Immigrationboards.com

gardeningenthusiast wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:48 pm

I've seen similar question several times on this forum, but couldnt find an answer that would help me in my case.
Im looking to apply for naturalisation, been in the UK 16+ years, most of this time as a spouse of an EU citizen. Got my permanent residence and later settled status in December 2020. Now, for naturalisation application i need to provide a proof of 5 years living in the UK. Because i was under EU rights (due to the spouse), my passport was not stamped, so i can not provide that as evidence. and between 2018-2019 i wasnt working and wasnt receiving any benefits etc. I even dont have any tenancy agreements, as we rented from a private landlord - long story. My name was not on the council tax bill, as husband was dealing with the paperwork. i wasnt frequent at GP, so never changed from the GP surgery where i've lived before, so no letters. I literally have no official paperwork for 2019. I have from 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 (combination of P60s, Home office letters etc), but nothing for 2019. i am very anxious to apply for naturalisation asap, because due to Covid i was absent most of 2020 (still within the allowed absences), and my absences are around the limit, so i cannot travel freely, as if i go away i will be over, then need to wait for few months for the absence to become older than 5 years etc. Also, if i leave it too long, from the end of 2024 i wont be able to apply as i wont qualify for "been here exactly 5 years before" rule for almost a year. So im very stuck. I have obtained OPSARS - passenger history for the past 5 years (by the way, its pretty accurate, ive located only 1 missing trip). Could it be my lifeline? Can it be used to prove i was here in 2019?
Currently, im considering the following options:
1. Apply now using OPSARS and hope for the best (downside - 16 hundred pounds are at stake)
2. Wait to apply in 2024 while continuing to navigate my travel plans in such way that i dont exceed the absences. If so, when can i apply in 2024 so that i dont need paperwork for 2019? Can i apply in February after i receive my January payslip, and provide 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 1 payslip for 2024? Or do i have to wait at least till April, when i can provide P60 for 2023/2024? its confusing, as i think i only need to provide 1 piece of document per year, but its unclear whether its important when exactly in that year.
Or, will i STILL have to provide smth for 2019, as long as i apply before 2025? Because if so, there's no point in waiting, as i wont magically find anything and i cant apply in 2025 anyway, so might as well just take a risk now and see.

Also, i've seen it mentioned here before, but find it hard to believe after all the previous visa applications. is it true that after application for the naturalisation i can still travel while waiting for the result? Is this because passport and BRP are not required to be sent out?

If you have any insight on the above, please please do share! ive seen a couple of people with similar questions, but they either never received a reply or never returned to confirm what they did in the end.

You should supply the following documents to show you have been mainly in the UK
during the 5 years (or, if married to or in civil partnership to a British citizen, 3 years)
before making your application:

• Your passports
• If you are unable to provide your passport, explain why and supply letters from
employers (including start and finish dates), payslips, P60s, educational
establishments or other government departments indicating your presence in the
United Kingdom during the relevant period
Examples of documents that can be used to show you have been in the UK for the
required time period, can be found here.
Although we do not normally accept doctors’ letters on their own as proof of presence,
these may be accepted if nothing else is available and the doctors can confirm that they
have seen you on a regular basis during the period concerned.

If your passport is not stamped when you come into the United Kingdom, you must still
provide your passport, but also provide alternative evidence of presence as above.

You must check the available evidence to see whether an applicant meets the
residence requirements.
The following can be used as evidence of residence:
• passports or travel documents which have been stamped to show arrival in the
UK and entry and departure from other countries: these should be checked
against the list of absences that applicants are asked to provide on the
application form
• Home Office records You could provide the OPSARS and declare the additional trip
• if the applicant does not have passports to cover the qualifying period, other
evidence such as employers’ letters or tax and National Insurance letters:
o in such cases you should assess whether there is sufficient evidence to
show that that applicant has been resident in the UK during the qualifying
period , giving them the benefit of any doubt where claimed absences are
within the limits we would normally allow and there are no grounds to doubt
the accuracy of the claim
You must not normally accept doctors' letters on their own as proof of residence.
However, if nothing else is available and the doctors can confirm that they have seen
the applicant on a regular basis during the period concerned these may be accepted.
If there are gaps in a person’s evidence of residence and it is clear from the
information available that they could not have travelled, you must accept this.
Examples of this might include a refugee who has no means of travel or where
immigration records confirm continuous residence.
You must only count whole days' absences from the UK. You must not count the
dates of departure and arrival as absences. For example, a person who left the UK
on 22 September and returned on 23 September will not be classed as having been
absent from the UK.
An applicant only needs to have been physically present in the UK for the purpose of
the act. They do not have to have been ordinarily resident or domiciled here.

