Single break - 5 years period

[Laurieeee]

Hi All,

Many thanks in advance for all the helpful responses.

I will be applying for my permanent residency next month. I have lived in the UK for over 5 years. However, my case is quite complicated because
I left the UK for 7 months two years ago due to my mother's terminal ilness. I had to go back home to take care of her. I have documents proving that she was terminally ill and
unable to function on her own.

Now two of my questions are:
1. Do you think this will be accepted as a good reason for leaving the country? Is my evidence sufficient?
2. I am thinking about asking a lawyer for help. The cost of a lawyer is very high so here is my question - will it LOOK better if Home Office receives an application sent by
a lawyer than if it is sent by me personally? To make things clear - does the Home Office treat applications sent by a lawyer more seriously than those sent by an average person?
I already got some basic help and I know very well how to apply for the residency. I would not hire a lawyer to get information, I am aware what is needed and I already know what to write in an application.
I would only hire a lawyer so he can send an application on my behalf so it looks more serious.
Therefore, here is my question - is it worth it?
I am asking this because I know Home Office rejects tonnes of applications sent by an average person so I am wondering if it was sent by a lawyer, would they possibly take it more seriously?
Or maybe the opposite - the involvement of a lawyer would draw their attention and they would be more likely to reject my application?

3. During those 7 months I was returning to the UK every 3-4 weeks because my boyfriend lives here and I knew I would eventually return. During those 7 months I was away back home I was also looking for employment in the UK (sending CVs via email) and had a few of interviews scheduled which I flew back to the UK for (it was all during this 7 months break). One of the interviews resulted in employment on my return. Here is my question - do I provide this information in my application? If yes, how?

4. I was a full time student for 3 years but I did not have CSI. However, I worked part time most of the time. Do I mention that I was a student? Or is it better to only mention part-time employment? I had some breaks between jobs (max 2 months). Will this be okay?

Thank you! Highly appreciate your insight.

[Laurieeee]

Anyone? I would REALLY appreciate any help! Especially regarding the lawyer - is it worth it in my case?
Please, any advice will be highly appreciated!!!

[forestgump]

Hi All,

Many thanks in advance for all the helpful responses.

I will be applying for my permanent residency next month. I have lived in the UK for over 5 years. However, my case is quite complicated because
I left the UK for 7 months two years ago due to my mother's terminal ilness. I had to go back home to take care of her. I have documents proving that she was terminally ill and
unable to function on her own.

Now two of my questions are:
1. Do you think this will be accepted as a good reason for leaving the country? Is my evidence sufficient?
2. I am thinking about asking a lawyer for help. The cost of a lawyer is very high so here is my question - will it LOOK better if Home Office receives an application sent by
a lawyer than if it is sent by me personally? To make things clear - does the Home Office treat applications sent by a lawyer more seriously than those sent by an average person?
I already got some basic help and I know very well how to apply for the residency. I would not hire a lawyer to get information, I am aware what is needed and I already know what to write in an application.
I would only hire a lawyer so he can send an application on my behalf so it looks more serious.
Therefore, here is my question - is it worth it?
I am asking this because I know Home Office rejects tonnes of applications sent by an average person so I am wondering if it was sent by a lawyer, would they possibly take it more seriously?
Or maybe the opposite - the involvement of a lawyer would draw their attention and they would be more likely to reject my application?

3. During those 7 months I was returning to the UK every 3-4 weeks because my boyfriend lives here and I knew I would eventually return. During those 7 months I was away back home I was also looking for employment in the UK (sending CVs via email) and had a few of interviews scheduled which I flew back to the UK for (it was all during this 7 months break). One of the interviews resulted in employment on my return. Here is my question - do I provide this information in my application? If yes, how?

4. I was a full time student for 3 years but I did not have CSI. However, I worked part time most of the time. Do I mention that I was a student? Or is it better to only mention part-time employment? I had some breaks between jobs (max 2 months). Will this be okay?

