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Moving to EU with a pre-settled status

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24

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  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
  • Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
    I would communicate that I live outside the country, but that they send the letters there, even for verifications purposes.
    In fact, there is a sort of 2FA or 3FA, they don't send everything in the letter, for example when you need to receive a new card.

    Showing up face to face would not be possible, that's for sure, but they already have my documents, so...
    Barclays for example does everything online, even face to face verification.

    Obviously, if the banks send me the documents outside the country, it's fine for me, but I doubt that...
    Certainly, most of my online bank accounts may need to be closed, just a few will tolerate me being outside the country.
  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
    I would communicate that I live outside the country, but that they send the letters there, even for verifications purposes.
    In fact, there is a sort of 2FA or 3FA, they don't send everything in the letter, for eYou are missing the pointxample when you need to receive a new card.

    Showing up face to face would not be possible, that's for sure, but they already have my documents, so...
    Barclays for example does everything online, even face to face verification.

    Obviously, if the banks send me the documents outside the country, it's fine for me, but I doubt that...
    Certainly, most of my online bank accounts may need to be closed, just a few will tolerate me being outside the country.
    You are missing the major point that need to have permission from your bank(s) that you can hold your account(s) as a non-UK resident. 
  • I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but I had to register to post this. I would be very careful about time you spend abroad if you only have pre-settled status. 

    The way I interpret the rules, if you spend up to 2 years outside the UK, you will be able to return and continue to work, but you will be ineligible for settled status and will have to apply for a visa like other 3rd country nationals, or leave the country at the end of your 5-year pre-settled status. 

    To be eligible for settled status, you need 5 years of continuous residency, defined as not being absent from the country for more than a cumulative 6 months in any continuous 12 month period. There is an exception for one 12-month absence in exceptional circumstances. 

    I would strongly recommend that you research the rules and even seek advice from an immigration lawyer OP before you potentially bar yourself from living in the UK in the future. 
  • Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
    I would communicate that I live outside the country, but that they send the letters there, even for verifications purposes.
    In fact, there is a sort of 2FA or 3FA, they don't send everything in the letter, for eYou are missing the pointxample when you need to receive a new card.

    Showing up face to face would not be possible, that's for sure, but they already have my documents, so...
    Barclays for example does everything online, even face to face verification.

    Obviously, if the banks send me the documents outside the country, it's fine for me, but I doubt that...
    Certainly, most of my online bank accounts may need to be closed, just a few will tolerate me being outside the country.
    You are missing the major point that need to have permission from your bank(s) that you can hold your account(s) as a non-UK resident. 
    Yes, most major banks allow me that, it's written in their website, but I'm not sure about minor online banks which I'd like to keep...

  • Fedcas65
    Fedcas65 Posts: 24 Forumite
    Second Anniversary 10 Posts
    edited 18 March 2024 at 4:36PM
    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but I had to register to post this. I would be very careful about time you spend abroad if you only have pre-settled status. 

    The way I interpret the rules, if you spend up to 2 years outside the UK, you will be able to return and continue to work, but you will be ineligible for settled status and will have to apply for a visa like other 3rd country nationals, or leave the country at the end of your 5-year pre-settled status. 

    To be eligible for settled status, you need 5 years of continuous residency, defined as not being absent from the country for more than a cumulative 6 months in any continuous 12 month period. There is an exception for one 12-month absence in exceptional circumstances. 

    I would strongly recommend that you research the rules and even seek advice from an immigration lawyer OP before you potentially bar yourself from living in the UK in the future. 
    I saw that, but it's for taxation purposes, not for immigration purposes...

    Plus, the counter will resume after you come back and after 5y (assuming that the 2 chunks of timelines are consecutives), you'll be able to apply for settled status.

    Can you post the link? I made sure to isolate that scenario and it was for taxation.
  • Daliah
    Daliah Posts: 3,792 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
    I would communicate that I live outside the country, but that they send the letters there, even for verifications purposes.
    In fact, there is a sort of 2FA or 3FA, they don't send everything in the letter, for eYou are missing the pointxample when you need to receive a new card.

    Showing up face to face would not be possible, that's for sure, but they already have my documents, so...
    Barclays for example does everything online, even face to face verification.

    Obviously, if the banks send me the documents outside the country, it's fine for me, but I doubt that...
    Certainly, most of my online bank accounts may need to be closed, just a few will tolerate me being outside the country.
    You are missing the major point that need to have permission from your bank(s) that you can hold your account(s) as a non-UK resident. 
    Yes, most major banks allow me that, it's written in their website, but I'm not sure about minor online banks which I'd like to keep...

