I copy below the response I recd from UKBA last year.
From: Settlement Ops Policy Mailbox [mailto:
SettlementOpsPolicy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk]
Sent: 24 August 2011 15:52
Subject: FW: Absences - ILR query
Thank you for your email.
The role of the Operational Policy team and this mailbox is to provide consistent and accurate help in the interpretation of UKBA settlement guidance. It is not within our scope to comment on the merits of individual cases and, as such it is not possible to provide you with any assurances as to the likely success of any future application you may submit. I can, however, clarify the policy which is applied by caseworkers on such cases.
Decisions on whether continuous residence has been broken are assessed by a caseworker when an application for settlement is made taking account individual circumstances.
The caseworker may disregard short absences from the UK for the purposes of calculating the period of continuous residence in the UK for;
• Holidays (consistent with annual paid leave); and
• Short business trips.
Such absences may be disregarded provided that the application has clearly continued to be based in the UK.
Longer absences of up to 3 months, and amounting to no more than 6 months in total, may be disregarded in certain compelling or compassionate circumstances.
The UKBA guidance does not set out a specific upper limit on the amount of time an applicant can spend outside of the UK during their paid annual leave, as we recognise that the amount of paid leave will depend on the type of employment and the terms and conditions of employment of each individual. Case workers will assess each application on a case-by-case basis and may request further information if they consider that the amount of time outside of the UK claimed as annual paid leave is excessive. If you are concerned that your annual leave entitlement may be considered to be very generous, it would be advisable for you to submit evidence of your entitlement with any application for settlement, for example your contract of employment detailing your annual leave entitlement.
With regards to business absences, the guidance allows for short business trips to be disregarded for the purposes of calculating continuous residence in the UK. It should be pointed out that secondments and postings abroad are not considered to be business trips and will not ordinarily be disregarded for the purposes of calculating continuous residence in the UK. It may be advisable to provide evidence from your employer certifying that you were required to make any short business trips if you are concerned that this may effect your application.
Where shorter absences for holidays or business trips are disregarded in line with the guidance above, these absences do not count towards any upper limit. The limit of 180 days/6 months applies only to longer absences where discretion has been applied to disregard the absence on compelling or compassionate grounds.
I hope that this information is helpful to you.
Kind regards,
Settlement Operational Policy Team.
