Evidence of UK Residence

Hi

I'm an EU citizen living and working in UK, with a permanent residence document (received after living in UK for 5 years), and have now completed another one year as a permanent resident. This means I am now eligible to apply for BC, and am busy filling in the online form. I have been employed the entire time. The online instructions for documents I need to provide include the following:

"If you are an EEA National, you need to include letters from employers, educational establishments or other government departments, indicating your presence in the UK during the relevant 3- or 5-year period."

Do I actually need to contact my employers from the past 5 years and get letters from them? Or is there some other documentation I can show - such as payslips, P60's or council tax bills?

Many thanks,
Sera

If you are an EEA national, you can't prove residence by bills.

As an EEA national, you are free to enter and leave the UK as you wish. So you can potentially have a secondary residence that generate bills but you don't live in the UK.

For my citizenship (I am EEA) I provided payslips and P60s.

Actually, at the time the Nationality Checking Service (doesn't exist anymore) told me I need only to prove the last 12 months because the previous 5 years were demonstrated by the permanent residence.

Still, follow what's in the application. If they say 5 years, send send 5 years worth of P60s, payslips... etc. You can also add this:

https://www.gov.uk/get-proof-employment-history

Most companies have an online form where you can ask for a proof of employment. Usually their HR send you a letter or an email within 2 - 3 days with a summary of your time at the company.