ILR - WP holder - 4 months maternity absence

[Vin77]

Hi,

I am a WP holder applying for ILR next month. My total days of absence (all of which are paid leave) come to 180 days BUT I have spent 4 months away from the country for maternity purposes.
I gather from some of the posts that a few similar applns have been rejected unfortunately

I am wondering what is the best way for me to handle this:
1) Of the 4 months - 1 month was Annual Leave and the rest Maternity Leave. I was in employment getting paid/taxed etc for this entire period. Can I exclude the 1st month from the list of absences as it is Annual Paid Leave? (am not being foolish, just trying all options!)
2) Also the 4 months cut across 2 calendar years i.e. Nov-March; does that help in any way?
3) My husband and son hold ILR visas currently - not sure if it helps?!?


Thanks
Vin

[geriatrix]

1. There is no difference between annual leave and paid maternity leave, other than the fact that maternity leave is an entitlement subject to pregnancy and annual leave is an entitlement not subject to something happening!
2. No.
3. No.

[Vin77]

sushdmehta: Thanks for your reply. So in summary, do you think my chances of getting through ILR are very low?

Thanks!

[dimsav]

Actually, I think that your chances for ILR are not low at all, due to compassionate grounds, though your case is not so straightforward... If you can justify or at least provide to HO some strong arguments of why you needed to leave the UK on your annual/maternity leave, this would definitely help. (But wait for others to reply, perhaps someone was in similar situation, too...)

[geriatrix]

See also when absences exceed the permitted allowance.