On 10 June 2021, the Home Office updated the EUSS absence policy, it confirmed that it would allow for a single absence of up to 12 months for an \u2018important reason\u2019 during the continuous qualifying period of 5 years generally required for settled status included where an EEA migrant could not return to the UK due to the COVID-19 related reason.<\/p>\n
However, individuals will need to upload additional evidence of their UK residence and submit evidence to explain how COVID-19 affected ability to return to the UK within the absence otherwise permitted under the EUSS.<\/p>\n
Continuous qualifying period of residence<\/strong><\/p>\n Migrants who are applying under the EUSS must have been resident in the UK prior to 23:00 on 31 December 2020 (except in the case of a joining family member of a relevant sponsor or of certain family members of a qualifying British citizen), and must not have been absent from the UK for more than 6 months in total (in a single period of absence or more than one) in any 12-month period.<\/p>\n An exception to the requirement above would be permissible if such absence is for an \u2018important reason\u2019, such as pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training or an overseas posting.<\/p>\n An EEA citizen who has been absent from the UK for a single period of up to 12 months due to COVID-19 is also permitted, for instance if:<\/p>\n However, migrants will need to provide evidence of the length of, and reason for, any absence in relation to COVID-19, for example:<\/p>\n Contact Our Immigration Team<\/strong><\/p>\n For expert advice regarding any aspect of the UK visa application, please contact our immigration team on 0203 384 3075.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On 10 June 2021, the Home Office updated the EUSS absence policy, it confirmed that it would allow for a single absence of up to 12 months for an \u2018important reason\u2019 during the continuous qualifying period of 5 years generally required for settled status included…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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