90days away from UK

smb · Post by **smb** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 11:53 am

Can some one tell me if it will affect ILR if HSMP primary or dependant is away from UK for more than 90days at a stretch.

Does the days counted exclusive of travel dates ?

Or even if it is less than 90 days , do we have to be in UK for (5yrs + days spent abroad)

Could you elaborate for dependant as well.

mayana · Post by **mayana** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:06 pm

smb,
I will advise you refer to; www.workinginthuk.gov.uk, Please senior member your assistance is needed.

Mayana

smb · Post by **smb** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 6:11 pm

Can some senior member please reply on this. I have e-mailed to immigration enquiry team as well, but no reply as yet.

I appreciate your help of this to clarify if you guys are aware.

HSMP holder · Post by **HSMP holder** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:57 pm

I have personally ring the Home Office on this because it may affect me as well. Their answer was that it is oaky to leave UK consectively for 6 weeks each year, AND the total amount of time out of UK should be less than 6 months within that 5 years.

According to Home office, you have to ensure that you don't leave the UK for more than 6 weeks for each particular travel, and don't leave UK for more than 6 months within the 5 years.

Personally, I stongly advise you to call (NOT EMAIL) Home Office directly and they will tell you the rules.

HSMP holder · Post by **HSMP holder** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:59 pm

Oh yes. The above applies only to primary HSMP applicant. For dependants, their right to stay solely derives from the primary applicant. So as long as the primary applicant has got the ILR, the dependants would be fine.

smb · Post by **smb** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:57 pm

Sorry mate. My query was can we stay 3months away from UK on vaccation.

Example , suppose I leave UK on 29thApr and come back to UK on 27th July.

What will be the days counted as my absence from UK. Either 88 days or 90 days for above date.

Will my eligibility to ILR would affect. As I am expecting a ILR in Oct 2008

smb · Post by **smb** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:26 pm

Because, as far as I read , one shouldn;t be away for more than 90days on a single stretch

HSMP holder · Post by **HSMP holder** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:55 pm

According to Home Office reply, you can't do that or you risk failing your ILR application. If you really need to leave for three months, you have to go back and forth several time, because the Home Office makes it clear that you cannot leave the country continuously for more than 6 weeks on any single occasion. Otherwise, you cannot fulfill the "continuously 5 years" requirement.

sams · Post by **sams** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:18 pm

HSMP holder wrote:According to Home Office reply, you can't do that or you risk failing your ILR application. If you really need to leave for three months, you have to go back and forth several time, because the Home Office makes it clear that you cannot leave the country continuously for more than 6 weeks on any single occasion. Otherwise, you cannot fulfill the "continuously 5 years" requirement.

There is no rule as such stating about 6 weeks. The rule is for 3 months instead of 6 weeks.

jagacharaja · Post by **jagacharaja** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:56 am

All this talk is making me nervous. My HSMP is approved in February although I'm yet to apply for entry clearance (Indian national in the US.)

I don't much care abt renewal of my HSMP after two yrs, I just want to enter UK on HSMP for a few days (a week?) and come back to the US and continue to look for jobs in UK from the US.

I understand there's no time limit on when I have to enter the UK once my entry clearance is approved.... is that correct?

Assuming I am not worrying about ILR or renewal, does this pose a problem for me if I enter the UK on HSMP for a week, go back to the US, and make UK trips as I please for however long/short I please??

I hope this makes sense. Any knowledgeable inputs will be highly appreciated. I'm sorry if I'm hijacking this thread.

PS: Is it true that initial HSMP entry clearance are now being given for two yrs?

vidya · Post by **vidya** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:30 am

Hi Jagacharya

wondering why you are going through the whole process of a HSMP visa for just entering for a week , wouldnt a visitor visa have been easier ?

jagacharaja · Post by **jagacharaja** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 12:15 pm

Hi Vidya,

Sorry for the confusion. Long term plan is definitely to come to UK for good, but I don't want to do that w/out having a job in UK.... which is why I am wondering would it hurt me in any way if I was to make short week-long trips to UK on HSMP visa, as long as I don't have to worry abt renewal and/or ILR.... hope this makes sense..

vidya wrote:Hi Jagacharya

wondering why you are going through the whole process of a HSMP visa for just entering for a week , wouldnt a visitor visa have been easier ?

vc · Post by vc » Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:29 pm

Jags, just to buy time to find a job, you could apply for EC in Aug (and request effective date from Oct 07). Thereafter you could enter anytime between Oct 07 to Oct 09. Although timeframe for ILR subsequently will be effected, but you will still make it for the renewal coz its the last 15 months that count. Offcourse, you will have to go for a second renewal before applying for ILR.

jagacharaja · Post by **jagacharaja** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:36 pm

vc wrote:Jags, just to buy time to find a job, you could apply for EC in Aug (and request effective date from Oct 07). Thereafter you could enter anytime between Oct 07 to Oct 09.

