University won't confirm presence in the UK

[muraenidae]

Hi,

We are having trouble with confirming presence in the UK. As my husband is an EEA national, his passport is not stamped. The guidelines say we should provide letters from employers or educational establishments instead.

We contacted the university where he was a PhD student. They say they will only confirm his dates of registration, not that he was usually present in the UK during that time, as they have no records of his comings and goings. (He attended some classes, examinations, meetings with his supervisor and research group, but there is no record of any of this.)

So, we are stuck. Is it likely going to suffice if they say he's been registered during that time? There simply aren't any other records.

[vinny]

His supervisor may be more helpful.

[muraenidae]

Hm, his supervisor is difficult to get a hold of, and not sure he can attest to his presence anyway. The meetings weren't that regular (sometimes once a week, sometimes a few months gap, etc).

How fussy is the Home Office about this requirement for EEA nationals? Is a letter from the University showing the dates of registration likely enough evidence? Should we try to back it up with utility bills etc, even though the guidelines say this is not sufficient proof?

[alterhase58]

I think they should just provide confirmation of the date registered (started course) and date officially left the uni (de-registered?). They shouldn't be asked whether he attended, which clearly they don't track. An employer would only state dates employed from-to, he wouldn't comment on whether you turned up regularly for work. Just a thought.

[vinny]

See also Absences.

What documents did he use to get confirmation of PR?

[muraenidae]

For the PR application, he used utilities bills etc to establish residence.

[rely1458]

For my application, my university simply provided a letter saying when my programme commenced and when I successfully completed the programme. The letter never stated that I attended university. They accepted the letter and I was naturalised within two months from my application.

[barabashka]

(He attended some classes, examinations, meetings with his supervisor and research group, but there is no record of any of this.)

There should be records of monthly supervision meetings. Perhaps the University cannot confirm that, but the School (or Department) should be able to confirm this by accessing these records. You have better luck contacting the "lower" level of specific Department of School rather than trying to get it from central University level.