Thank you! Highly appreciate your insight.

1 and 3. As long as you have not been absent for more than 6 months at once or 450 days in 5yrs&90 days in year, nothing to worry about, but you need to state in your cover letter that you have beeb absent due for your mother's illness.

2. It doesn't matter are you applying on your own or you have a legal representative, so I'm not sure that you need to pay a lot of money to lawyer.

4. Just mention that you have been a part time worker and supply relevant documents.

[secret.simon]

As long as you have not been absent for more than 6 months at once or 450 days in 5yrs&90 days in year, nothing to worry about, but you need to state in your cover letter that you have beeb absent due for your mother's illness.

Irrelevant advice. The OP is asking about a PR application, not a naturalisation application.

For PR, you are allowed a single one-year absence for important reasons, such as serious illness, child-birth, etc. If your mother was so ill as not to be able to function on her own, I think that would count.

As regards the part-time work, be aware that it will be assessed against the Minimum Earnings Threshold requirements as well.

A lawyer-assembled application is not prioritised and your case is not particularly complicated (on the face of it), so you can skip the lawyer fees.

[Laurieeee]

Secret.Simon - many thanks for your response. What is the minimum treshold? I had a few 0 hours contracts but I did do more than 16h a week for sure (I will provide payslips).
Also, I had a few breaks between different jobs - usually up to 2 months.

I was a full time student working part time but with no CSI. Is it even worth it to mention that I went to uni if i did not have CSI or is it better to just inform about part time employment and skip the university bit?

Also, do you know if I can apply after 5 years or because of my 7 months break I will need to apply after 5 years and 7 months?

[Laurieeee]

Hi,

I was wondering if I am in the UK for 5 years but had a single break of 7 months due to an important reason, can I apply for PR after 5 years or after 5 years and 7 months?

I will appreciate a clarification on this!!

thanks

[Laurieeee]

Could someone be so kind and maybe shed some light on the above? Thank you!

[secret.simon]

I was wondering if I am in the UK for 5 years but had a single break of 7 months due to an important reason, can I apply for PR after 5 years or after 5 years and 7 months?

5 years, including the 7 month break.

[Laurieeee]

Hi! I will appreciate any insight on this:

I will be applying for my PR this month and I have quite a lot of documents from the last 5 years. Tonnes of payslips, contracts etc. I was wondering if you numerate those documents anywhere? (such as putting numbers on pages) and do you refer to the documents in your cover letter?

Another question - I lived with my boyfriend's family at their house for a long time.. is it worth getting a letter from them confirming that? I didn't pay any rent or bills.

I have 3 P60's out of 5 - can't get the ramaining two unfortuantely as the previous employer doesn't want to send them. Is it ok?

[GMB]

3. During those 7 months I was returning to the UK every 3-4 weeks because my boyfriend lives here and I knew I would eventually return. During those 7 months I was away back home I was also looking for employment in the UK (sending CVs via email) and had a few of interviews scheduled which I flew back to the UK for (it was all during this 7 months break). One of the interviews resulted in employment on my return. Here is my question - do I provide this information in my application? If yes, how?

Addressing just the absence from the UK part, if I were you I would use a calendar covering the 7 month period, and carefully map out every single time you entered and left over the seven months as if they were all separate trips (which they were, because you kept coming back). Now, count the days of each trip, ignoring the day of departure from the UK and the day of arrival back to the UK. If that totals 180 days or less, then there is no issue at all. If you were indeed returning once a month over 7 months, that alone could easily knock a couple of weeks off your total. If you do end up at 180 days or less in any given 12mo period, then per the new EEA(PR) Guidance Notes Apr 2017, p.8, Absences from the UK, (see link) you don't have to list ANY of the absences on the form at all.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... tes-v3.pdf

[Laurieeee]

GMB, thanks so much for your reply.

However, I did not work for those 7 months and did not have a CSI, so is it still worth not treating it as a single absence?

