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Hi guys,

I am an EU national trying to get permanent residence through the 5-year rule.

I have had absences of more than 6 months but I think it would still be alright under A. Residence in the UK, subsection 5.4. (Application for a document certifying permanent residence or permanent residence card: form EEA (PR) form, vocational studies).

Now assuming they will accept that studies abroad do qualify as vocational studies, does the 5 years includes the time spent outside the UK or not?

For example, say I entered the UK on January 1st 2012. Five years w/o breaks would be January 1st 2017. Now assuming I was outside the UK for 9 months, from January 1st 2015 to October 1st 2015. Can I apply on January 1st 2017 or should I wait October 1st 2017 to have "5 years in the UK + 9 month abroad"?

I cannot find this information online.

Many thanks for your help.

The five years in the UK requirement includes breaks. If you were to max out your absences from the UK, you will only be in the UK for about two of the five years. You are allowed six months in the year AND one absence of up to a year for unavoidable reasons.

Awesome, thanks a lot for your reply. I was getting mad about this as I could not find a clear answer anywhere online.

Following up on this topic, assuming somebody is studying abroad for 12 months i.e. they have a "status abroad" which would have required them to have a CSI if they were doing the same thing in the UK (studying).

Are they still supposed to hold a CSI in the UK during their year abroad?

Any idea?