ILR Application with Two absences- both more than 180 days

[grevillea303]

Hi, I had come to UK firstly in year 2008 on Tier-2 ICT visa and the same visa is been renewed till this time (May-2014). I am working with the same company for these last 5.5 years and have to travel back to India for the offshore team management and setting up new projects. Due to this kind of official work, have two absences from UK. Firstly from Aug-2010 to Feb-2011 (181 days) and secondly from Aug-2011 to Apr-2012 (276 days). Truely, these were for the strong business reasons and employer has provided a letter confrming that it was required to work from India. One important point is that due to certain security accrediation and critical business knowledge, I was one of the candidate who can mentor new teams in India. This is also mentioned in the letter
I have cleared the life in the UK test recently and got one letter from company stating the business clarification for the absences. Requesting this forum to guide on below aspects:
1) This being one of the unique case of two absences and that too for more than 180 days, not sure how much % chances are there for my case and whether should I proceed for ILR application ?
2) I've read in some of the earlier posts that Solihull office CW, assess the application and then payment needs to be made. Is it still the case and is it good option for me to apply in the Solihull office ?
3) Employer letter clarifies about my employement srat tae, designation and detailed scenario why the absences were there (2 page letter) whcih is been signed by HR and the reporting manager as well. Is this sufficient or any other aspect needs to be mentioned ?
4) Any feedback about Sheffield office as I am planning to apply in the Sheffield office ?
5) Any other suggestion or recommendations on my case are welcome.
Thanks in advance..

[UKBALoveStory]

Can you not split the absences so that in any 12 month period you absences are less than 180?
Solihull PEO has changed the process and now they take the payment before looking at the case.

[grevillea303]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I tried dividing between the year but one of them is still coming to be more than 180 days.

[dk2011]

Can you post calculation in summarized format here ? It can help in answering your query.

[grevillea303]

Thank you for looking into my case. The absences details are mentioned in the attached document.
After working out the dates equally it is coming upto just one absnce more than 180 days. This excercise has helped, thanks a lot and now the case looks to be somewhat complex with one absence more than 180 days and not two.
Please advise if further changes can be made in this. Thanks again.

[UKBALoveStory]

are you aware that absences are counted in "whole days". Day(s) of departure and arrival are not to be included when calculating (total) days of absence...

[grevillea303]

Hi UKBALoveStory - thanks for your response. Your point is correct and I have not counted the entry and exit days.

[dk2011]

You can apply in December 2014 based on below continuous period .

[b]01-Jan-10 31-Dec-10 147
01-Jan-11 31-Dec-11 162
01-Jan-12 31-Dec-12 122
01-Jan-13 31-Dec-13 0
01-Jan-14 31-Dec-14 0[/b]

Leaves calculation you need to re-check it might be approximate but not exceeding 180 days . Now you have enough idea regarding how to calculate continuous period and keep absence less than 180 you can adjust dates accordingly.

[grevillea303]

Thank you for your suggestion, I will work out the absences again based upon your suggestion and apply in Dec-14