[GMB]

I will be applying for my PR this month and I have quite a lot of documents from the last 5 years.

Me too, 25 May. Almost done with the application.

I was wondering if you numerate those documents anywhere? (such as putting numbers on pages)

Well, first off they expect/ask you to provide a document inventory (p.85 of EEA(PR) app), so definitely there. What I've done in addition to that is print off a separate page for each section of the form where I have to provide something, with the section header and a list of documents I'm providing for that section, and any notes or explanations specific to that section or those documents. To make it as stupid-proof as possible I'm even labeling each document so there's no confusion.

Do you refer to the documents in your cover letter?

I'm not doing a cover letter; haven't done one for any of the EEA applications I've submitted. Personally I think unless your case is very complicated, what's the point? They know what you're applying for already. The form gives it away. But like I said I place notes (explanations) in each of the section divider pages, so I guess that's sorta like a chopped-up cover letter.

Another question - I lived with my boyfriend's family at their house for a long time.. is it worth getting a letter from them confirming that?

Not anymore, it appears. The new EE(PR) Guidance Notes has a chart with the four grades of evidence (p.8, see previous link) from A to D. Testimonials from family and friends is Category D - information of no value - which is specifically says not to even bother sending. While I'm assuming you're asking about Section 11 (establishing that you resided with the EEA sponsor), and this category stuff is from Section 5 (establishing that you were present in the UK), I'd bet they're going to apply the standards of Section 5 evidence to anything you provide, whether for Section 11 or some other section, so I'd use the chart on p.8 as the guide for all the documents you submit.

[GMB]

However, I did not work for those 7 months and did not have a CSI, so is it still worth not treating it as a single absence?

Wait, are you an EEA national or an EEA (extended) family member? I just realized you didn't specify. I've been assuming you were the EEA FM.

[Laurieeee]

I am an EEA national..

[Laurieeee]

GMB, thanks so much for all your replies!
I went back home for 7 months due to my mum's terminal illness. However, in the meantime I was going back to the UK every month for a few days. I also had some interviews during that time (have an evidence of that) and eventually got a job which I took on my return (after 7 months break).
Not sure whether to write a cover letter explaining the above? And not sure whether count it as a long single break? I wasn't working during this 7 month period..

Also, do you think it is worth to send as much evidence as possible? the new guide says ONE piece of evidence per period. I am not sure about that..

[GMB]

I am an EEA national..

Ah, ok. I interpreted the "lived with my boyfriend" to mean he was the EEA national and you were trying to prove co-habitation under Sec. 11 of the application. My mistake.
I am absolutely not an expert on the intricacies of CSI, but plenty of others here are, so hopefully they will weigh in. From what little I know of it, even if you didn't exceed the 6mo in 12mo rule, your lack of CSI may have caused your 5-year qualifying clock to reset to zero, only starting again once you had CSI or were subsequently employed. But there are too many things I don't know for me to even speculate further on that. If it turns out the lack of CSI is not a problem, then that's when it might be worth seeing that 7mo period as a series of absences (which it was) in order to reduce the total number of days to 180 or less. But if the CSI trips you up then I suppose it doesn't really matter how you count it, since your 5-yr clock was reset anyway. So if your clock was reset, then you don't need a cover letter since I presume you won't be able to put in an application. Unless of course you've got an older five-year period that you can count? It doesn't have to be the last five years; it can be any five-year period.

[GMB]

Also, do you think it is worth to send as much evidence as possible? the new guide says ONE piece of evidence per period. I am not sure about that..

Yeah, me either. Smells like a trap to me - reject one item of evidence, they get to reject the whole application.

If they're getting overwhelmed with documents, it's only because they've got a reputation for being as difficult as possible, so I've got no sympathy. For Section 5 alone I'm sending them 3 docs for me covering 5 years, 3 docs for my EEA spouse covering 5 years, and 1 joint doc covering 5 years. They can pick whichever one they want to count, but they can't just reject one and then get to reject the whole application.