French national been in the UK for 5 years - but with gap of 5 months in paris.... ILtR question

[dlep]

Hi there,

I'm posting a question for my partner - who is a French national (30 years old). He'd like to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK - particularly now at a time brexit is causing uncertainty. We have been together about 3 years - however we are not married.

My partner has been in the uk for 5 years now - originally arriving in Jan 2014 - he started full time employeement and has worked every year he has been in the uk and has P60 statements to support his application. He is also named on the mortgage of our property with me.

The difficulty comes in 2017 - because he quit his job in the uk - then spent a further month in UK job searching - before subsiquently taking a job which saw him move back to Paris where he stayed for 5 months - before then returning back to the uk to take up a new job - an additional month later.

The rough timeline is this::::

Full time UK Employee -> 1 Month in UK job searchng -> 5 months Employee in Paris -> 1 month back in UK waiting for next contract to start -> Full time UK employee again

I understand you are not allowed to have a gap of more than 6 months outside of the country to be considered for indefinite leave - which is fine as he was only in Paris for 5 months - but the difficulty comes where I'm not sure how we will be able to prove that he was in the UK for the 2 months either side of this 5 months in Paris - and not actually just in Paris for 7 months.

We won't have any P60s/P45s as he wasnt working - he was searching for work in the uk. He was also not renting in the uk - as he was staying with me and my parents for free. So legally - I can't think of anything we have to prove where in the world he was for those 7 months!!!

So - my question is....if they question the gap of 6 months - how can I prove he was only in Paris 5 months - and not for 7 months....

My parents can write a document confirming he was staying with us if required? we have evidence he was job searching for uk jobs during his period of unemployment - in the form of job applications and interviews he attended.

Hope that makes sense - any advice you can given appreciated

Thanks!

[zimba]

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is granted to non-EEA citizens under UK immigration rules, however EEA citizens are granted Permanent Residence (PR)

In order to apply for PR, your partner must have been a qualified person throughout the 5 years:

You’re usually a qualified person if you’re a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland and you’re one of the following:

working
studying
self-employed
self-sufficient
looking for work

Read: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... tes-v3.pdf

[kamoe]

In the absence of hard proof of his whereabouts throughout the years he's been residing in the UK, the easiest thing he can do is apply for Settled or Pre-Settled status, where he will only be requested to scan his passport and provide his National Insurance number. With only this information, he will very likely get Pre-settled status, based on a continuous working period from 2017.

I'm afraid it does look like he's not eligible for Settled status yet (or what you can call ILR for EU nationals), but having Pre-settled status will be enough for him to remain legally in the UK until he's eligible for Settled status.

[vaza]

I suggest speaking to the settlement scheme resolution centre. They would normally accept evidence other than the one you mentioned, e.g., bank statements. As you only need to cover 2 months this way, it may even work with the online application (there is a limit of 10 documents you can upload).

You can speak to them before and/or during the application with a reference number.

I would emphasise that legally the requirements are satisfied, you are just looking for ways to prove that.

It would help others in future if you post your outcome here, but remember not to mention personal details.

[/begin{nitpick} Settled status for EU citizens IS an ILR under the immigration rules. Also EU citizens were eligible for ILR under the immigration rules even before the Settlement scheme. Occasionally this was even useful. The terminology changes little in practice, of course./end{nitpick}].

[kamoe]

I'm afraid it does look like he's not eligible for Settled status yet (or what you can call ILR for EU nationals), but having Pre-settled status will be enough for him to remain legally in the UK until he's eligible for Settled status.

Actually, I stand corrected, if he only spent 5 months abroad he is illegible for Settled status.

The good thing about the Settlement Scheme is that it checks his NINO history, and might decide, based on his contributions prior to 2017 that he doesn't need any further evidence. The application will tell hiim if he will be considered for Settled or Pre-Settled status, and if he needs to submit any more documents, but in principle, only his NINO.

Evidence he could supply of his month spent in the UK jobseeking, are printouts of emails inviting him for interviews in the UK, and plane tickets showing when he went/came back.

Good luck!

[Richard W]

I suggest speaking to the settlement scheme resolution centre. They would normally accept evidence other than the one you mentioned, e.g., bank statements. As you only need to cover 2 months this way, it may even work with the online application (there is a limit of 10 documents you can upload).

Use of a debit or credit card at a UK shop might be accepted as evidence of being in the UK on that date.