Out of UK application Change of residence country

[nikuss]

Dear Tier 2 wizards,

I am preparing to apply for a Tier 2 entry clearance and I would like your opinion on whether my strategy is correct.

I have a CoS from a UK university (research fellow position) with a start date of March 31. I am a Russian national and the CoS has my Russian address. At the moment I am wrapping up my stay in France where I lived for 3 years on a "scientific" residency permit as a PhD student. The permit expired on February 6th with a pending renewal. Since the status of the renewal wasn't clear at the moment of CoS application (and is still unclear), HRs recommended applying from Russia. My plan is to fill in the online application here in France, fly to Russia by the end of the month regardless of the faith of the renewal, and submit biometrics on the 1st of March. Here are my worries/questions:

1) The "permanent residential address" on the application will obviously be my Russian address. What should be the answer to "How long have you lived at this address?" The options are "2 days" (because I will have just returned) or "8 years" (since the day my family first moved in). The latter is likely to raise questions because my previous UK visit visas used my French address. The former looks silly (does it?). I'm confused.

2) When compiling the travel history, should I list the periods of residing in France? I travelled from France too, so the 3 years residency will be broken by other trips.

3) My understanding is that I am exempt from TB screening as I have spent 3 years in France (not on the TB list) prior to the application. What information should be included in the covering letter? Copy of the expired residency card? Passport? Student card or contract? Or just a written explanation is enough?

I understand that my questions are naive, and the case is probably less complicated than usual for this forum, but I fear to overthink and put the application at risk. I would appreciate any comments.

[iworker]

for 1 and 2, it doesnt really matter. U can be living anywhere in the world, and your permanent address can still be in russia.
You can put details in the end, saying that you have lived in france for last 3 years, but the address listed in permanent address section is my permanent address.
For TB screening, mention in the end of the application where they ask for any other information, or in covering letter that u have been living in france for 3 years (more than 6 months in past), hence TB screening is not required.

[nikuss]

Thank you iworker!