Absence exceeding 12 months
If you have been absent for an ‘important reason’ – whether because of coronavirus or for another important reason – but your absence has exceeded 12 months, you have exceeded the permitted absence.
However, UKVI hasintroduced a coronavirus concession, meaning that you can still maintain your continuous residence for the purposes of eligibility for Settled Status, where you can evidence that this extended absence is because coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months and for a period thereafter.
The EU Settlement Scheme Guidance outlines on pages 165-166 the type of situation where a Covid-19 related reason may be accepted in relation to absences of longer than 12 months, as well as evidence required.
This means that where, after an absence of 12 months for an ‘important reason’, coronavirus meant you were prevented from, or advised against, returning to the UK within 12 months, you will be treated as not having broken your continuous qualifying period of residence.
The period of absence exceeding 12 months will not be counted towards your continuous qualifying period of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme. Your continuous qualifying period will be paused from the point your absence reached 12 months and will resume from the point you return to the UK.
Where you hold pre-settled status, and this is now due to expire before you can complete the continuous qualifying period of residence required for you to be eligible for settled status, you will be able to apply for a further grant of pre-settled status.
How many permitted absences from the UK can I have in the continuing qualifying 5-year period?
You could have multiple absences of less than 6 months, if your absences total less than 6 months in any 12-month period.
You can only have a single period of absence of up to 12 months for an ‘important reason’.
Where you have a second period of absence exceeding 6 months in any 12-month period for an ‘important reason’, you have exceeded the absence permitted.
However, the EU Settlement Scheme Guidance allows you to rely on any coronavirus related reason (including where you chose to leave or remain outside the UK because of the pandemic) as the basis for requiring a second period of absence of up to 12 months for an ‘important reason’.
For example, you may have been absent from the UK for a period of up to 12 months due to a study abroad year (an accepted “important reason”) and then subsequently, you had a second absence from the UK for a period of up to 12 months due to coronavirus imposed remote study. In this case, you should be able to maintain your continuous residence in the UK even though you have had two absences
In these circ*mstances, you will be treated as not having broken your continuous qualifying period of residence.
However only up to the first 6 months of the second period of absence will be counted towards your continuous qualifying period of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme, where the period counted means you have not been absent for more than 6 months in any 12-month period.
Your continuous qualifying period will be paused from that point and will resume from the point you return to the UK.
Your options if you have exceeded or will exceed the permitted absence
The following options may be available to you if you have been granted Pre-Settled status, but have exceeded the permitted absences detailed above:
Once you have been granted Pre-settled Status, you can spend up to 2 years outside the UK without losing your status.
If you have exceeded the permitted absences, described above, but have not been absent for more than 2 continuous years, you could return to the UK, and stay for the validity of your Pre-settled Status. You would need to leave the UK or apply for appropriate immigration permission in a relevant category before your Pre-settled Status expires.
If you exceeded the permitted absences and then re-established your residence in the UK before 31 December 2020, you could reapply for Pre-settled Status before the expiry date of your current Pre-settled Status. 5 years after you re-established residence, you would be eligible to apply for Settled Status if you have not exceeded the permitted absences again.
If you do not have time to complete your course within the validity of your current Pre-settled Status, you would need to apply for the appropriate immigration permission to be able to stay in the UK.
Student immigration permission is appropriate if you are in the UK for the purpose of studies.
If you believe you have exceptional reasons for exceeding the permitted absences, you may still decide to try applying for Settled Status by asking for discretion and including evidence of why you exceeded the permitted absences. However, the application may not be successful, because it would not meet the UK government's published rules and guidance.
