Set M question - How long has your partner lived in the UK?

[stmoody]

Hi all,

I am helping my wife to fill out the form for her ILR Set M and I am not sure what to put for what should be a very simple question:

How long has your partner lived in the UK?

In the online form I have to put a number of years and months. So far, I have just put my age as I was born in the UK and grew up here. However, I did spend a few years living in Africa and Asia in my twenties. Should I take that period away from the total?

I mention elsewhere in the application that my wife and I lived together outside of the country before we were married and I don't want to be caught out by a Home Office official pointing out that if we lived together outside of the country then the number of years and months I have lived in the UK can't be the same as my age.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. It is terrifying to think that something as small as this can have such a potential impact on my family life.

Thanks in advance.

[michali]

Would the form allow you to put 'I was born and brought up in the UK but spent some years abroad' or does it require a figure? I recall something similar on my husband's application for FLR(M) but cannot remember what I put, as my situation was similar.

[michali]

Sorry, reading your post again, it does appear it has to be in figures. Very difficult! Unless advised otherwise I will probably take my time abroad away from my total age.

[stmoody]

Thanks very much for the suggestion. I think that in the absence of a clear way forward I will explain my answer to that question in a covering note where I have the chance.