EEA familymember(husband) ILR application

[hossam]

Dear All
thank you advance for any assistance
I married an EEA national officially almost 6 years ago, we lived in Uk together for over five and a half years. we have a 3 years old child with British passport and my wife has indefinite leave to remain for 18 months already. I am applying now for the indefinite leave to remain now as my 5 years permit expires in 3 months.we live a normal marriage life and have been on holidays together and have some bills in both our names.
neither of us claimed any benefits apart from the child care after birth which i believe everybody gets.
my wife is a dentist and her tax record is perfect. I consulted a lawyer who was of no use as he was keen to get me to hire him then he told me my case straightforward after i showed no interest in paying 1500 pounds
negative points are,
1- I was absent over 7 months twice during the last 5 years, both times to Egypt where i come from. one visit was with my wife and newly born child and the other time i was alone. I do not know what excuse is acceptable.
2-I have only started working in UK recently and have no proved record of steady income.
3- do i need a cover letter?
Please advise how to strengthen my case and which docs would improve my situation.
as well i like to know the worst case scenario
I filled in the form but I can not get myself send it for weeks due to worry.
Thank you for any help you can give

[CR001]

Are you on a EEA residence card?

If so, you don't apply for ILR, you apply for PR.

[noajthan]

...

1- I was absent over 7 months twice during the last 5 years, both times to Egypt where i come from. one visit was with my wife and newly born child and the other time i was alone. I do not know what excuse is acceptable.
2-I have only started working in UK recently and have no proved record of steady income.
3- do i need a cover letter?
Please advise how to strengthen my case and which docs would improve my situation.
as well i like to know the worst case scenario
I filled in the form but I can not get myself send it for weeks due to worry.
Thank you for any help you can give

As your sponsor is an EEA national you will be on EU route & aiming at acquiring permanent residence (PR), not ILR.

1) Under Regulation 3, any absence over 6 months in 1 year will break your continuity of residence (& so stops your 'PR clock').

A single absence (during your 5-year qualifying period) of up to 1 year for a serious reason (such as military service/pregnancy) may be acceptable.
But not 2 of them.

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

2) Your activity is immaterial (in immigration terms). So steady income or no steady income is not an issue.

It is your sponsor exercising treaty rights as a qualified person, continuously, for 5 years in UK that acquires you your PR.

You just have to reside in UK with your spouse/sponsor for that time.
And any absences from UK have to be within prescribed limits. (See 1)

3) Not usually.
If you have complex circumstances to explain then a cogent letter could help.

Worrying is natural but try to relax and work through the issues one by one.

Your challenge is likely to be your 2 absences from UK.

Can you recheck the dates & durations.
If the absences were less than 6 months your case would be much more straightforward.

Good luck.

[hossam]

well, mine is a residence card and my wife is a permanent residence card. I thought it is the same like ILR

[secret.simon]

well, mine is a residence card and my wife is a permanent residence card. I thought it is the same like ILR

It is like ILR in that it has the same effect; it gives you settled status in the UK. But it is not the same, in that the laws and rules that you need to follow are different.

1- I was absent over 7 months twice during the last 5 years, both times to Egypt where i come from.

As noajthan has pointed out, this is likely to be a deal breaker. Any absence of more than six months breaks your five year PR clock and restarts it. When were the two seven month breaks and what were the reasons for them?

[hossam]

I really appreciate your advice, So thank you all for replying to my inquiry.
I suppose my qualifying period is from the point of application on 06/02/16 till 06/02/11.
I realized after checking that I have only one absence for more than 6 month and that is from 28/04/13 till 09/01/14. We just had a baby then and we decided to spend the maternity leave which is one year , among my family and my wife's family. So we all went to egypt where I come from. in August 13 we went to Lithuania where my wife comes from and I left her with her parents and went back to egypt. She stayed in Lithuania till I picked her up in January 14 and we all went back home to London. That is the only single absence for more than 6 months.
I rechecked the other absence I mentioned earlier and found out that I left Uk for Egypt on 07/05/14 then I came back to UK on 30/10/14 to take my family and my parents in law to Spain for holiday. After Spain I came back to UK for a few days then back to Egypt till 20/02/15.
I can see this absence did not exceed the 6 months in one go.
My visits to Egypt were for looking after mom, finishing inheritance issues and ongoing health issues. am afraid none of these is provable with evidence or supporting documents available.
Please advise me in the light of what I wrote
Thank you so much

[noajthan]

Your 'PR year' appears to run Feb-Feb each year, based on your outline of dates.

