ILR via Ancestry: How important is time spent out of work?

[kiwal]

Hi there,

I'm about to apply for ILR via Ancestry, and wondered how important the requirement to have lived/worked for 5 years is as I'm going through my history, and there's a month at the start which is potentially in a grey area...

I have lived & worked in the UK since Jan 2011, but have only been on my ancestry visa since 26 June (before that I was on a Youth Mobility).
- When I arrived back on the 26th of June I was a self employed contractor and went back to work on the 27th. I worked a 168 hour shift (7 days x 24 hrs),
- Then I left the UK for 20 days (I think it was a holiday with my girlfriend)
- It looks like I came back to the UK for 3 days - I think I had to attend a job interview
- Then I left the UK for another 10 days (I don't remember why, I can only assume I was lying on a beach while waiting for work to start)
- When I arrived back in the UK, I went straight to work for the company that interviewed me (now just a normal employee; not self employed).

My current plan is to do my ILR application in person at a premium service centre on the 30th of june, having passed the 5 year requirement; but is this month spent in and out of the UK going to affect things? I have been outside of the UK other times in the last five years, but it's no where near the 180 days per 12 months they say breaks 'continuous residency'

Should I postpone the appointment and apply 5 years after that initial month was over?

Second question:
I spent on average 35 days per year outside of the UK on normal holidays, visiting friends/family, etc. Do I need to get letters from all of my previous employers saying this was normal annual leave, or will a letter from me be enough for this? (about 2 years of my time here has been spent in self employment or as the managing director/primary shareholder of the company I work for).

Thanks,

[CR001]

You should be fine on both questions your have asked.

[kiwal]

So you don't think that I need to worry about postponing the appointment?

Thanks

[CR001]

The requirement for Ancestry to work from day one is not as strict as the Tier visas. You will be fine, many people work/travel on Ancestry visa. The key is that you have worked.

[kiwal]

Great! Thanks for the help