ILR: 466 days period outside the UK

Hello,

I first came to UK in 2004 on a 5 year work permit, but I left in mid 2005 as I quit my job and went back to India. I took a job in India after reaching there.

I then came back to the UK on a different UK work permit (again valid for 5 years) in Fall 2006.

In total I was absent for 466 days from the UK between 2005 and 2006.

Apart from this I have been out of the UK on holidays for around 25 days in 2004-2005 and again for around 25 days in total between 2006-2007-2008.

I have read the residential requirements for naturalisation on UKBA website, which say -

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation you need to:
(a) have been resident in the United Kingdom for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
(b) have been present in the United Kingdom five years before the date of your application; and
(c) have not spent more than 450 days outside the United Kingdom during the five year period; and
(d) have not spend more than 90 days outside the United Kingdom in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
(e) have not been in breach of the immigration rules at any stage during the five-year period.

Looking at the above details, I DO NOT qualify for naturalisation if I apply next year in October when I will complete five years from the date I first entered the UK. I fail in point (c) above as I have spent 466 days outside the UK. As I have one more year to go, I can take care about point (d) and make sure that I am not outside the UK for more than 90 days (Oct 2008 to Oct 2009).

However, I recently noticed this on UKBA website:

There is discretion to allow absences above the normal limits. For details of how we apply discretion, you should read the page on discretion when considering absences from the United Kingdom during the residential qualifying period.

We will disregard absences of up to 540 days only if you meet all the other requirements and have established your home, family and a large part of your estate here. We would also expect that:

If you have been absent for more than 540 days, you should contact us in writing before you make your application. It is unlikely we will disregard these absences and your application would therefore be unsuccessful. When you write to us, you should provide the dates and reasons for your absence from the United Kingdom and evidence of your connections with the United Kingdom.

Is there any chnace of getting ILR if I apply next year (five years after I first entered the UK).[/i]

You seem to think naturalisation and ILR are the same thing, they are not. You need to get ILR, then you can be naturalised.

The rules you found are for naturalisation, not for ILR. For you to get ILR as a work permit holder you need to have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK.

Hi,

I do not think you can apply for ILR at this point as you have been out of the UK for more than 450 days - as you have realised. However, there is an exception to the required residency period if you have been outside the UK for over 450 days. To my knowledge the exception is if you can show significant ties to the UK in the time of your absence. This would be in the form of the majority of your family and property remaining in the UK.

So, unless you can show your significant ties to the UK during your absence then ILR is unlikely on this occasion. You will need to wait until the end of 5 years starting entry in 2006. Provided that you continue to meet the requirements for ILR.

Hope this helps.

djb123 wrote:You seem to think naturalisation and ILR are the same thing, they are not. You need to get ILR, then you can be naturalised.

The rules you found are for naturalisation, not for ILR. For you to get ILR as a work permit holder you need to have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK.

Thanks for pointing the difference out. Yes, I was confusing between naturalisation and ILR.

berkshire1987 wrote:
So, unless you can show your significant ties to the UK during your absence then ILR is unlikely on this occasion. You will need to wait until the end of 5 years starting entry in 2006. Provided that you continue to meet the requirements for ILR.

Thanks for your response.

The best I can do at the moment is to buy a house in the UK. Also, my wife and son are with me in the UK. Will this help?

need_a_tier1 wrote:Thanks for your response.

The best I can do at the moment is to buy a house in the UK. Also, my wife and son are with me in the UK. Will this help?

You need to show significant ties while you were absent.

paulp wrote:

need_a_tier1 wrote:Thanks for your response.

The best I can do at the moment is to buy a house in the UK. Also, my wife and son are with me in the UK. Will this help?

No, buying a house will not help and unless your wife and son remained in the UK during your absence neither will that. As stated by Paul, significant ties to the UK must be shown for the time of your absence.

berkshire1987 wrote: and unless your wife and son remained in the UK during your absence neither will that. As stated by Paul, significant ties to the UK must be shown for the time of your absence.

