economic activity for Tier1 general

[hsmpilr]

Hi,
I read through several posts but could not get clear information on the below subject. Can the experts here guide me please on my query. I think this will be useful for other aspirants as-well since there is no clear information about this.


Is proof of economic activity needed for Tier1 general for absences ?
This is not a question about a 180 day or 90 day rule.

I came into UK on HSMP and later changed to Tier1. During my initial stay I have a 100 day gap when I went back to home country. I did not have job during that time. Since <180 days absences are allowed, am I eligible for applying for ILR ? OR the fact that in that 100 days outside the UK where I was not economically active, will have an impact on my ILR decision.


References:

1. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ming-53958
It here says that proof of economic activity for all 5 years is not needed but does not state how economic activity is linked with the absence calculation.
if the absences are <180 days there may not be a necessity to give evidences (AFAIK) for absences but if these absences are linked with economic inactivity what happens ?

2. http://www.ukimmigrationforum.com/
says that

It is advisable to have P60s as that is the easiest way to provide evidence of your economic activity (HSMP/Tier 1G) or that your employment was in line with WP/CoS issued (WP/Tier 2)

Does this mean that a break in employment with stay outisde UK means break in the continuous 5 year period ?

3. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... _for_ilr_2
As per UKBA reply it is stated that throughout the period economic activity must be present.

I am confused.

thanks

[hsmpilr]

To add ,
I have never exceeded 180 days in any 1 year in 5 yr period.

[cs95tdg]

The general purpose of imposing and having to meet absence thresholds is for the UKBA to understand whether the UK is your primary country of residence when applying for indefinite leave to remain (and not just somewhere you worked on and off for several months with your home based in some other country). One way of measuring this is by your economic activity in the UK, i.e. if you worked in the UK during the majority of your residence that would give a good indication that this was indeed your primary country of residence. There is nothing to say that a T1G Migrant should have been economically active every single day throughout his/her 5 year residence - though it would be expected that you did come to work in the UK if you entered on a T1G visa. You would need to meet the PBS assessment at the time of your ILR application.

However, for T2 applicants who are sponsored by their employer, they would need to prove that they met the terms of their sponsorship at the time that they apply for ILR, and one way of doing this would be by using his/her P60 or employment history.

There are different requirements for different immigration categories. So it would be best to focus on what is relavent to your immigration category when reading information published on the UKBA website and other external forums. Some information published on external sites before could now be out-of-date due to the numerous changes that have happened to immigration rules in the recent times.

What you should read and reference when trying to understand whether you meet the requirements are the latest immigration rules that apply to your immigration category (along with the latest Statement of changes which are due to come into effect this month) & the continuous residence guidance.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... es/part6a/

245AAA & 245CD, 245CD-SD

See sections which indicate changes to the above rules in the following statement of changes: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

The continuous residence guidance and immigration rules will most probably be revised to include the changes mentioned in the above statement of changes on or after April 6th this month.

Based on the information you have provided I do not see why the 100 day single absence you mention should cause you a problem, as long as you meet the absence thresold on the date that you apply for ILR.

[syed_ILR]

The general purpose of imposing and having to meet absence thresholds is for the UKBA to understand whether the UK is your primary country of residence when applying for indefinite leave to remain (and not just somewhere you worked on and off for several months with your home based in some other country). One way of measuring this is by your economic activity in the UK, i.e. if you worked in the UK during the majority of your residence that would give a good indication that this was indeed your primary country of residence. There is nothing to say that a T1G Migrant should have been economically active every single day throughout his/her 5 year residence - though it would be expected that you did come to work in the UK if you entered on a T1G visa. You would need to meet the PBS assessment at the time of your ILR application.

However, for T2 applicants who are sponsored by their employer, they would need to prove that they met the terms of their sponsorship at the time that they apply for ILR, and one way of doing this would be by using his/her P60 or employment history.

There are different requirements for different immigration categories. So it would be best to focus on what is relavent to your immigration category when reading information published on the UKBA website and other external forums. Some information published on external sites before could now be out-of-date due to the numerous changes that have happened to immigration rules in the recent times.

What you should read and reference when trying to understand whether you meet the requirements are the latest immigration rules that apply to your immigration category (along with the latest Statement of changes which are due to come into effect this month) & the continuous residence guidance.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... es/part6a/

245AAA & 245CD, 245CD-SD

See sections which indicate changes to the above rules in the following statement of changes: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

The continuous residence guidance and immigration rules will most probably be revised to include the changes mentioned in the above statement of changes on or after April 6th this month.

Based on the information you have provided I do not see why the 100 day single absence you mention should cause you a problem, as long as you meet the absence thresold on the date that you apply for ILR.

You will have to give a reason as to why you were out of the country for 100 days.

(c) Except for periods where the applicant had leave as a Tier 1(Investor) Migrant, a
Tier 1(Entrepreneur) Migrant, a Tier 1(Exceptional Talent) Migrant or a highly skilled
migrant, any absences from the UK during the five years must have been for a
purpose that is consistent with the applicant’s basis of stay here, including paid annual
leave, or for serious or compelling reasons.”

