ILR Application: Extended paid business trips outside UK

[etiennes]

I will be permanently employed by a UK-based company under Tier 1 starting 1 December 2008 and as a condition of my employment I will be expected to work outside the UK for extended periods. These business trips will incur my normal salary which will still be paid into my UK bank account and I will be making tax and pension payments within the UK.

As an example I could be expected to work in Dublin for 6 months in a year.

After 5 years working for this company how will my ILR application be affected by these work related periods outside the UK? I am aware of the 3 months per year and 15 months in total rule but would the fact that these trips are a requirement for my continued employment make a difference?

Your help in this regard would be much appreciated as I have attempted to get clarity from numerous sources.

[dnicky]

Assuming that the existing ILR rules prevail when you come around to apply for ILR, provided you can get a letter from the exmployer explaining the reason and periods of your stay outside UK, you should be fine.

[etiennes]

Thanks for that info.

I actually had a look in my employment contract and it states the following:

"...due to the Company’s business you may be required to work at sites or locations throughout or outside of the United Kingdom."

I think I should be OK as long as I get documentation from my employer to cover all the business trips made.

[gautat]

My friend who was in similar situation and his ILR was rejected. He showed all the payslips and contracts etc. but ECO rejected on the basis that he has spent almost year and half outside UK though he used to come back to UK every weekend.

It still a gray area and mainly depend upon the case worker. I would advise not take chance.

Thanks