Thanks, Vinny.
I do have a couple of questions based on my reading of the documents cited. The relevant section states the following:
3. CALCULATION OF THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD FOR SETTLEMENT
In assessing whether or not an applicant has fulfilled the requirement to have spent 5 years in continuous residence in the same capacity, short absences abroad, for example for holidays (consistent with annual paid leave) or business trips (consistent with maintaining employment or self-employment in the United Kingdom), may be disregarded, provided he has clearly continued to be based here.
3.1. Discretion in cases where continuous residence has been broken
In addition, time spent here in this capacity may exceptionally be aggregated, and continuity not insisted upon, in cases where:
• there have been no absences abroad (apart from those described in paragraph 3 above) and authorised employment or business here has not been broken by any interruptions of more than 3 months or amounting to more than 6 months in all; or
• there have been longer absences abroad, provided the absences were for compelling grounds either of a compassionate nature or for reasons related to the applicant's employment or business in the United Kingdom. None of the absences abroad should be of more than 3 months, and they must not amount to more than 6 months in all.
What exactly does this mean? If you are outside the UK on work-related or annual leave reasons, would those days be excluded from the calculation? Or are they included in the 'maximum 6 month' criterion?
And, do they go thru our passport to verify if what we have stated on the application form is consistent with the entry/exit stamps in the passport?
