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Hi everyone,

I was in UK for almost ten years (working), I left to go back to my country to do a compulsory 9-month military service and then stayed another 15 months abroad before coming back to UK where I have been living now for 4.5 years.

I applied for an EEA PR card to be on the safe side and I received a letter today from the case worker stating that they want to see a certificate from the army confirming -I guess- that I have attended it; that is not a problem at all and I will send it over.

Do you think though that staying an extra 15 months abroad before returning to UK would be a problem for issuing the PR?

Has anyone else received the same request from a case worker before?

Thanks

salsarocks wrote:Hi everyone,

I was in UK for almost ten years (working), I left to go back to my country to do a compulsory 9-month military service and then stayed another 15 months abroad before coming back to UK where I have been living now for 4.5 years.

I applied for an EEA PR card to be on the safe side and I received a letter today from the case worker stating that they want to see a certificate from the army confirming -I guess- that I have attended it; that is not a problem at all and I will send it over.

Do you think though that staying an extra 15 months abroad before returning to UK would be a problem for issuing the PR?

Has anyone else received the same request from a case worker before?

Thanks

Up to 12 months abroad for an exceptional event (for example: pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, study or vocational training or an overseas posting - perhaps a combination of these) or an unlimited absence for military service can be accepted.

So the $64,000 question is what did you do for the extra 15 months after you had served your time in the military?

Anything outside these parameters is likely to be deemed to have interrupted your continuity of residence and stopped your PR clock.

Ref http://www.eearegulations.co.uk/Latest/ByPage/part1_3

Am I missing something? I automatically gained my PR status in 2007 and in order to retain it I had to ensure that I was not away from UK longer than 2 years. I went away in January 2010 for my military service and then I also visited friends back in UK in September 2011 so I was never away from UK for more than two years. I returned back to UK in March 2012.

This should be alright, no?

salsarocks wrote:Am I missing something? I automatically gained my PR status in 2007 and in order to retain it I had to ensure that I was not away from UK longer than 2 years. I went away in January 2010 for my military service and then I also visited friends back in UK in September 2011 so I was never away from UK for more than two years. I returned back to UK in March 2012.

This should be alright, no?

You didn't lay out your original timeline.
You may have acquired PR back in the day - it depends what you were doing in UK.

If you did acquire the holy grail of PR then, yes, it can only normally be lost by 2 years continuous absence.
You will need to prove when you were in the country as well as when you were out of the country.