Long Residence - 10 Years continuity break

[regaks]

Hi All,

I needed some advice. I have been here in the UK since Oct 2009, first as a student (Masters and PhD) and then went onto Tier 2 visa from Tier 4 visa with valid multiple UK visas. The issues that I am worried about are:

a) break in continuity of stay (I have exceeded 180 days annual limit in one of the calendar years, and the total number of days outside the UK for the said year comes to 277 days)
b) In my 10-year long residence, I have also exceeded the 540 days limit of staying outside of the UK. The total number of days that I exceed by 250 days (Total days outside the UK is 790 days).

These are some of the reasons for which the number of days outside the UK has exceeded beyond the stipulated number of days.
1) My PhD field research for which I had to stay outside the UK for approximately 12 months at a stretch (2013)
2) My mum passed away 3 years ago while I was still a student, so I had gone home again for the funeral service and to complete other formalities (stayed for 2.5 months, 2015)
3) Work-related travel under Tier 2 visa (60 days in 2 years time)

The questions that I have and for which I would really appreciate some advice are:
a) Is crossing both the 180 days and 540 days limit absolutely unacceptably for Home office for ILR consideration?
b) Are the reasons mentioned above fall within compelling circumstances? Will it work if I get letters from my University regarding the fieldwork and why I had to be away from the UK for that long, death certificate of my mother, letter of absence from my employer etc.?

Based on the above documents do you think I can make a fair case for the circumstances which kept me away from the UK?

Looking forward to hearing from you on this,

Thanks so much in advance,
Regaks

[zimba]

a) Is crossing both the 180 days and 540 days limit absolutely unacceptably for Home office for ILR consideration?

In 99.9% of cases yes.

b) Are the reasons mentioned above fall within compelling circumstances? Will it work if I get letters from my University regarding the fieldwork and why I had to be away from the UK for that long, death certificate of my mother, letter of absence from my employer etc.?

Very unlikely

[regaks]

Thanks Zimba!