clarifying about absence from uk

[ayatje87]

hello im a non eu national dependant on eea national..pls i want to know how long im allowed to be out of the country..as my solicitor is saying only 90 days but i read on the website lesser then 6 months..but the lawyer says no u cant...any info is appreciated

[Jambo]

You are allowed to be out of the country as much as you like. However, depending on how long you have been away, you might need to re-apply again to re-enter the UK. Will your EU family member stay in the UK?

In general, you are allowed to be out of the UK up to 6 months within a year in order to keep a continuous residency for the purpose of obtaining a Permanent Residency. 90 days usually apply to people under UK immigration laws and not EU laws. This also apply if you plan to apply for British citizenship later on (450 days in 5 years, 90 days in the last year).

[ayatje87]

thanks for ur reply

actually im applying using the forum eea4 and i have been outside the uk last year once 3 months and once 2 months and my solicitor saying that by that i broke my residency..im so scared that its true what do u think of it..i was on holiday while my eea member was here in the uk working.

[Jambo]

You should ask for a refund from your solicitor. He might know UK immigration laws well but not the EEA regulations.

You can print page 9 from this guide and point your solicitor to the third paragraph which says:

For your residence in the United Kingdom to be considered continuous, you should not be absent from the United Kingdom for more than six months each year.

[ayatje87]

she is asking 800 pounds for eea4...im not going to carry on with her..thanks so much

[Obie]

It might be the adviser confused the initial right of residence , which is 90 days, to that of breaks in continuous residence, which as has been explained is 6 months in a year generally or one of 12 months for Pregnancy or military postings.

He may be having a busy or exhausting day. It may be wrong to disqualify him/her on the basis of that single error.

[86ti]

Possible that the error can be explained but for £800 pounds I would expect a "little" bit more. If the absences are the only issue and the service only entails document checking and maybe filling some text into the document it is simply way too expensive. If the solicitor still believes that the application will fail she should at least refuse to take the case.

[Obie]

Agreed. I see no reason to disagree with that statement.

[ayatje87]

yeah i expected for this amount of money to have better service...she put me down..she even called to check and her colleague solicitor said the same its 90 days...and i paid 120 pounds just to interview me..i feel im rubbed off..i think im stressing my self maybe im better doing it alone with the help of u guys..thnx

[ayatje87]

and one more question...is p60 a must??as my dad missing his p60 but his previous employer is willing to give him letter stating that he worked for one year...thanks so much

[86ti]

What about payslips for that period? If not you may able to get a confirmation through HMRC. The important point for a worker is that he paid taxes and NI contributions.

[Obie]

Also, the employment has to be effectective and genuine, as opposed to being on a small scale, so as to be defined as ancillary or marginal. It should be of economic value to the Employer.

Begum (EEA – worker – jobseeker) Pakistan [2011] UKUT 00275(IAC)

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

ayatje87,

When did you arrive in the UK?

Other than breaks (of up to 6 months per year), have you been away from the UK?