Thanks again for your response.

To be honest, there were no "significant" ties to the UK in the 466 days period I was outside the UK apart from the fact that I was constantly looking for a job in the UK.

Also, my stay outside the UK could have been much shorter, but someone at the HO lost some of my original documents which I had sent over from India to the immigration agent who was dealing with my work permit request. Apparently, they sent my original documents to their "Archival Section".

It was a lengthy and painful process to get them "retrieved" from there. And, the immigration agent insisted that I will need these documents to go with my visa application in India. This led to a 2 month delay.

Also, my new work permit (2006) was issued on the 421st day of my stay outside the UK, but I entered the UK only after a gap of 466 days as I had to serve 45 days notice period with my employers in India.

I could have saved atleast 60-70 days if those documents were not "lost" at the HO.

Moreover, the job offer I received was on the 331st of my stay outside the UK. So, there was a huge gap of 135 days between the job offer and my entry in the UK.

berkshire1987 wrote:Hi,

I do not think you can apply for ILR at this point as you have been out of the UK for more than 450 days - as you have realised. However, there is an exception to the required residency period if you have been outside the UK for over 450 days. To my knowledge the exception is if you can show significant ties to the UK in the time of your absence. This would be in the form of the majority of your family and property remaining in the UK.

So, unless you can show your significant ties to the UK during your absence then ILR is unlikely on this occasion. You will need to wait until the end of 5 years starting entry in 2006. Provided that you continue to meet the requirements for ILR.

Hope this helps.

450 days ?

Ok may be you can help me out. I was outside UK for about 330 days but I was still working for UK company as contractor and due to business requirements I worked from there. UK company will provide a letter stating the business reason, their contact and the period of absence. Note I didn't have any ties in UK other than working for UK company projects and having a UK HSBC bank account active.

Last 2 yrs I have not gone outside UK.

Do you think there is any chance ?

need_a_tier1 confused naturalisation with ILR. For ILR, you're only allowed 180 days to 225 days absence (depending on who you talk to) in 5 years.

Thambi wrote:450 days ?

Ok may be you can help me out. I was outside UK for about 330 days but I was still working for UK company as contractor and due to business requirements I worked from there. UK company will provide a letter stating the business reason, their contact and the period of absence. Note I didn't have any ties in UK other than working for UK company projects and having a UK HSBC bank account active.

Last 2 yrs I have not gone outside UK.

Do you think there is any chance ?

Was you salary, Tax and NI paid in the UK? I assume you were on HSMP?

need_a_tier1 wrote:

djb123 wrote:You seem to think naturalisation and ILR are the same thing, they are not. You need to get ILR, then you can be naturalised.

The rules you found are for naturalisation, not for ILR. For you to get ILR as a work permit holder you need to have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK.

Thanks for pointing the difference out. Yes, I was confusing between naturalisation and ILR.

Forget it you are not eligible until the fall 2011. You entered on one permit, abandoned it and returned on a second permit. Your stay was broken from the entry in 2004. That is how they will probably see it. Although you mention that you worked for a UK company while away, presumbly on the first permit. This I thought might have helped but when you say you returned on another permit, I am pretty sure they are not going for it. You can always apply, whether the HO accepts it is a completely different story. If you get a letter from the UK employer for the period away that might help but even if you shaved off those days of delay you were away one year. Does that look like significant ties to you?

paulp wrote:

Thambi wrote:450 days ?

Ok may be you can help me out. I was outside UK for about 330 days but I was still working for UK company as contractor and due to business requirements I worked from there. UK company will provide a letter stating the business reason, their contact and the period of absence. Note I didn't have any ties in UK other than working for UK company projects and having a UK HSBC bank account active.

Last 2 yrs I have not gone outside UK.

Do you think there is any chance ?

Was you salary, Tax and NI paid in the UK? I assume you were on HSMP?

No it was Indian Salary for that duration