Hi vc, thanks for your input. Yes, I'm clear on what's in the quote above - however - do I have any restrictions leaving and entering the UK during the initial two yr period.... that's my main concern.. is there a minimum amount of time I have to stay in UK on HSMP before I am allowed to leave, or any specific amount of time I am allowed to be outside of UK during the two yrs initial period...? FWIW, pls note that ILR or renewal is not something I'm sweating on.

vc · Post by vc » Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:07 pm

As far as I am aware, once you enter, you have to spend a minimum of 181 days in the Uk in a calender year to be a ord resident. There is no issue on travelling from the UK on business or vacations. Perhaps some of the seniors members could clarify this issue.

UKbound · Post by **UKbound** » Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:54 am

I travel quite frequently between the US and UK for work. I'm in the US roughly 1-2 weeks each month. I've never had a problem with immigration when I return. They generally ask me if I am still fulfilling the terms of the HSMP and that's it. Sometimes they ask where I work, so I tell them.

I don't think you'll have a problem returning to the US while you're looking for work, as long as you're not gone for that long. When we first came to the UK, I was here about 3 weeks, then returned to the US for 4 weeks to wrap up my job, etc.

You will potentially have problems when you renew, depending upon how long you are away.

One of the other people commented that you should just wait and come over once you have a job here. That may be easier. I have to say, though, that it will probably be tough to find a job without being onsite. You should try to at least have UK contact information for people to get in touch with you. Skype or some of the other companies often will allow you to get UK or US-based phone numbers without being there, and they route through the internet, or you can forward them to your mobile or home phone in the US.

Hope that helps.

jagacharaja · Post by **jagacharaja** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:10 am

UKbound, that's some awesome input - coming from the horse's mouth, as I like to say!

Couple of questions pop out however:

UKbound wrote:I don't think you'll have a problem returning to the US while you're looking for work, as long as you're not gone for that long.

What did you have in mind when you said "that long"? I'm thinking of entering the UK on HSMP for a week then coming back to the US. And I really don't know how much my time away from UK might be after that, it all depends on when I get the UK job.. I know it's a very tough task to find a job there while not actually being there, but I don't have a choice abt that - and this is where your skype advise will come in to play.

Let me re-itirate again FWIW - as confusing as it sounds, I'm not concerned abt renewal or ILR. All I really want to know is whether or not are there any kind of rules that I have to be in UK before I leave UK (only to come back) , how long can I be out of UK, etc etc.

UKbound wrote:They generally ask me if I am still fulfilling the terms of the HSMP and that's it. Sometimes they ask where I work, so I tell them.

What did you mean by "fulfilling the HSMP terms".....? When they ask you where you work, do you mean where you work in UK or US? Is it safe to tell them that you work in the US while you're on HSMP...? I'm not a US citizen (although been here 7+ yrs)... will I have to prove to them "why am I in the US to begin with", or can they give me trouble after seeing my US H1B visa, saying that I'm working in the US already so why am I entering on HSMP bla bla.....

Also - what would be a "good" amount as for being able to prove that you can support yourself.... how much is "enuf" really??

I'm sorry to have so many questions... just want to be aware of anything I should be....

UKbound · Post by **UKbound** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:42 am

I'm not really sure how long would be too long, although I think the shortest time that you can be away, the better. I would say a couple of months maximum, but it's just my opinion. Basically, you want to show that you're committed to the UK, so the more time away, the harder it will be to do that.

If asked, tell them that you came over to look for a flat/job, etc., and went back to the US to wrap up your old position while you were looking for permanent employment in the UK. It sounds like that is the truth, and honesty is always the best choice.

Is there a reason why you're coming to the UK for a week, before you're ready to stay permanently? You can wait and just come into the UK once you have a job, or are further along in the job process. That would pretty much eliminate the problem you're concerned about.

When they ask if I'm fulfilling my HSMP terms, they mean living in the UK, working here (or could be looking for work), etc. If you don't come back until you have a job, then you should be okay with this part.

Generally, at least for me, the immigration process has been painless. What's important to them is that you're doing what you're supposed to in order to meet the goals of the program. Eg; moving to the UK, living in the UK, looking for, or working here already, etc.

Regarding your question of "how much", you should check out costs for where-ever you're thinking of living. London is expensive, for example. With the exchange rates, you can basically double everything from a US perspective. I moved here from San Francisco, living in Pacific Heights in downtown SF, so the costs there were already pretty high, but London is still double for a lot of things. It will be hard to find a job making what you're earning now (especially if you're doing well), unless you have UK experience.

Keep in mind that even with UK contact information, you're going to have to interview as things come up. That can be done via telephone, but will need to be done in person as the process progresses. For me, the job hunt took about 5 or 6 months, and I went through several interviews before I was offered something that I wanted. You could end up travelling back and forth a lot for interviews. This could also get costly.

jagacharaja · Post by **jagacharaja** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 1:24 pm

UKbound, your insight continues to be extremely helpful.. it outlines the numerous things I will have to take into account making any decisions going forward. It's a daunting task, but there's no way around to it. Thanks again for sharing you first hand knowledge..

As for me thinking abt coming there for a week.... no good reason for just a week, I just wanted to spend minimal time in UK initially before coming back again for good (of course, not sure what the timeline betn these two trips is going to be like..)

As your post indicates, I have to do some heavy planning.....

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

90days away from UK

90days away from UK