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Hi everyone. I need your expert advise with regards to my situation.

I am currently on tier 2 general and has been on Maternity leave since Sept 25, 2019. I and my baby were due to come back to the UK on January 17 (haven't booked the flight) so that I wouldn't exceed my 180 days absence for ILR application this May 2020. However, my baby's pediatrician advised against coming back with the baby due to the risk of contracting coronavirus on our travel. I would have been travelling with a 1-month old infant with a stopover in Hong Kong (which was pretty hot with coronavirus cases since January). My baby's pediatrician advised that I breastfeed my baby 'til 4 months and then start her on solids by then before I return to the UK and leave her here until the coronavirus outbreak is resolved. I then booked my flight instead on this coming April 8, 2020. This caused me to exceed my 180 days absence because I had an absence of 49 days from March 5 to April 20+ due to combined sick leave (I had a surgery and I had to recover at home) and annual leave.

Do you think the UKVI will approve my ILR application due to this reason? I have a medical certificate from my child's pediatrician stating this. Also, I couldn't spend the rest of my maternity leave in the UK where my child is left at home in the Philippines.

The 180 days limit is very strict. You are exceeding your absence limit not due to illness or exceptional circumstances but the fact that you chose to be outside the UK for a very long period mostly unaffected by exceptional circumstances. The recent outbreak cannot help you to justify such a long absence since the last summer

Do you still think the coronavirus situation won't let me qualify for exemption given that it is already considered pandemic?

You might struggle to prove it was a "hotspot" in mid January given that reports are that hong Kong had 15 confirmed cases on 3rd February, which was after your intended travel date.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co ... a-51349154

It was also only declared a pandemic this week.

katuhriina wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 14, 2020 5:16 am

Do you still think the coronavirus situation won't let me qualify for exemption given that it is already considered pandemic?

Bulk of your absences were in your control as I explained