gardeningenthusiast wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:40 pm

As I was typing the above reply, I realized, that I actually did work for a week in 2019. I got a job offer, but after a week we decided to part ways. I never got the payslip with my pay, maybe its something to do with it being under a certain threshold? I did get an email confirming the job offer, though. Could it be of any use as a proof of living, if I don’t have a corresponding payslip?

gardeningenthusiast wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:20 pm

Thank you all for your reply.

I didnt start working until 2021, but i have other paperwork for 2020.

With regards to OPSARS not being accurate, essentially, they need to establish whether i was mostly in the country, which i mostly was in 2019. In other cases they rely on stamps, however, since brexit, on return to the UK my passport is being stamped occasionally, but occasionally it isnt, seems like each border officer has their own philosophy about this. Besides, they do not stamp the passport when one is leaving the UK (at least not at the airport, never been at other border crossings), so essentially, they still cannot rely on stamps, they have to do their own checks or trust that information provided by the applicant is correct. Even P60 is being issued regardless of how many months your worked, you could have worked one month that year - they still give you P60. Self-employed dont even need to be in the country, as long as you are registered and submit the self-assessment you get the paperwork. You can be on council tax or receive doctors letters - but not be in the country. If i am being honest, hardly anything from the list is actually a real proof of being in the UK. In fact passenger history is probably the most accurate of all, but as you rightly mention, it is not clear whether it will be accepted.
Essentially, im trying to establish, whether it is worth risking £1600 on this application. i find it a bit bizarre, that after 16 years of permanently living here, im struggling to prove it for passport application.

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 04, 2023 8:02 am

gardeningenthusiast wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:20 pm

Thank you all for your reply.

I didnt start working until 2021, but i have other paperwork for 2020.

With regards to OPSARS not being accurate, essentially, they need to establish whether i was mostly in the country, which i mostly was in 2019. In other cases they rely on stamps, however, since brexit, on return to the UK my passport is being stamped occasionally, but occasionally it isnt, seems like each border officer has their own philosophy about this. Besides, they do not stamp the passport when one is leaving the UK (at least not at the airport, never been at other border crossings), so essentially, they still cannot rely on stamps, they have to do their own checks or trust that information provided by the applicant is correct. Even P60 is being issued regardless of how many months your worked, you could have worked one month that year - they still give you P60. Self-employed dont even need to be in the country, as long as you are registered and submit the self-assessment you get the paperwork. You can be on council tax or receive doctors letters - but not be in the country. If i am being honest, hardly anything from the list is actually a real proof of being in the UK. In fact passenger history is probably the most accurate of all, but as you rightly mention, it is not clear whether it will be accepted.
Essentially, im trying to establish, whether it is worth risking £1600 on this application. i find it a bit bizarre, that after 16 years of permanently living here, im struggling to prove it for passport application.

They set the bar for foreigners to obtain citizenship, they get to decide which hoops we jump through if we want it. There is an absence requirement to prove as well as a residence one, so if you pay council tax for 5 years but aren't in the country you aren't eligible because of the absence requirement.


What evidence do you have for 2020 and how far back in time does it date?

contorted_svy wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 04, 2023 7:59 am

gardeningenthusiast wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 03, 2023 11:40 pm

As I was typing the above reply, I realized, that I actually did work for a week in 2019. I got a job offer, but after a week we decided to part ways. I never got the payslip with my pay, maybe its something to do with it being under a certain threshold? I did get an email confirming the job offer, though. Could it be of any use as a proof of living, if I don’t have a corresponding payslip?

No, that wouldn't count I'm afraid, unless you get the employer to write a letter that confirms the dates you were employed (still only a week)