citizenship application but 1 long absence

[dimihatzinas]

Hi everyone!! I am an EU citizen with settled status since 2023. I want to for citizenship but I have substantial absences in 2020 because of covid. I read some comments in this blog that don't give me hope but some solicitors online say it might be possible, so I thought of sharing my story.

I first came to the UK for my Masters (2017-18) then left for about a year and returned in 2019 for work.
In 2020 I travelled right at the start of the pandemic back home and could not return because I got sick and my symptoms persisted on and off for many months. Doctors in Greece put me on house quarantine for 7 months because they suspected long covid and because I have a respiratory condition.

So all in all absences escalated to 708 during the last 5 years (thankfully much less than 90 the last year), the big chunk is 1 single absence in 2020-2021. I worked in the UK during most of these 5 years, even when away and have no other estate anywhere else. All other requirements are met.

The only reason I am in a rush is because I’m going to start a PhD in January within the UK, but it requires fieldwork abroad for at least 2 years, so I probably will not have another momentum in a long long time (if this one can be called "momentum")

Would you say it’s a completely waste of money if I apply? Would “global pandemic” excuse be considered?

[contorted_svy]

Do you have significant proof of your health risk (and not just "advised not to travel" but at life risk if you did travel)? Unfortunately your qualifying period would start in 2019 given you have been away for a year back then. We don't have many cases that successfully managed to waive a long absence due to COVID, maybe some people managed to do it but didn't report it on here. There is a case I recall, where someone had genuinely staid stuck due to borders being closed, then a health emergency came up and surgery was needed (unfortunately I can't retrieve the thread I am thinking about, but if I do find it I will link it).

You need to build your case as strongly as possible and know it is a gamble to some extent, no guarantee you will succeed as we don't have many case studies to build from.

[dimihatzinas]

Hello, thank you so much for your reply.

That’s what I’ve seen around this blog as well

I do have papers from a public hospital in Greece, covering the whole era of me being sick or asked to stay in quarantine due to serious risk and returning symptoms. I used the same papers for settled status and they didn’t ask anything else. They also counted my absence in 2018 and gave me settled status, but I understand that process is more relaxed with days.

I think I will probably risk it even though the money is a lot, because I will create at least full 2-year gap with the PhD. Do you think I should mention that I am starting this PhD? I mean could this information work in my favour or just disregarded?

[contorted_svy]

I doubt that you starting a PhD would have any influence on your application. I would provide all the paperwork from hospitals (getting it officially translated if it is not in English). Write an accompanying letter and see what they say - ultimately settled status is a different process so it is not a guarantee that because you could obtain settled status and get this absence waived it will be the same case for citizenship. You may want to talk to a solicitor to see if your case is viable and how to present your evidence. If you do decide to apply please come back and report your outcome as it will surely help other people in your situation.

[contorted_svy]

I found the thread I was referring to earlier viewtopic.php?t=345672 the same circumstances may not apply to you, but it can at least give you an idea of what a successful case looks like and how they built it. It will all depend on how serious the HO will judge your health condition - if it was a "should not travel" or "absolutely must not travel or there will be serious threatening consequences".

[dimihatzinas]

Thank you very much! That is super super helpful! I understand the point but how are they going to determine this? Are they doctors? Why question a doctor report? Also, medical reports don’t say stuff like that ”absolutely must not, under any circumstances do blah blah”. you usually see comments more towards “should not travel”, even if the chances of dying are 100% they have neutral tone and it’s sufficient. Doctors orders must be followed if you want to stay alive. The choice is on the patient if it’s not illegal, and if you are not threat to public health. For example I asked for a doctors paper to take a week’s leave from work recently and go see my grandfather who started dialysis. It says “should continue treatment for life.”, but if he skips a session he dies basically.

[contorted_svy]

I don't think anyone knows how they assess that. In my mind, one thing is if a doctor tells you "you have asthma, so you should stay shielded as much as possible" but you can *technically* travel with at the other extreme "you have to use an artificial lung so you physically can't move until a doctor takes you out of it". Everything in the middle is a grey area. I can only recommend, if you want to apply, to show as much as possible that your life was at risk if you had travelled. You may want to speak to your Dr about that, if they could write a further letter elaborating on your condition at the time and how life threatening it was, and going into this with the knowledge that your application may fail, that is why I said it depends on how the HO judges it.

