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I have lived in the UK for 15 years, worked every day, own a property and have a permanent job.
I have Residence permit that confirms 5 years in March 2016, I have passed my Life in Britain and English test.

For work I travel a lot, over the last 5 years I have over 60 trips abroad in total 564 days and over the last year I have a staggering 240 days abroad.
The large amount of days abroad during the last year was due to the fact that I fell gravely ill on a business trip, was hospitalised and was recovering being taken care of by relatives abroad. I only was able to return to normal travelling schedule in April (falling ill in October 2016).

My work has provided me with a letter confirming my work requires a large amount of travel and I can also provide paperwork from the hospital in Sweden on why I couldn't return to the UK (I was in Sweden the whole time).

Is it worth me applying or will I waste my money?

What exactly does your residence card say, is it a DCPR?

240 days is way above the allowance for the last 12 months, it is almost the whole year. HO would disregard 100/110 days but unlikely to disregard 240.

ok thank you. With work I nowdays are required to spend around 150 days per year travelling, it was just an extra 90 because of my illness.
I guess they don't have that much flexibility then.
I will save my money in this case and just hope I qualify next year.

I have a UK residence Documentation for a National of an EEA State. Document certifying permanent recidence. I'm an EU national but trying to sort this out because of Brexit.

See Pages 7-8 of Booklet AN for details of how the Home Office exercises discretion when it comes to residence requirements.

There is a further requirement that you must prove that you were in the UK at the start of the five-year period. So, if you were to apply today, you would have to prove that you were in the UK on 13/06/2012. The Home Office has no discretion to disregard absence at the start of the five years period. If you are out of the country for 150 days a year, you would want to keep an eye out for that requirement.

There's more detail in Annex B to Chapter 18 of the Nationality Instructions: (especially section 5).
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... r_18_B.pdf

I'm not sure if it's possible to know in advance whether or not this would be successful, without making an application. Documented illness is unusual- but one cannot predict the actions of the Home Office. It would be recommended to prepare the application well and not leave anything for the case officer to make an assumption on.

Reading the guidance and instructions carefully, you seem to have a chance as long as you can prove the things you have said here: lived here for 15 years, have a permanent job and own a property here as well as details about having to travel for work and your illness in Sweden. Personally however, I would wait until my total absence for the past year has reduced down to 180 days.

Also worth checking, you are only counting full days, right? E.g. if you left on the 1st of June, stayed overnight somewhere and returned on the 2nd of June, the total days absent is 0 (you were in the UK on 1 June and 2 June). Most of my work trips ended up being 0 or 1 days.

Thank you so much for your comments.
I haven't decided what to do yet. I have my meeting at the registry in Camden the 22nd of June when I will submit my application.
I have a letter from my employer confirming I have to travel 100-150 days per year for my work. My absence for illness was also mentioned in the letter saying I wasn't allowed to work/travel from beginning of October to February.
Further I have my forms from the Swedish hospital. I have also written a little letter to enclose with my application.
It's a very expensive gamble and it might be wise to wait further. I am unlikely to ever be under 170-200 days any year though as my travels for work + my private travel does add up...
Will let you know how it goes... and if I decide to go for it.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:31 pm

240 days is way above the allowance for the last 12 months, it is almost the whole year. HO would disregard 100/110 days but unlikely to disregard 240.

CR001,

I'm intrigued that you write “HO would disregard 100/110 days” as allowance for the last 12 months. I've otherwise only come across 90 days maximum absence and up to 100 usually being allowed, but not 110.

Are the 100 days not a strict cut-off figure? I’ll be down to 101 days absence at the end of November and then stay at that level until early next year. It would be nice if I could put in my application in late November as I'll have all other necessary documents by then. I'm also over the absence limit for the 3 year period (it’ll be 379 days at the end of November), but I have “thrown in my lot” here in the UK (I have a British wife and children, have been living here and run my own business for 17 years, nearly all my estate is here, I have lived in the same house for 10 years (rented though), and I've only started to be out of the country a lot in the last few years, largely due to work).

Is the one day over 100 likely to cause refusal?