Can someone explain me the bold line? Does it mean that the absences should be related to work purposes..i mean looking for a business or something like that...if that's the case then you will have to tell ukba that you were looking for a business or some BS.

[cs95tdg]

You will have to give a reason as to why you were out of the country for 100 days.

(c) Except for periods where the applicant had leave as a Tier 1(Investor) Migrant, a
Tier 1(Entrepreneur) Migrant, a Tier 1(Exceptional Talent) Migrant or a highly skilled
migrant, any absences from the UK during the five years must have been for a
purpose that is consistent with the applicant’s basis of stay here, including paid annual
leave, or for serious or compelling reasons.”

Can someone explain me the bold line? Does it mean that the absences should be related to work purposes..i mean looking for a business or something like that...if that's the case then you will have to tell ukba that you were looking for a business or some BS.

I haven't commented on the evidence or letters required to support absences in my response above. I was focusing on the question of economic activity.

You will need to read the statement of changes along with immigration rules to understand what you now need to supply for different types of absences:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

See Page 10:
The specified documents referred to in paragraph 245CD(j) are:
(a) For periods where the applicant was in employment in the UK, a letter from the employer detailing the purpose and period of absences in connection with the employment, including periods of annual leave.
(b) For periods where the applicant was self-employed or in business in the UK, or looking for work or setting up in business in the UK, a personal letter from the applicant detailing the purpose and period of absences in relation to those activities.
(c) A personal letter from the applicant which includes full details of the reason for the absences and all original supporting documents in relation to those reasons – e.g. medical certificates, birth/death certificates, information about the reasons which led to the absence from the UK.”

[syed_ILR]

You will have to give a reason as to why you were out of the country for 100 days.

(c) Except for periods where the applicant had leave as a Tier 1(Investor) Migrant, a
Tier 1(Entrepreneur) Migrant, a Tier 1(Exceptional Talent) Migrant or a highly skilled
migrant, any absences from the UK during the five years must have been for a
purpose that is consistent with the applicant’s basis of stay here, including paid annual
leave, or for serious or compelling reasons.”

Can someone explain me the bold line? Does it mean that the absences should be related to work purposes..i mean looking for a business or something like that...if that's the case then you will have to tell ukba that you were looking for a business or some BS.

I haven't commented on the evidence or letters required to support absences in my response above. I was focusing on the question of economic activity.

You will need to read the statement of changes along with immigration rules to understand what you now need to supply for different types of absences:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

See Page 10:
The specified documents referred to in paragraph 245CD(j) are:
(a) For periods where the applicant was in employment in the UK, a letter from the employer detailing the purpose and period of absences in connection with the employment, including periods of annual leave.
(b) For periods where the applicant was self-employed or in business in the UK, or looking for work or setting up in business in the UK, a personal letter from the applicant detailing the purpose and period of absences in relation to those activities.
(c) A personal letter from the applicant which includes full details of the reason for the absences and all original supporting documents in relation to those reasons – e.g. medical certificates, birth/death certificates, information about the reasons which led to the absence from the UK.”

@ guru...so according to the new statement. Lets take a case..suppose a person XYZ is out of country for say 100 odd days and he was not employed. Then according to point (c) he can submit a personal letter that he was looking for some business and that is why he left the country. So does it mean that this is enough?? or what other proofs can he submit. Can you throw some light on it and please be specific.

or I am not understanding the point (c) correctly. It seems that that this point is talking about absences in UK. omg this is confusing.

[cs95tdg]

Lets take a case..suppose a person XYZ is out of country for say 100 odd days and he was not employed. Then according to point (c) he can submit a personal letter that he was looking for some business and that is why he left the country. So does it mean that this is enough?? or what other proofs can he submit. Can you throw some light on it and please be specific.

or I am not understanding the point (c) correctly. It seems that that this point is talking about absences in UK. omg this is confusing.

Yes, a personal letter would be sufficient in the scenario you mention. Note that the definition of an absence in the context of these particular rules are periods of time where you are absent from the UK. If you are unemployed, but in the UK, that is not considered an absence.

You may find the following discussion around the immigration rule changes for T1G applicants useful: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... ht=#805469

[syed_ILR]

Lets take a case..suppose a person XYZ is out of country for say 100 odd days and he was not employed. Then according to point (c) he can submit a personal letter that he was looking for some business and that is why he left the country. So does it mean that this is enough?? or what other proofs can he submit. Can you throw some light on it and please be specific.

or I am not understanding the point (c) correctly. It seems that that this point is talking about absences in UK. omg this is confusing.

Yes, a personal letter would be sufficient in the scenario you mention. Note that the definition of an absence in the context of these particular rules are periods of time where you are absent from the UK. If you are unemployed, but in the UK, that is not considered an absence.

You may find the following discussion around the immigration rule changes for T1G applicants useful: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... ht=#805469

thanks for ur reply mate

[spssbkp]

Hi,
Thanks all for the reply.
The reply was in detail and clears lots of questions. Since this also refers to other threads, I am confident that this will be useful for many people looking for answers.

Thanks