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FLR to ILR-About to stay more than 180 days away from UK

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 3:57 pm
by hxf666
Hello All!

I'm very new to this forum but have definitely seen some super useful stuff here! :) Hope I could get some help here.

I came to the UK in September 2010 on a Tier 4 student visa and switched to Spouse/Partner visa in January 2016.

I'm currently on my second 2.5-year Spouse/Partner visa (valid from 13-09-2018 to 24-03-2021), and in theory, I'm eligible to apply for the ILR by the end of this visa, but my husband (who is a British citizen) has got a new job (2-year contract) in another country and I'll be joining him soon, which means that I'll be breaking the "180-day rule".

I just spent 2 hours browsing and calling the UK immigration service but got different suggestions: a. the "180-day rule" only applies to Tiered visa categories, but not my visa category; b. "180-day rule" applies to all visa categories now.



My questions are:

1. Does the "180-day rule" apply to my situation, to apply for the ILR?
2. If it does, and I'm breaking it, what kind of visa would I be applying for to come back and live in the UK?
3. Is it possible that we explain the situation to the caseworker?
4. By the time my current visa runs out, I'd been holding a valid UK visa for over 10 years (almost continuously). Would this help me?

I'm really really confused at the moment and would appreciate any help a lot! Thank you so so so much!

Re: FLR to ILR-About to stay more than 180 days away from UK

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 12:21 am
by zimba
There is no absence limit under family route so it will have no effect for ILR under SET(M)
However if you stay more than 6 months continuously outside the UK, you will NOT be able to apply for ILR under long residence (10 year rule)

Re: FLR to ILR-About to stay more than 180 days away from UK

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:08 am
by hxf666
Thank you so much Zimba! Such relief! I shall be applying for via the FLR route then :D