered and twice in the 12 months period prior to the date your application is considered.

If you have spent more than 180 days outside the UK you will be required by the UK Visas and Immigration to provide evidence of your travels outside the UK during the 12 months period prior to the date your application is considered.

You will also need to provide evidence that the country you travelled to, during the 12 months period prior to the date of your application being considered, is indeed your country of primary residence by showing proof of address in that country. The UK Visas and Immigration may accept a simple declaration regarding your non-UK residence as proof of your residence outside the UK. However, where the UK Visas and Immigration has concerns that your declaration may not be genuine, they may make further enquiries prior to reaching a decision on your application.

Your non-UK resident address does not need to be in one of the 27 EU member states as the Frontier Worker Visa route permits non-UK residence to be anywhere outside the UK.

In order to be granted exemption from meeting the travel requirements of an application for Frontier Worker Permit you must satisfy the UK Visas and Immigration that there were circumstances beyond your control that prevented you from travelling to your country of primary residence during the relevant 12 months period. The UK Visas and Immigration may also accept evidence of other compelling practical and compassionate reasons as to why you were unable to travel to your country of primary residence during the relevant 12 months period.

Examples of circumstances that could be considered as exceptional may include the following:

• Illness or accident (including COVID 19 related illness);
• Inability to travel arising from COVID 19 travel restrictions;
• Becoming a Frontier Worker just before 31 December 2020 and not having been able to travel to country of primary residency before submitting the application;
• Being prevented from travelling during the relevant 12 months period due to childbirth or pregnancy.

The above is not an exhaustive list and the UK Visas and Immigration will take any set of circumstances, which prevented you from traveling during the relevant 12 months period, into account when considering your application.

In order to be considered as a Frontier Worker, you must satisfy the UK Visas and Immigration that you engaged in work as a worker or self-employed person in the UK on at least once occasion before 31 December 2020.

In order to maintain your Frontier Worker status, you must demonstrate that you have continued to come to the UK to engage in work or self-employment on at least one occasion in any 12 months period. The 12 months period can be counted from the date of the first instance of engagement in work or self-employment in the UK in 2020.

You must also satisfy the UK Visas and Immigration that the work or self-employed activity you engage in is genuine and effective, and not marginal or ancillary to your lifestyle whilst you are in the UK.

If you have not been engaged in economic activity as a worker or self-employed person in the UK for a period of 12 months or more since 01 January 2020, the UK Visas and Immigration may still grant you a Frontier Worker Permit on the basis of your having retained your status as a worker or self-employed person.

Following the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgment in Gusa C442/16 a self-employed person is able to retain their status as a self-employed person in a similar way to a person retaining status after a period of employment.

You may be able to retain your status as a worker or self-employed person if you can demonstrate to the UK Visas and Immigration that you have become unemployed within 12 months of your last period of work in the UK for one of the following reasons:

• You are temporarily unable to engage in work as a result of illness or accident;
• You are in duly recorded involuntary unemployment;
• You voluntarily ceased work in the UK to commence vocational training related to your previous work;
• You are temporarily unable to work because of pregnancy or childbirth.

You may be able to retain your status as a worker or self-employed person in the UK after the initial 12 month period provided that you continue to look for work or self-employment in the UK and register yourself as a jobseeker with the job centre or a recruitment agency. However, if you fail to register yourself as a jobseeker or engage in work or self-employment in the UK after the initial 12 month period, then you will lose your retained status as a worker or self-employed person.