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Covid 19 - Home Office Application processing procedure
Home Office Application fees from April 2020
03 September 2012
This is the most common question that our clients ask and the answer depends on which visa you are switching from when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain? The rules are follows:
Applying after 5 years on an Ancestry/Tier 1/Tier 2/Work Permit visa:
We can confirm that the main applicant must not leave the UK for more than 180 days in total during the five years and not for more than 90 days in one trip. You will not find this fact stated anywhere on the UK Border Agency website but we assure you that this is the case. We have only received ILR approvals since 2007 on this basis.Applying after 2 years on a Spouse/Civil Partner visa:
Theoretically you should not leave for more than 36 days a year but due the nature of a Spouse/Civil Partner there is a degree of flexibility.
Applying after 10 years Long Residence:
You are allowed to be outside the UK for up to 540 days (18 Months) in the 10 years and must not have left the UK for more than 6 months (180 days) in one trip.
The UK Border Agency changed their policy in December 2009 and removed any mention of the time you are allowed outside from their website. Their intention when they changed the "time spent outside the UK" policy was to get you to simply state all the trips you have taken and how many days you have spent outside the UK. The Home Office caseworker would then decide whether the time you have spent outside the UK is reasonable or you have spent too much time away and they will refuse your ILR application. This was a worrying development as such a vague policy would lead to some client's being refused for very little travel and others approved when being outside for far longer periods.
However, we will not allow our clients to fall into this trap and therefore recommend the following to everyone:
Please note that the above recommendations are only our guidelines as there are no clearly defined rules which state maximum days or time periods and should be treated solely as a guide.