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Dear Experts,
I am eligible for ILR since July'12 as I completed my 5 years in UK last year but i was hesitant to apply for it because I had 2 long absences away from UK upto 235 days each.

Recently I have read in this forum that new rule which came on Dec'12 allows upto 180 days absences for a each consecutive 12 months period. If I use this rule my big absences spans across different years and does NOT exceed 180 days for any single year hence makes me eligible For ILR?? Is this ture?

To explain further, if I apply on 20 Mar 2013 my absences spans out as below into 5 years preceding the application date,
Year 5 - 59 days
Year 4 - 170 days
Year 3 - 133 days
Year 2 - 108 days
Year 1 - 15 days

Any thoughts please. Appreciate your prompt response as I have 10 more days within which I can apply.

Regards

Were your long absences paid for business work and if your employer can write this in letter then probably you have a chance. There is still ambiguity around rule change as SET(O) still asks specifically for more than 180 days of absence.

I understand there are couple of aspects of absence which are looked at :

1. Continuity (which is not broken in your case as per new rules)
2. Duration (more than 180 days - which is issue in your case)
3. Reason - business or compasionate or compelling

I am also looking for answers on this policy for settlement. Experts please advise

[quote="shal1981"]Were your long absences paid for business work and if your employer can write this in letter then probably you have a chance. There is still ambiguity around rule change as SET(O) still asks specifically for more than 180 days of absence.

I understand there are couple of aspects of absence which are looked at :

1. Continuity (which is not broken in your case as per new rules)
2. Duration (more than 180 days - which is issue in your case)
3. Reason - business or compasionate or compelling

I am also looking for answers on this policy for settlement. Experts please advise[/quote]


Shal1981 - Thanks for reply. Yes I am planning to get supporting letter from my employer justifying my absences were for business reasons. Why Duration would be an issue? It doesn't exceed 180days for any consecutive 12 months as I have spanned above? That's what the new rule says isn't it?

In terms of absences alone, you should be fine. But do make sure you calculate your annual absences starting from your ILR application date.

Note however, as you were under a employer sponsored immigration category you would need to prove that you met the terms of your sponsorship during the 5 years as well. Were you paid in the UK, during the periods of absence you mention in this post.

You may want to read my response in the post below to understand why this may be important. http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 203#800203

Thanks cs95tdg for your prompt response.
No I was paid in country were I was working from in the currency of that country. What would be the issue?

It could be a potential issue, if you have long gaps in your HMRC employment history or P60's. I.e. if a CW looks at these along with the terms of your sponsorship, there should not be a discrepency - I.e. which would highlight that you didn't meet the terms of your sponsorship.

Ok. I understand what you mean but its something not in my hand and its not going to change anyway. Do you think it's worth taking chance?

Why don't you start by taking a look through your P60's and your sponsorship terms to see whether there is a significant discrepency in what you earned over the years and what your sponsorship stated.