This ad hoc query examines the ways in which EMN Member and Observer Countries calculate periods of absence in the context of applications for an EU Long-Term Residence Status, which requires 5 years of continuous residence. Additionally, this ad hoc query inquires about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in EMN Member and Observer Countries, or any future plans to do so. 

This ad hoc query seeks to establish which stay qualifies as a continuous stay under Article 4(3) of the Long-Term Residents Directive and whether an absence from a territory on which a person does not have a valid residence permit interrupts the continuity of the stay under this directive. It also examines whether EMN Member and Observer Countries accept longer periods of absence than those provided for in the directive.