Immigrationboards.com

Hi everyone,

This is an incredibly helpful forum and I'm hoping to get some advice with a few questions about applying for SET(LR). Some information about my timeline is available here: http://www.immigrationboards.com/immigr ... ml#p793690

This is a very long post because I have a lot of questions and I want to provide as much information as possible. Obviously I don't want to spend loads of money on the in-person appointment if it's too complex and unlikely to be successful. I hope someone who has gone through this (or knows more than I do) can help. I really hope I don't have to apply for FLR(M) this time and jump through all these hoops yet again in a few years' time for SET(M)!

I've always applied with valid leave and never been refused for a visa; I've been in the UK since September 2005, starting out on a student visa, then PSW, now spouse visa with a British husband (on the new rules, although there was a confusing letter that came with my FLR(M) application approval - see this post: http://www.immigrationboards.com/immigr ... 27345.html).

My main concern about applying for SET(LR) in person: In November 2013 my husband and I went to Canada for me to do postdoctoral training, for which I was paid a small salary - he didn't work in Canada, but he had a work permit, too, if he'd wanted to find work. We came back to the UK for a 2-week visit in the middle (so we were never away for more than 180 days). The postdoc was for 1 year, but in the end we only stayed for ~8.5 months because I got a full-time job offer in the UK and we moved back here in September 2014 (to a new location). While we were away, I was self-employed as a sole trader to do a research project in the UK, so I've done my self-assessment for both 2013 and 2014 (where I reported my foreign income in Canada as well as self-assessment). According to HMRC's calculations I was never a non-resident, so hopefully this will be (some) evidence for the Home Office that we definitely intended to return to the UK after my postdoc contract ended in Canada. Also, my husband got a leave of absence from his work for the year we anticipated being away, and he is now working for them again (in our new location). We moved our pet to Canada as well (and she didn't return for our short visit to the UK - but she came back with us in September via ferry).

My questions:

1. We're now both working full-time and together earn more than the £18,600 that would be required for FLR(M) - so I'm still meeting the terms of my current leave to remain, even without any of my self-employment income (which I'm hoping not to bother including!). But with two long absences quite recently, would it be considered not a straightforward case, and so I'd need to apply by post? It’s confusing because there is no financial section in the SET(LR) form. I think I might go mad with anxiety if they take 6+ months to decide my postal application again, so I'm really hoping to do the in-person application. Since I was on a spouse visa (not Tier 1, 2, etc.), my understanding is that the absence should be 'acceptable' for long residence since we were away for less than 180 days in any trip. But it might raise a red flag...?

2. For the SET(LR) application, do I need to include anything other than my passports and BRP covering the 10-year period? I'm not on the EEA partner route (my husband is British) but should I bring the same documentation that is required for FLR(M) to my appointment, just in case - or at least 3 months of bank statements and payslips? If I don't, then how will they know whether I still fulfill the requirements that I was under for my current visa? My husband is hoping to come with me to the PEO appointment, but I'm not sure if his presence is actually required or if he can mainly be with me for moral support.

3. Related to questions 1 & 2, how much explanation should I give in a cover letter re: our time in Canada? And I'm confused about whether I should list our Canadian address as my 'previous address' on the SET(LR) form, or DH's family member's place where our mail was being sent in the UK, or our last address in the UK, which we left in November 2013? Listing our Canadian address might lead them to say it's not a straightforward application, no?

4. If I first arrived in the country on 10/09/2005 on a student visa, is it true that I could do an in-person PEO appointment using SET(LR) on 12 August 2015 (earliest) on the basis of 10 years long residence? Or is that 29 days, so I'd have to go 13 August? My current leave expires in late August.

5. For the NHS levy on visas, it doesn't have to be paid if you're applying for ILR (vs. if I did the FLR(M) one). But there is a phrasing in the Declarations at the end of the SET(LR) application form, suggesting that if the ILR is rejected, the application would be considered for FLR - and then rejected unless you've already paid the Immigrant Health Surcharge. Are they trying to make everyone pay the NHS surcharge up front and then we'd have to ask to be reimbursed for the NHS surcharge if the ILR is successful? Or am I being paranoid and reading this wrong?


I know it's a lot of questions, but I hope someone can give me their opinion! Thank you!

If you are applying for settlement under long residence, then immigration rules for settlement under long residence only will apply.
Forget about your current leave (FLR-M and £18600 etc. etc.).

1. Absences - 18 months in total, never more than 6 months in instance - if you meet the requirements, you are fine.
2. Read the form and the guidance, search the forum - All in all, you need to provide documentary evidence(s) that is asked from applicants applying under long residence (your current leave has nothing to do with what evidence(s) are needed).
3. The more you try to confuse the worker, the more errors he will make! Is he bothered what you did in Canada and how much you earned? Or is worried about you not spending 6 months in one go outside the UK or 18 months in all during the 10 years legal stay in UK?
4. No earlier than 28 days before the 10th anniversary of the date of entry in the UK. Use the date calculator.
5. If they decide to refuse ILR but issue FLR, AIUI, you will be asked to pay the IHS.

Hi sushdmehta, thanks so much for your reply!

1. I do meet the requirements re: absences, so that's good.
2. If I understand it correctly from reading posts on this forum, as long as I have all of my passports and BRP cards for the period, then I don't have to provide much else in terms of documentation (Life in the UK test pass, proof that I speak English, etc.). But do I not still need to meet the rules of my current leave, FLR(M), if I'm applying for ILR based on long residence? Bank statements and payslips, etc.? I confess I'm a bit confused on this point.
3. Are you saying that I shouldn't say much about what we were doing while in Canada, and just list our previous (postal) address in the UK during that period of time? Do they want 5 full years of UK address history?
4. That's a very helpful date calculator - thank you!
5. That's good to hear, so hopefully I won't be asked to leave the country for not paying the IHS that would've been required for non-ILR requests.

Thanks again for your helpful advice!

2. Read the two opening statements of my previous response. And, read section 4 of the SET(LR) form for documentary evidence(s) required.
3. What I am saying is - what does Canada or anything you did in Canada have to do with your SET(LR) application in UK? You were absent from UK at that time ... and that is all (date absent from, to) that is relevant for your SET(LR) application.

See also SET(LR) guidance notes.

Thanks again sushdmehta, I really appreciate your advice! I need to stop thinking about the FLR(M) requirements.

Regarding question 3: On the SET(LR) form it asks what dates you were absent (from, to) and also to list a Reason for the absence. I have a spreadsheet that I was going to include with the application (because the number of trips is more than will fit in that box). If I put 'Postdoc/Holiday' as the reason for the absence in Canada, is that enough information for the caseworker?

Thanks so much for your help!