Immigrationboards.com

Hi, excluding any changes that could be implemented due to the Coronavirus outbreak, I would like to receive answers to specific questions.

- I moved to the UK for university in September 2019, and in January 2020 I applied for and obtained pre-settled status. Do I have to wait for September 2024 (5 years of continuous residence) or January 2025 (5 years from pre-settled status) to obtain settled status?

- Since the pre-settled status remains active even if I'm absent from the UK for less than two years in a row, if you were absent for more than 6 months but returned before 31 December 2020, the calculation of the 5 years of residence restarts from 0 or do I lose the opportunity to accumulate 5 years of residence to request settled status?

- I know that for 5 years of residence, in theory, it refers to the physical presence in the UK, but having available both the documents for enrollment at the university and the bank statement that indicates "on paper" my English home even if for the first year I have not reached the "physical" presence of 6 months, could I use them as proof of residence when moving to settled status? (I specify that my intention is not to commit illegal acts, but to better understand the required documentation and if my actual physical presence is monitored by the competent authorities)

Thank you

You have not mentioned your nationalities.

Assuming that you are an EEA citizen, you can apply for settled status on or after completing five years of continuous residence in the UK.

"Continuous" residence means no absence of more than six months in the year, excepting one absence of upto a year for exceptional reasons (such as military service, etc).

If you exceed that timeframe, you may retain your pre-settled status, but your clock of continuous residence will be reset to zero.

The general proof that will be required for proving residence will generally be documentation issued by government departments; DWP (if you apply for benefits)/HMRC (tax returns, etc)/Home Office or of course pay slips. I'm not sure just having a bank account will count as proof of being physically in the UK.

The competent authorities will likely have access to your Advanced Passenger Information if you travel abroad. And in any case, if the information that you provide is incomplete, even after a grant of citizenship, that (or any lesser immigration status) can be stripped on the grounds of deception. It would be in your own best interest to be as truthful and complete as possible.

Thank you for your reply.

As can be noticed by my flag I'm Italian, and actually I traveled back to Italy due to the COVID outbreak. Do you think that this emergency could be considered an exceptional reason in case I didn't reach a residence period of 6 months during this year?

Also, in case my pre-settled status expired while I reach my 4th year of continuous residence but I'm committed to university or a job, can I renew my pre-settled status and, in case, convert it to settled status when I've reached my 5th year of continuous residence?

Thanks.

As can be noticed by my flag I'm Italian, and actually I traveled back to Italy due to the COVID outbreak.

We don't rely too much on the flags. Some people use the flag of the country where they reside, other the country where they want go to... etc. The flag doesn't mean a lot really.

Do you think that this emergency could be considered an exceptional reason in case I didn't reach a residence period of 6 months during this year?

I didn't read anything about this yet but I am 99.9% certain it won't happen. Otherwise, 7.4 billion people outside the UK would have a valid claim that they would've accrued residence time in the UK if they weren't prevented to come by the Covid-19.

Exceptional provisions are being published by they are mainly about situations of people in the UK not of people who made the choice to leave.

Hello, thank you for your reply. I add here other clarification requests to not create another topic.

If it's correct to count the period of residence by doing 366 days divided by half, I need to collect other 3 weeks of residence by late September to reach 6 months and having the year counted for settled status requirement. Wouldn't be any problem in case I'll reach it by doing a short stay of 3-4 weeks? (I have the intention to move back to the university, but it's uncertain that it's mandatory to physically stay there for the first term due to Covid outbreak...)

Also, would it be allowed to repeat the application by June 31 2021 even if the period of residence is not interrupted? (I got the pre-settled status in late January 2020, but as I wrote before I moved in late September 2019)

Thank you