manomaly wrote:Hi,
I've got 2 questions relating to employment gaps.
1)
I've been here for 5 years, but in the first 8 months my employer didn't contribute to tax or NIN (had no clue until the company went under, I provided my payslips to HMRC just in case afterwards, they told me they had no record of any contributions and they couldn't refund me the overpaid tax). I recently called HMRC as I'm getting the employment history, and they said they have nothing on record in this period.Sounds like you were conned by a fraudulent employer there, very unfortunate. Technically, just because your employer defrauded the revenue, this does not mean you were not exercising Treaty rights as a worker, provided your work was genuine and not merely ancillary. However, I understand that you wish to avoid the complexity your case might throw up were UKVI to inquire too deeply into your tax and NIC record, which may also have repercussions for any naturalisation application you may choose to make in the future.
Can I apply as a worker looking for work at that time? I had been looking for work, but I'm not sure how many application letters would be needed for an 8 month period?You cannot apply as a "worker"
under the 2016 Regulations, but you can apply as a jobseeker in principle. You do not need to show that you were exercising Treaty rights for the first three months of your stay. For any time after the first three months, you do have to show you were a worker, self-employed person, jobseeker, student, self-sufficient person, or family member of one of the foregoing. As things stand now, you can normally only be a jobseeker for 3 months during the entire 5-year period; this limitation was introduced in 2014. As your period of jobseeking fell before 2014, the old law would apply, which was normally six months. You could therefore "bridge" this time by combining 3 months initial entry rights plus 5 months jobseeking, subject to what I say below. HOWEVER, on balance I would advise against going for the jobseeking route because you have other periods of unemployment, as set out below.
Or would it be better to apply as a self sufficient person? During that initial 8 month period I had an EHIC card (I'm not sure if I can get a document stating that yet). And how would I prove I had enough money - is it bank statements? And how much would it be needed?Yes, self-sufficient is better and somewhat easier to prove. If you no longer hold your EHIC, you must get a letter/confirmation from the issuing authority confirming that you did hold an EHIC during the relevant time. I've seen letters to that effect from a number of different countries, most seem to issue them without a problem. As for sufficient funds, the choice is yours: bank statement, letter from family/friend confirming support plus evidence of their finances, pension,
evidence of property and (indeed), evidence of employment income. As a guide, you'd be expected to have roughly £600 per month available to you. The EEA guidance states that applicants must "provide documents showing they have enough resources to cover their essential outgoings."
Or would it be best to simply wait for another 8 month and apply then? Is there a waiting period to apply again if my application gets rejected? No waiting period. I can't advise you on whether you wish to wait or not, what with #Brexit and all. You can re-apply at any time after a refusal.
2)
Then I've had a period of just under 3 months of unemployment, and another one of just over 3 months. Should I be worried about those, especially the one over 3 months? I didn't have an EHIC or any kind of CSI during those 2 periods of unemployment. I didn't claim benefits, was looking for work. Should I provide bank statements for those periods? The guidance says to only provide one document per 12 months and I have my P60s. The 1xP60 per year of residence requirement only applies if you spent that whole year in employment. You must prove any periods of free movement rights other than as a worker separately.
The problem is that you have two periods of unemployment totalling almost 6 months.
From 2014, as set out above, jobseeking time has generally been capped at 3 months. However, this does not mean your PR application is doomed to fail. The legal test for exceeding the 3 month cap is that you are able to provide "compelling evidence of continuing to seek employment and having a genuine chance of being engaged". This is quite easy to show in a PR application where you did actually get employment shortly afterwards. Put all your qualifications and evidence of seeking work into the application to show you had a genuine chance of employment.
manomaly wrote:I've also never registered as a job seeker.As long as you're not relying on retained worker status, that's fine, as long as you can otherwise prove (by applications, invitation letters, registrations with agencies or some such documents) that you were actually looking for work.
In short: either apply in 8 months' time, or apply now based on self-sufficiency in the first 8 months; and then two periods of unemployment later, providing the "compelling evidence" required by the Regulations.
