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ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2024 10:25 pm
by bamblue
Hi all,

I' m a secondary school teacher in my 3rd year on Skilled Worker Visa. I'd like to leave the UK between 21 July and 13 August this year to see my families. This 24-day absence from the UK is during the summer holiday when the school is closed and I'm getting paid during all school holidays.

My question is would this absence be considered as allowable for ILR? I looked through the [url]guide on calculating continuous leave[https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible], it says all leaves must be in line with the UK annual leave entitlement which is 28 days' paid leave in a year.
any paid annual leave which must be assessed on a case by case basis and should be in line with UK annual leave entitlement for settled workers. For example, the statutory leave entitlement is 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday each year, which for workers who work a 5 day week is 28 days’ paid leave.
However as teachers we have more than 28 days off annually, for example half term breaks and summer holiday. Does this mean if I leave the UK for more than 28 days during summer holiday or term break, I would break the continuous period and the absences are not allowed?

I'm hoping anyone can shed some light on this. Thanks!

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:41 am
by zimba
That guide tells you that it does NOT apply to the skilled worker route and instead 'Appendix Continuous Residence' applies :!: Also those notes in that guide related to absences for employees are fairly old and leftovers from the time before the changes in 2022. The guide is from 2022 as you can see.

The limit is max of 180 days in any 365-day period for your route.

Learn more: indefinite-leave-to-remain/tier-2-set-o ... l#p2027888
Also: All you need to know about the sponsor letter for Skilled Worker route

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:46 pm
by bamblue
zimba wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2024 1:41 am
That guide tells you that it does NOT apply to the skilled worker route and instead 'Appendix Continuous Residence' applies :!: Also those notes in that guide related to absences for employees are fairly old and leftovers from the time before the changes in 2022. The guide is from 2022 as you can see.

The limit is max of 180 days in any 365-day period for your route.

Learn more: indefinite-leave-to-remain/tier-2-set-o ... l#p2027888
Also: All you need to know about the sponsor letter for Skilled Worker route
Thank you Zimba for pointing out I was looking at the wrong guide! Could you advise if my understanding is correct - the HO has no limit on how many days of paid annual leave a Skilled Worker Visa holder can take, as long as the total absence is less than 180 days?

My total absence in the past three years is only 10 days, so I'm not concerned with the 180 days limit, but rather on whether my absence on paid annual leave would be considered too long, compared to other professions which only have 5.6 weeks' holiday. Teachers have 10-week paid holiday in an academic year.

I read through the Continuous Residence Guidance https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... t_2022.pdf linked in the post you referred to. It does not mention anything on the number of paid annual leave one can take. The 'permitted reasons' for absence are only mentioned in the case where the absence is over 180 days, which is not my case.

Just want to be reassured in advance of my 24-day absence in the summer since I have not seen my families in three years! Many thanks again.

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 5:24 pm
by zimba
Again, the continuous residence guide does NOT apply to your route. :!:
There is no such thing as permitted absences. It is just the 180-day absence limit that applies

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 6:17 pm
by bamblue
zimba wrote:
Sun Feb 25, 2024 5:24 pm
Again, the continuous residence guide does NOT apply to your route. :!:
There is no such thing as permitted absences. It is just the 180-day absence limit that applies
Thank yo for confirming that! I think you meant the guide in my original post does not apply to my route, not the one I mentioned in my reply? The one in my reply, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... t_2022.pdf, actually states
This guidance for decision makers explains how to assess the continuous residence
requirements for applications for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) in the UK
under the following routes where Appendix Continuous Residence applies:
Skilled Worker (and Tier 2 (General))

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2024 3:06 pm
by zimba
Correct but again, there is nothing that limits you to your annual leave. The only limit is 180 days limit as described. As long as your absences from work are approved by your sponsor (as you see in that guide), you can be away from the UK within that limit

Re: ILR allowable absences in the UK

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2024 5:26 pm
by bamblue
zimba wrote:
Mon Feb 26, 2024 3:06 pm
Correct but again, there is nothing that limits you to your annual leave. The only limit is 180 days limit as described. As long as your absences from work are approved by your sponsor (as you see in that guide), you can be away from the UK within that limit
Thank you so so much Zimba for the reassurance!

Salary requirement for ILR application

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 11:22 pm
by bamblue
Hi dear forum,

In light of the recently published Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... sible_.pdf, I want to ask what is the salary I need to meet for ILR application.

I'm already on Skilled Worker Visa for 3 years; I'm a secondary school teacher. In 2023, I changed job from an outer London school to a London fringe school, but my role remains as a Qualified Teacher and I have always been on the national pay scale. When I apply for ILR in 2026, what going rate should I meet?

Table 5 on Page 216 of the statement lists the going rates for education jobs. My question is, as I have changed job from an outer London school to a London fringe school, to apply for ILR in 2026, is it the London fringe going rate 31,350 that I need to meet, or the Outer London rate 34,514? My current employer is in London fringe.

Secondly, the going rates in Table 5, in line with the national pay scale for teachers, are all M1, the lowest band. Is it all we have to meet for ILR? The healthcare going rates even have different bands from band 3-9, as shown in Table 4.

Many thanks in advance.