Immigrationboards.com

My mother travelled to her home country shortly before the first lockdown and got stuck there because there are still no flights back to the UK. And even if there were flights, it would probably be not worth the risk at the moment (given her age).

If her absence will be over 12 months, she won't be qualified to apply for settled status after her pre-settled status expires (even one 6 month absence would be questionable but if under 12 months one could try to invoke the "exceptional circumstances" clause).

Will she be able to apply for another pre-settled status after her current one expires?

mulder wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 4:04 pm

Will she be able to apply for another pre-settled status after her current one expires?

Yes. Actually, she can re-apply any time. Today, tomorrow, any time. The result is that her Pre-Settled status will be extended to 5 years from the day she is issued the new Pre-Settled status.

Many thanks for your reply, kamoe!

You gave me a useful keyword: "re-apply". I did some more googling, and came across this:

First they describe an example that is almost identical to my mum's situation (except that she is still not in the UK):

Mika is from Finland. He moved to the UK in March 2017 and was granted pre-settled status in March 2019. Mika therefore expects to qualify for settled status in March 2022.

In March 2020, Mika happens to be in Finland on a visit home and decides to ride out the coronavirus pandemic there. He eventually returns to the UK in November 2020. As Mika has been out of the UK for more than six months, he now can’t qualify for settled status until November 2025, after completing a continuous residence period of five years.

As he has been out of the UK for less than two years, he still has pre-settled status. But that pre-settled status will expire in March 2024, five years after it was granted. Mika can’t extend his existing pre-settled status beyond March 2024, so would be unable to reach November 2025. He therefore needs to reapply for pre-settled status when he returns to the UK in November 2020.

And then they effectively say that it's too late to re-apply if one returned after 31 Dec 2020:

The second important caveat is that the settled status clock cannot be restarted after 31 December 2020. That is because of how a “continuous qualifying period” is defined in Appendix EU: it has to begin before 11pm on that date. If someone with pre-settled status exceeds the permitted absences and returns to the UK after 31 December 2020, they will be unable to restart the settled status clock at all.

What do you think?

mulder wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:15 pm

If someone with pre-settled status exceeds the permitted absences and returns to the UK after 31 December 2020, they will be unable to restart the settled status clock at all.

Interesting!!!

Very, very clever.

However, keep in mind this does not come from an official government source.

I find that freemovement.org.uk is a very authoritative, independent, and professional site and I deeply respect their writing. However, one needs to keep in mind that they are not dictating how the rules apply; they can only interpret from a well-informed point of view, detecting possible areas of concern. Note how they use the words can and might, instead of will when commenting on possible implications of absences. The distinction is important, because they are talking about potential things, not certain things. Their writing is more of an intellectual exercise in interpretation of the law as it is written, intended for a professional audience, rather than clear-cut guidelines for the general public.

All I am saying is, they definitely have a point and this is something to keep in mind, but not necessarily a premonition of what will actually happen, at least not until unambiguous guidelines on the issue of absences past December 31st 2020 are available from the Home Office.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:42 pm

this does not come from an official government source

Fair enough. Speaking of official sources, I just noticed that gov.uk has added a subsection that addresses the issue:

If you’ve left the UK

You may be able to get pre-settled status if you were living in the UK before 31 December but you were not here on that date. You must not have left the UK Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for more than 6 months in any 12 month period.

You may also be eligible if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, but you left the UK for one period of no more than 12 months for an important reason (for example childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting). Your previous residence in the UK will count towards your eligibility for pre-settled status.

Unfortunately for me, it looks like the above quotes from freemovement.org.uk were spot on: There seems to be no point to return after 31 December 2020 if the gap will be over 12 months.

mulder wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:43 am

kamoe wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:42 pm

this does not come from an official government source

Fair enough. Speaking of official sources, I just noticed that gov.uk has added a subsection that addresses the issue:

If you’ve left the UK

You may be able to get pre-settled status if you were living in the UK before 31 December but you were not here on that date. You must not have left the UK Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for more than 6 months in any 12 month period.

You may also be eligible if you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, but you left the UK for one period of no more than 12 months for an important reason (for example childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas work posting). Your previous residence in the UK will count towards your eligibility for pre-settled status.

Unfortunately for me, it looks like the above quotes from freemovement.org.uk were spot on: There seems to be no point to return after 31 December 2020 if the gap will be over 12 months.

This seems to refer to first-time applications for Pre-Settled Status. There is nothing specific about re-applying after already having a Pre-Settled status and an absence that resets the clock but that does not result in the status lapsing (less than 2 years). Unfortunately it can be interpreted both ways.

Hi Mulder,
I am more or less in a position as yours. Did you manage to reapply by any chance? Interested to hear out what the experience was like.

Regards
Dee

sundee wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:54 pm

Did you manage to reapply by any chance?

Hi Dee, my mother hasn't returned yet (still no flights).

Have you decided to reapply?