The maximum absence is 6 months in one year (Feb - Feb) - so look at your timeline with that in mind.

Were your sponsor/spouse's absences from UK exactly the same as yours (even if in different places at times)?

If so it means HO granted her confirmation of PR card even with such absences.

Is that correct - did wife get PR card having declared all such timelines/absences?

What explanation did you give (that HO presumably accepted) for her long 9-month absence?
That may help with your application for PR card too.

[vinny]

We just had a baby then and we decided to spend the maternity leave which is one year , among my family and my wife's family. So we all went to egypt where I come from. in August 13 we went to Lithuania where my wife comes from and I left her with her parents and went back to egypt. She stayed in Lithuania till I picked her up in January 14 and we all went back home to London. That is the only single absence for more than 6 months.

(2) Continuity of residence is not affected by —
...
(c) any one absence from the United Kingdom not exceeding twelve months for an important reason such as pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, study or vocational training or an overseas posting.

[hossam]

I really appreciate all replies am getting here so thank you everybody for your advice and clarification.
I was advised by the immigration consultant I saw to outline my years as follows, from the point of application which is February 16 and back to February 15 and backwards till 2011. Is that correct or just follow the years from February 2001 onwards? Please bear in mind I first entered UK in October 2010.
My wife applied for or in 2012 and was declined due to missing docs which she submitted and was granted pr in 2014 so she did not need to justify the absence in question for me. We were together away for more than 8 months after she gave birth and that period is an absence in my qualifying period. I have no docs that support my medication from Egypt where I was but I have a proven history of health issues and multiple surgeries from the UK.
I was advised by the immigration consultant to build a case cohabitation by submitting loads of photos? Joint council tax report? My wife's (sponsor's) self employment tax record or report for the year after she obtained pr? Sponsor's bank statements? My son's passport and birth certificate ? Sponsor's old tenancy agreements?
I wonder which of these I really need to attach to support my case and which docs I shall discard to avoid annoying the case worker?
I am sorry if I sound clueless but I rather consult you now and be sure, than admitting surplus docs or discarding needed ones.
Again I love to thank you all in advance for your precious advice and your valuable time
Hossam

[hossam]

Dear all
please advise on my last post if you can, I really appreciate it.
Thank you
Hossam

[noajthan]

I really appreciate all replies am getting here so thank you everybody for your advice and clarification.
I was advised by the immigration consultant I saw to outline my years as follows, from the point of application which is February 16 and back to February 15 and backwards till 2011. Is that correct or just follow the years from February 2001 onwards? Please bear in mind I first entered UK in October 2010.
My wife applied for or in 2012 and was declined due to missing docs which she submitted and was granted pr in 2014 so she did not need to justify the absence in question for me. We were together away for more than 8 months after she gave birth and that period is an absence in my qualifying period. I have no docs that support my medication from Egypt where I was but I have a proven history of health issues and multiple surgeries from the UK.
I was advised by the immigration consultant to build a case cohabitation by submitting loads of photos? Joint council tax report? My wife's (sponsor's) self employment tax record or report for the year after she obtained pr? Sponsor's bank statements? My son's passport and birth certificate ? Sponsor's old tenancy agreements?
I wonder which of these I really need to attach to support my case and which docs I shall discard to avoid annoying the case worker?
I am sorry if I sound clueless but I rather consult you now and be sure, than admitting surplus docs or discarding needed ones.
Again I love to thank you all in advance for your precious advice and your valuable time
Hossam

Yes, based on your stated timelines, your PR years run from February-February (as I mentioned previously).
You need to pick a 5-year period in which you were in UK, along with your wife and by which you qualify for acquiring PR - based on her rights as your sponsor.
Note your wife doesn't have to exercise treaty rights after she has confirmation of PR.

The PR guidance notes covers the documents you need.

