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Any advice would be appreciated regarding settled status with a 2-year and 6-month prison break clause.

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 4:15 pm
by bang
Hi Everyone,

I received my right to remain in 2017, which was set to expire in 2022, as a family member of an EU national on the 5-year route. My partner was an EU national, and we had two children together. In 2019, I applied for EU settlement and was granted pre-settled status, which means an additional 5-year extension was added to my route, starting from 2019, and it will expire in November 2024, making me eligible for settled status. Things took a turn for me when I was arrested in 2020 and spent 2 years and 6 months in prison.

When I was released in 2023, my previous residence card had expired, and I applied for a replacement card. On September 23, 2023, I applied for settled status and am awaiting approval. My pre-settled status will expire in November 2024. I was subjected to deportation at that time, pending a decision from the Home Office regarding whether to issue a deportation order or grant me leave. The document given to me at the time of my bail release stated that my bail conditions and deportation order would be terminated if I were granted leave or removed.

In September 2024, I received an email from the Home Office stating that I had been granted a 5-year extension, which will expire in 2029. I contacted the Resolution Centre and asked why I was not granted settled status. I was informed that my time spent in prison was considered a break in my previous 5-year route. I also inquired about when I would be eligible for settled status and was told to apply in 2025 or 2026, though I received conflicting information from different agents. Now, I have some questions.

I received an email regarding my E-visa, and when I logged in to link my passport, I received an error stating that I am not eligible to use the service because my application is still being processed. Here are my questions: 1. The application reference I received for my 5-year extension is different from the application reference for my settled status application. 2. Was the new 5-year extension granted due to the break clause in my previous route? Finally, do you have any advice regarding my pending settled status application? I understand that my case is very complicated, but I would appreciate hearing anyone's opinion on this matter.

Re: Any advice would be appreciated regarding settled status with a 2-year and 6-month prison break clause.

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 4:02 am
by zimba
If you have been told that you were granted an extension, you do not have a pending application at all. The eVisa system still has some errors. Report any issue here: https://www.gov.uk/report-error-evisa

Your continuous residence started again from the point you were released from prison, so the earliest to apply for ILR will be in 2028. However, I do not think you can be granted ILR after 5 years due to your conduct. It is very likely that they expect to see at least 10 years have passed since you committed the criminal offence, so I'd say 20230 or later