Student years?

[thegoodwillhunting]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking of applying for permanent residence and then naturalisation(1 year later) and would be grateful if anyone could give me advice as to what problems I may encounter in my particular situation.

I am an EU citizen who has studied in the UK from Sep 2012 until Sep 2016 (degree obtained) - I have roughly 5 more months until the 5 year period is reached.
I have also obtained a NI number in Sep 2016 and have been employed on full-time basis since then (casual contract, but working 37-52 hrs a week).
I am enrolled in a pension scheme related to my current employer.
I have been paying taxes in every month since completing my education.
I have good English and consistently score above 80% on mock "life in the UK" tests.
I have never been convicted or had any outstanding debts, overdrafts etc.

Here is where I think I might encounter problems:
- My university years might not count towards the 5 year period required?
- In the period since first entering the UK until now I have a total of 453 (3 more than the 450 stated in the requirement) days outside the country with the longest period being 98 days, and a total of 39 days outside the UK in the past 1 year. I do not plan on leaving the country for a long time.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Many Thanks!

[noajthan]

Did you have CSI (or alternative) whilst a student?

Do you have a British spouse?

[thegoodwillhunting]

I did have EHIC while I was student, I was also paying health insurance in my home country for the full duration of my studies.

EDIT: I do not have a british spouse.

[noajthan]

I did have EHIC while I was student, I was also paying health insurance in my home country for the full duration of my studies.

EDIT: I do not have a british spouse.

So all good, you may acquire PR by September.
Then plan for a section 6(1) application to naturalise.

[thegoodwillhunting]

Thank you for the answer.

I just checked and my EHIC has not been continuous throughout my study years (it expires after 1 year so you need to reapply every time it expires, I did not do so for the last year). However I suspect that the national health insurance in my home country (which I have had continuously for the period since I started studying in the UK) may qualify as such. Any ideas where I can check if it does?

[noajthan]

Start here:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... issued.pdf