EEA(PR)-Is CSI Req for self sufficient while travelling?

[ciprianb]

I want to apply for permanent residence on the basis of the previous 5 years being a resident in UK. From these 5 years I worked for 4 years and 6-7 months. In the middle of these 5 years I quit my job and went to spend some time with my family, in my home country for almost 6 months coming once to UK in this time, for a week-end. After that I came back and I was re-hired by my previous company.

Now while completing the form I suppose that I have to put the time I was away from UK as self sufficient? Cause I wasn't a worker anymore. Or it doesn't matter as I wasn't living in UK(besides a week-end) in this time?

I'm asking this as if I will put myself as self sufficient for this time (which I was but outside of UK) I will need a proof for comprehensive sickness insurance which I don't have. In fact I didn't even know about it... And as this period is in 2013 too late to buy one now. While in my home country I paid for the health insurance there but it didn't pass my mind back then to apply for an EHIC card.

Any help really appreciated.

[LilyLalilu]

You are not required to exercise treaty rights whilst out of the UK as you are free from immigration time restrictions. Just state that you were absent on the form.
As long as the absence doesn't exceed 6 months/year it won't break your continuity of residence.

[ciprianb]

Thank you for the answer. I just realised that although I haven't been out from UK more than 6 months continuously in that "year", I've been away more than 6 months in total for that year.
To be more precise I arrived in August 2011 and left on Nov 2012 and came back in March 2013.

Now if I calculate every "year" from the 5 years from August-July, the year 1st Aug 2012-31 July 2013 I've been out in total more than 6 months which I suppose is not allowed.

Can I apply with a later date? Can I say that I came in UK in January 2012 instead of August 2011? (January 2012 is a valid date when I came back to UK from New Year's holiday). It seems logic to apply with any date as long as I have a flight that arrived in the UK that time which I do, and of course you have a total of 5 years, which I will have to wait a little bit in this case but the letter from my employee will show that I started the work on September 2011 and I say I arrived in UK in January 2012. Is that allowed? Wouldn't it look weird to them and can my application be rejected because of that?

Breaking it like this and making the years to count from January to December instead of August to July will help me break the period that I was away and the result would be that I was away less than 6 months every year.

[noajthan]

Thank you for the answer. I just realised that although I haven't been out from UK more than 6 months continuously in that "year", I've been away more than 6 months in total for that year.
To be more precise I arrived in August 2011 and left on Nov 2012 and came back in March 2013.

Now if I calculate every "year" from the 5 years from August-July, the year 1st Aug 2012-31 July 2013 I've been out in total more than 6 months which I suppose is not allowed.

Can I apply with a later date? Can I say that I came in UK in January 2012 instead of August 2011? (January 2012 is a valid date when I came back to UK from New Year's holiday). It seems logic to apply with any date as long as I have a flight that arrived in the UK that time which I do, and of course you have a total of 5 years, which I will have to wait a little bit in this case but the letter from my employee will show that I started the work on September 2011 and I say I arrived in UK in January 2012. Is that allowed? Wouldn't it look weird to them and can my application be rejected because of that?

Breaking it like this and making the years to count from January to December instead of August to July will help me break the period that I was away and the result would be that I was away less than 6 months every year.

Its unclear but my understanding is the year runs from anniversary of date of entry into UK.
That may or may not be correct.
And caseworker may have her own view and there may be HO guidelines we are unaware of.