Sel7sk wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:45 am
Dear All, I hope everyone is doing fine. I am sorry to bother you but will appreciate your valuable opinion on my issue. I want to apply for British citizenship. I was granted ILR in 2017. The only issue is that I was out of UK in the last 5 years for 696 days in total with the main absence between March 2020 to Dec 2021. I went back home when the pandemic was just starting and then stayed there looking after my elderly parents. Then lockdowns started and my home country was added, removed and re added to the red list. I couldn't afford the hotel quarantine payments as had been out of UK and work since March 2020. One thing led to another and I finally returned to UK in December 2021. Since December 2021 I have not been out of UK for more than 50 days in total.
So I have read the case worker guidance document and it says the caseworker can use discretion if all other requirements are met and the absence is less than 900 days because of the pandemic and the applicant has made UK home, established finances etc. So I work here in UK, have a tenancy agreement for my flat and have bank accounts. I have been in the UK since 2007.
Do you think if I write a cover letter to explain the absence and enclose my tenancy agreement, bank statements, payslips etc I have a chance?
Also I lost the Life in the UK test certificate from 2017 ILR application, will I need to do this again? And I have also misplaced my university degree transcripts, will I need to get these to fulfil the language requirement?
I will really appreciate your help, thank you so much
Read this
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... bookmark27
Where the applicant has absences of between 480 and 900 days for applications under section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981, or 300 and 540 days for applications under section 6(2) and otherwise meets the requirements you must only consider exercising discretion where the applicant has established their home, employment, family and finances in the UK, and one or more of the following applies:
- at least 2 years residence (for applications under section 6(1)), or 1 year (for applications under section 6(2)), without substantial absences immediately prior to the beginning of the qualifying period - if the period of absence is greater than 730 days (for section 6(1)) or 450 days (for section 6(2)) the period of residence must be at least 3 or 2 years respectively This one applies to you - write in your letter that you have been in the UK without substantial absences in the 2-3 years before and prove it by uploading pages of your passport/dates of trips. You can also upload P60s and tenancy agreements to prove you live and work here, and if you have any family here.
-the excess absences are the result of:
-postings abroad in Crown service under the UK government or in service designated under section 2(3) of the British Nationality act 1981.
-accompanying a British citizen spouse or civil partner on an appointment overseas
-the excess absences were an unavoidable consequence of the nature of the applicant’s career, such as a merchant seaman or employment with a multinational company based in the UK with frequent travel abroad
-exceptionally compelling reasons of an occupational or compassionate nature to justify naturalisation now, such as a firm job offer where British citizenship is a statutory or mandatory requirement
-the applicant was prevented from being in the UK because they had been removed from the UK, and the decision to remove them was later overturned
-the applicant was incorrectly prevented from resuming permanent residence in the UK following an absence
-the excess absences were because the applicant was unable to return to the UK because of global pandemic This one also applies to you BUT it is not obvious that the Home Office will consider it a good reason that you couldn't afford the quarantine in hotels, as travel was permitted in that time period. If you have dates of when travel was banned to/from your country and declare everything in the cover letter, but if they accept it or not it is at their discretion. You should meet the other requirement so if you provide as much proof as possible that should possibly work
Regarding LITUK and uni transcripts it shouldn't be a problem because you used them for your ILR application. I would still try to get your university transcripts for your own record but you can just declare you proved this stuff when you applied for ILR.
All advice comes from personal research and experience and should not be regarded as professional opinion.
