I will be filling my AN for application shortly and I have a few questions on this.
First, to provide some background:
- I am an EU national, who first came to the UK in 2002
- I have held a Permanent Residence Status since 1 July 2009 (the card was issued on 2 July 2018 – I applied for it last year only. As the part of the application I have proved that I never lost the status.)
- I have also held the Settled Status since 7 February 2019
Now, in terms of my questions:
1. I would like to base my application on the September 2014 – September 2019 residence period. My total number of days absent from the UK in the period is 425, and only 20 in the final 12 months. The 5-year period breaks down into the following segments:
- September 2014 – August 2015 – I spent most of my time travelling (business) outside of the UK. I would stay at hotels whenever I came back. This is when I accumulated the biggest chunk of my absences. Proof of residence: Hotel bills showing dates of my stays. Question: 1. How likely in your view is the caseworker to accept this period, despite the fact that I did not have a permanent home in the UK then? I could not find any legal basis on which my approach would be wrong (neither in the form nor in the booklet nor anywhere else).
- September 2015 – March 2018 - Permanent employment. Proof of residence: Letter from employer
- April 2018 – October 2018 – Not in employment. Proof of residence: various letters from government institutions (at least 1 per month; in most cases 2 or more). I could also provide bank statements for the whole period but I understand they can be of little use here. Questions: 1. Shall I be worried if I have no letters to cover 2 of these 7 months? 2. Can I use letters from Royal Mail here?
- November 2018 – September 2019 – Permanent employment. Proof of residence: Letter from employer
3. Is it ok to list my addresses over the last 4 years only, given the lack of permanent address in the September 2014 – September 2015 period?
4. In my application I will refer to the Permanent Residence Status. I guess the Settled Status is not relevant here, as I got it less than 12 months before the application date?
I am also planning on attaching a cover letter to set out my case clearly for the caseworker.
I would appreciate your help here.
Thank you,
chrees