[dimihatzinas]

I see, understandable but very frustrating, and kind of unfair. I think they should be more thoughtful towards people's circumstances with the pandemic, with or without risk of dying. settled status criteria is handling this matter much more fair. If I end up applying I will report back

[contorted_svy]

Ultimately it is their decision how they decide who can get citizenship or not. Citizenship is not a right but a privilege - they get to make the rules about it whether we consider it "fair" or not.

[dimihatzinas]

I know very well this what is going on and how they view it, but politically I couldn't disagree more, but that's a conversation for a different forum.

[dimihatzinas]

Hello again,

I came back with a few questions and updates.

I spoke to a solicitor and they told me my case is complicated, quite risky but not hopeless. They also said my preparation / paperwork was very good and the fact I got settled status last year means I did a good job justifying my gaps, so I trusted my gut feeling and applied.

Now the tricky part

2 days after my biometrics I received a phone call from my rental agency. They said they would not move forward with a renewal even though we were negotiating.

So in a panic state, I move to a new place soon, BUT this week I received an update from my application asking to clarify 5-year address history. I did not mention my future address because it wasn’t 100% certain yet. Today it is.

The solicitor said it will be viewed positively that I rent the same place for 4 years but now it’s gone…

Do you think this address change would look bad and affect my “establishment” in the UK? I still work in the same company and live here.

How should I inform them about the address? Should I include proof of address (contract, employer letter)?

I will also move again in another UK town in 5 months for a PhD and plan on quitting my job in 3 months. Could it affect my application in any way if I still have no response by then?

Does it mean I will receive a response quickly since they already asked for address history?

And lastly, if I receive a rejection, is there any chance I lose my settled status?

Thank you very much in advance <3

[contorted_svy]

It will absolutely not impact your application. I lived at 8 different addresses in my 5 year qualifying period. It is absolutely not a statutory requirement to be at the same address. And why would it? I respected all statutory requirements and that is all that matters. People move all the time for jobs, family, etc. and it is none of the HO business provided you lead an honest life where you choose to live or how many times you move. Being at the same address for a long time has absolutely no impact on a citizenship application.

Also note that settled status and citizenship are two completely different processes under different legislations - requirements for absence are different.

You need to respond to UKVI clarifying the 5 year address history BEFORE you applied - you can (and should) provide them with your new address as a change in circumstances in the same email but rest assured this and any future moves within the UK will absolutely not impact your application! No proof of address will be needed.

No way to know how quickly they will respond. It is best to wait as patiently as possible.

In the event your application will be refused you will retain settled status.

[dimihatzinas]

Thank you so much for your quick response. I read it feeling great relief

[dimihatzinas]

Hello, I am back with one more update! They asked me to provide all scanned pages of my old passport (from 2020 and back), but I don’t know where it is. Is there anything else I can do? I already provided every single flight/train ticket I had from the 5 year period. (They were all EU-UK anyway, so they wouldn’t find any stamps). I only have a picture of my info page from my old passport. What should I respond? Is there anything else I could do?

[contorted_svy]

Boarding passes aren't proof of presence. You need to explain you don't have that passport anymore and provide P60s or other official government documents. What did you use to prove your residence? As an EU citizen it is clearly stated in the guidance you have ti submit additional evidence.

[dimihatzinas]

Thank you! That's odd because I have read otherwise about boarding passes and flight tickets, and the source seemed reliable. I provided a rental contract and proof of payment for the first 4 months and any other document I have from that era (invoices, flight tickets, NHS letters, bank statements) as I did not work at the time. Then I added tax returns, p60s, payslips, contacts etc for the rest of the 5 years. My cover letter is fully detailed also. I could explain the situation to them

[contorted_svy]

Most of what you listed is not accepted evidence. Only NHS letters, tax returns and P60s are. Suggest you apply for a SAR as soon as possible and submit that to fill in their gaps and tell them you don't have other suitable evidence but will be back in touch with that.

[Ashteel]

Thank you! That's odd because I have read otherwise about boarding passes and flight tickets, and the source seemed reliable. I provided a rental contract and proof of payment for the first 4 months and any other document I have from that era (invoices, flight tickets, NHS letters, bank statements) as I did not work at the time. Then I added tax returns, p60s, payslips, contacts etc for the rest of the 5 years. My cover letter is fully detailed also. I could explain the situation to them

How did it go at the end? what did you provide them? All the best