Being Abroad While Having Settled Status

[magnarch]

Hello,

I received my settled status in March 2020 and left the UK in December 2020 to do a grad degree in Canada. Given my settled status I should be able to come back to the UK with the same rights as before until December 2025. However, grad degrees in Canada tend to go on longer sometimes, and I am wondering how much time one would need to spend in the UK in order to reset this 5 year "allowance"?
Is it just a few days - and the passport stamps are enough to document it?
Or would I need to become resident for tax purposes again (>6months)?

I understand that the EU settled status is a bit new to answer such question, but I am expecting it to be similar to the ILR. So if anyone knows the answer to the corresponding question of the ILR, I'd be very grateful - have spent a lot of time googling, but I can only find info about how to get settled status not how to keep it when one is abroad.

Thanks very much!

[alterhase58]

This is what is available to ILR holders:
https://www.gov.uk/returning-resident-visa
I would expect this will apply (as revised/updated) in 2025. I doubt there'll be a re-set. Remember the UK government is in full control of immigration and nothing like this is agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.

[magnarch]

Thanks for the answer. I read the page you linked, but I am still confused.
So assuming I return in December 2025, say I get full-time employment - how soon and for how long can I leave the UK again for holidays or anything else in 2026 without losing settled status?
If I work for over 6 months full-time, I become resident and I still have settled status - then shouldn't the 5 years effectively be reset?

(And to take it one step further, the webpage only says "return to the UK" and "be away from the UK" - technically if I came back for a day, I'd meet the requirement of not being away from the UK for more than 5 continuous years, anyway. )

I'm not trying to argue, I just find the wording very unclear and ambiguous.

[alterhase58]

Realistically we'll have to wait and see as there's no experience yet of the "returning after 5 years" scenario.

[magnarch]

Yeah, that's fair. But the above stands for ILR as well, replacing 2025 with 2022... I don't see why it wouldn't reset after a day in the UK/becoming resident again (6 months)

Or is there some rule that says: if someone has ILR, after x amount of days abroad, ILR's function is only to allow the person to come back to the UK until 2 years have passed - and after that the person is only allowed to spend y days abroad (y being a lot fewer than 2 years) for the next 5 years, until they regain the full functionality of ILR?

[magnarch]

I can't seem to find a way to send a private message, so I will just write here and hope CR001 sees this message.
Was my question in indefinite-leave-to-remain/can-ilr-abse ... 21847.html
not a valid question?

Even though I have settled status, not ILR, I would be curious of the answer to that one. I wasn't planning to bring up anything that is related to the EU settled status in that thread. What warranted locking that question without answering it? People with ILR may have the same question...?