You have to demonstrate your relationship, your residency in UK, your identities (both parties), and yes, evidence of cohabitation.
The fact that your wife has a PR card will help.
(Son's documents don't help/aren't required - unless he is applying for confirmation too).

The main case you have to make is the justifiable reason for your prolonged absence (2013-2014).
If you cannot it seems this will have broken your continuity of residence.

I also think your 2 other absences in one year may also be problematic;
- it looks like they add up to more than 6 months in a year running from Feb 2014 - Feb 2015 ( ).

[hossam]

In case HO finds my continuity of residence broken, what the Verdict may be?
As well if I get knee treatment certificate from Egypt, will it be considered? Shall it be a n official hospital report or private clinic is still acceptable?
Thank you

[hossam]

if the HO finds my continuity of residence broken, what residence do I get? And when can I apply for PR again?

[noajthan]

In case HO finds my continuity of residence broken, what the Verdict may be?
As well if I get knee treatment certificate from Egypt, will it be considered? Shall it be a n official hospital report or private clinic is still acceptable?
Thank you

Even in that case your right to reside in UK is assured as your sponsor/spouse has PR.

If it was stopped your PR clock will have restarted at the end of the last absence of more than 6 months.

In terms of evidence, get as much as you can from any/all official sources.

[hossam]

Dear all
I truly appreciate your advice,
If I feel my pr application will be declined due to broken continuity of residence, will the HO renew my rc automatically or do I need to apply for it after pr decline?
Shall I just apply for a second rc now instead of pr?
Thank you
Hossam

[hossam]

Do I need to submit a proof of residence like utility bills, council tax, bank statements,mortgage agreement though my sponsor has PR?
Evidence of self employment for the period after my sponsor acquired PR?
Do I need to submit photos of me and my sponsor(wife)?
Thank you for your advice

[hossam]

I will really appreciate your reply on the above questions
Thank you
Hossam

[hossam]

Dear all
I have a question please
I acquired a medical report to cover my absence in Egypt for over 5 months. The report is in English and it is authenticated from the consultant, the physicians Union of Egypt and the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs.
Is the report good enough for the HO as a reason for absence? Do I need to back it up with Former or latter reports from the UK?
Thank you
Hossam

[noajthan]

Dear all
I have a question please
I acquired a medical report to cover my absence in Egypt for over 5 months. The report is in English and it is authenticated from the consultant, the physicians Union of Egypt and the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs.
Is the report good enough for the HO as a reason for absence? Do I need to back it up with Former or latter reports from the UK?
Thank you
Hossam

This evidence may be adequate, it's up to the caseworker to accept it.

As to other recent questions...

As well as proving your sponsor exercising treaty rights you need proof of residency in UK, so yes bills & etc should be submitted.

If your sponsor has already acquired PR it is not necessary for the sponsor to continue exercising treaty rights;
however residency in UK needs to be maintained.

If you are not successful with proof of PR, my understanding is you will not be granted a further RC automatically;
you would have to apply for it.

[hossam]

I really appreciate your detailed reply. Thank you so much for the advice.

[hossam]

Hi
Please advise about this question
Has your sponsor had any absences from the UK since she entered?
What absences shall I mention if she acquired PR last year?
Shall I mention all absences or the ones after she got the PR?
Thank you

[noajthan]

Hi
Please advise about this question
Has your sponsor had any absences from the UK since she entered?
What absences shall I mention if she acquired PR last year?
Shall I mention all absences or the ones after she got the PR?
Thank you

All absences required.

That is ones that may affect continuity of residence whilst PR is being acquired.
And those that may impact the validity of PR after PR has been acquired.

[hossam]

Hi
I sent my visa application to Home office in Durham 20 days ago. I have not received any receipt confirmation email or letter. Should I call Home Office?
Visa fees were transacted from my account by (Euro), not HMRC or home office, is it normal?
Thank you for your precious advice

[sa7e]

Hi
I sent my visa application to Home office in Durham 20 days ago. I have not received any receipt confirmation email or letter. Should I call Home Office?
Visa fees were transacted from my account by (Euro), not HMRC or home office, is it normal?
Thank you for your precious advice

are you applying for ilr on the bases of 10 year long residency or 5 year on resident card ?

[hossam]

I am applying for PR on the basis of 5 years residency.
Thank you