ILR application on the basis of Long Residence

[kriss lewis]

I am going to apply for ILR on the basis of Long residence. However, I have two problems that I wanted to ask about.

My timeline is like this: Entered 14/09/2012 on a 3 year student visa. I got quite depressed and the course wasn't for me so I left the course and traveled back on 19/02/2013. In the meantime, I applied and got accepted for another course before leaving the UK. I don't have proof on EXACT day of when I arrived back to the UK. I might have landed on 10/08/2013 but could be as late as 14/09/2013. In June 2014 I traveled to Panama in a trip for Charity work. My passport got stolen (which is why I don't know the exact day of arrival). I applied for another visa in July 2014 and entered in August 2014.

I remained in the UK ever since (apart from small travels here and there). I extended my stay in June 2016 for Masters. That leave expired in Jan 2018. I applied for FLR-M in Jan 2018 and renewed again in Sept 2020 and my current stay finishes in May 2023. (So I am eligible to apply for ILR on the 5 year route.. however I don't have the financial proofs necessary)

The two questions: 1. IF my leave in 2013 was longer than 180 days.. would it be possible to work around it on any mitigation grounds etc.? Alternatively IF I stayed less than 180 days is my continuous stay broken anyway? (I left with a valid visa, entered back with a valid one too)
2. My passport that had my first 2 years is stolen.. so I can't submit it as evidence.. is this going to be an issue? I have a picture of the passport and the First visa but not the subsequent visa in 2013.

[kriss lewis]

I also wanted to know what this means:
On the calculation of absence on the gov website it states:

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Absences from the UK during period of leave granted on or after 11 January 2018 are considered on a rolling basis. If the applicant’s qualifying period includes leave granted before 11 January 2018, any absences during that leave are considered in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of application.

For example:

The application date is 30 June 2020. The applicant’s continuous period includes the following grants of leave:

one grant of leave from 1 July 2015 to 28 July 2018 – any absences during this grant of leave will be considered in consecutive 12-month periods, ending on 30 June each year

one grant of leave from 29 July 2018 to 30 June 2020 – any absences during this grant of leave will be considered on a rolling basis: you must not include any absences from the previous grant of leave when you assess this
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible)

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So my 2013 absence (although consecutive in days) can be split in half by the application day? Meaning some days are for May 2012 - May 2013 period and some are for the May 2013 - May 2014 period? or am I interpreting it wrong?

[CR001]

Any absence of 180 days or more breaks your continuity of residence for ILR based on 10 years long residence. There is no discretion on this.

The second post and linked documents about absence is NOT relevant to ILR based on long residence. The link very clearly states which visa categories it is relevant to for ILR based on 5 years residence.

[zimba]

Refer to the long residence guide ONLY: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... -residence

[kriss lewis]

Since my leave finishes in May and my definitely Unbroken 10 years of long residence finishes early September..

I would need to gain a few more months to apply (Minimum early August). Can you advice on the best options here:

Apply for FLR-FP And then vary the application or it would be decided by the time August come? I.e. is the period too long to have a possibility of varying the application?

Or just apply for my most likely successful immigration route and then apply for ILR in August/September?

Also the second question of my initial post wasn't answered. Do I need to worry about the fact the initial passport isn't with me?

Thanks a lot for your useful information.

[zimba]

You have a visa under the family route it seems. You should extend under the same route. Apply using FLR(M) and get a visa. Then apply for SET(LR) when you have enough residence to qualify for ILR

[kriss lewis]

I have already finished five years on the FLR(M) route. However, I don't meet the financial condition (for neither of flr(m) extention or ILR based on the 5 year route) Which is why it complicated my situation a little.

[kriss lewis]

Currently it seems that the processing time for FLR-FP is 8 months? any chance a decision is made before 3 months? Thinking about applying for FLR-FP and then vary the application to a settlement based on long residence in August?

[zimba]

Currently it seems that the processing time for FLR-FP is 8 months? any chance a decision is made before 3 months? Thinking about applying for FLR-FP and then vary the application to a settlement based on long residence in August?

This is reasonable. Apply for FLR(FP) and vary to ILR when eligible

[kriss lewis]

Thank you for all the helpful responses.

One final question:

If I apply for fee waiver for FLR(FP) both because I am genuinely struggling to have to pay for both (FLR(FP) AND ILR) before any due refunds are made, and to buy some time..

If the response comes before I can apply for ILR .. I CAN just proceed with the plan discussed before?

If the response gave enough time for me to be eligible for ILR then can I just apply for ILR (Although I requested a waiver for FLR(FP))?

Thanks again and much appreciated.