    Are you sure? Because other people have reported that most major banks don't allow EU residents to keep their UK accounts.
  • Fedcas65 said:
    ndrw said:
    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but I had to register to post this. I would be very careful about time you spend abroad if you only have pre-settled status. 

    The way I interpret the rules, if you spend up to 2 years outside the UK, you will be able to return and continue to work, but you will be ineligible for settled status and will have to apply for a visa like other 3rd country nationals, or leave the country at the end of your 5-year pre-settled status. 

    To be eligible for settled status, you need 5 years of continuous residency, defined as not being absent from the country for more than a cumulative 6 months in any continuous 12 month period. There is an exception for one 12-month absence in exceptional circumstances. 

    I would strongly recommend that you research the rules and even seek advice from an immigration lawyer OP before you potentially bar yourself from living in the UK in the future. 
    I saw that, but it's for taxation purposes, not for immigration purposes...

    Plus, the counter will resume after you come back and after 5y (assuming that the 2 chunks of timelines are consecutives), you'll be able to apply for settled status.

    Can you post the link? I made sure to isolate that scenario and it was for taxation.

    Sorry, I’m not entirely clear what you think is for taxation purposes. Taxation doesn’t really come into play here when talking about settled status and continuity of residence. 

    I think the rules around the 2-year rule aren’t spelled out as well as they could be. In order to qualify for settled status, you have to maintain continuous residence for 5 years. This means that you can’t have stayed away from the UK for more than 6 months in any rolling 12-month period (and some other disqualifies, like prison). There is an exception for one absence of up to 12 months under exceptional circumstances. 

    You can stay away for up to 2 years without your status lapsing, but that won’t freeze your status. Your pre-settled clock will continue to run in the background. This means that you’ll still have your pre-settled status when you return, but you will never be eligible for settled status (because you broke the continuous residency rule) and will have to leave or apply for a visa like any third-country national at the end of your pre-settled status. There is really no way to renew or freeze your status anymore. 

    The only way to settled status then would be to have built up 5 years’ continuous residence by the time you leave the country. And then you should apply for settled status before leaving to be safe. 

    Worked example:

    Let’s say, you got pre-settled in December 2020. To be eligible for settled status, you have to have 5 years of continuous residency by December 2025 when the pre-settled status runs out. 

    If you leave for 2 years in December 2022, and return in December 2024, you will have broken your continuous residency. You’ll still be eligible to stay and live in the UK until December 2025, but after that you will have to leave and apply for a visa. That is, unless you built up your 5 years continuous residency by December 2022, when you left, and you can evidence it. But in that case, you should apply for settled status before leaving to be safe. 

    Again, I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but I’m passionate about EU residency stuff, and what I write is widely supported by immigration blogs. I’m apparently too new to post links but search for:

    “Freemovement” “Lengthy absences from the UK can put EU pre-settled status at risk” and see particularly under What happens if I’ve exceeded or am going to exceed the limit?

    and

    ”the3million” “absence calculator”

    Please seek legal advice and research further so you’re going into this eyes open

    (ps sorry for going off topic but I felt strongly about raising this to OP given they may wish to return to the UK)
  • Sorry, I’m new here so no idea why part of my post looks like a title. And I have no idea how to edit… not the most mobile friendly interface here…
  • Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    Daliah said:
    Fedcas65 said:
    I just found ukpostbox, it seems exactly what I need, they also do post forwarding, which is amazing!
    Good luck using them to turn up on your behalf in a bank's branch and show your ID documents, alongside your face
    I would communicate that I live outside the country, but that they send the letters there, even for verifications purposes.
    In fact, there is a sort of 2FA or 3FA, they don't send everything in the letter, for eYou are missing the pointxample when you need to receive a new card.

    Showing up face to face would not be possible, that's for sure, but they already have my documents, so...
    Barclays for example does everything online, even face to face verification.

    Obviously, if the banks send me the documents outside the country, it's fine for me, but I doubt that...
    Certainly, most of my online bank accounts may need to be closed, just a few will tolerate me being outside the country.
    You are missing the major point that need to have permission from your bank(s) that you can hold your account(s) as a non-UK resident. 
    Yes, most major banks allow me that, it's written in their website, but I'm not sure about minor online banks which I'd like to keep...

    Are you sure? Because other people have reported that most major banks don't allow EU residents to keep their UK accounts.
    I'll search through the forum, I just relied on their website for now...
    I do agree that not all the banks allow you that, but some yes, like Lloyds or Barclays.
    Probably these were people from Slavic countries, which are not entirely in EU, many regulations are not observed by them but they are part of EU respecting most of the agreements, or some sort of custom arrangement, the most common one is the freedom of travel.
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