ILR 10 year route falling short of 8 months

[jaybmth]

Guys,

I'm in a tricky situation as a result of the tier 2 salary threshold for ILR. I've completed five years in my tier 2 visa in January but my salary is grand short of the required amount of £35,000. I have spoken with my boss and since there has been salary revisions recently I'm not qualified for a raise anytime soon so I will not be able to apply under 5 year ILR rule. My visa is only valid till next January and although I received job offers that match the salary requirement they are not doing any sponsorship so it's highly unlikely that I will secure a job with sponsorship in three months. I'm completing 9 years and 5 months in the UK in January 2018 and my only other option for ILR is the 10 year route but I'm missing out on that too by almost 7 months.

I was wondering what options do I have in terms of visa categories to stay in the UK for another 7 months and to qualify for the iLR 10 year route. Can I join a university course or would it raise eyebrows with the HO?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[CR001]

Can you not extend your current visa for another year?

[iworker]

how many hours do u work as per your contract and cos.

[jaybmth2]

Sorry for the late reply guys and thanks a lot for looking into my query.

Can you not extend your current visa for another year?

I can only extend Tier 2 up to 6 years and I'm completing 6 in January next year.

how many hours do u work as per your contract and cos.

I work 37 hours a week and my pay is - £34000

Many thanks.

[CR001]

I've completed five years in my tier 2 visa in January but my salary is grand short of the required amount of £35,000.

I asked about extension as you said in your first post you complete 5 years on Tier 2 general in January.

Unless you have a dependent who can become a main visa holder in another category or you qualify for a student visa, there aren't any other options really if your employer doesn't increase your salary (which would be a red flag anyway to HO).

[iworker]

if you work 37 hours as per contract and cos, then your salary is over 35k already and u should be fine to apply for ilr.

[jaybmth2]

asked about extension as you said in your first post you complete 5 years on Tier 2 general in January.

Hi CR001

Thanks again and sorry for being not clear. I completed five years in January 2017 but couldn't apply due to the salary threshold and my six years on tier 2 is coming to an end in January 2018.

(which would be a red flag anyway to HO).

Are you referring to applying for student visa?

if you work 37 hours as per contract and cos, then your salary is over 35k already and u should be fine to apply for ilr.

Hi iWorker,

I've read about this and from what I understand the number of hours only apply if you are paid hourly whereas I'm not paid hourly, so not entirely sure if I could still apply with less than 35k?

[iworker]

wrong perception. It works for people working on hourly basis too. hence some people get their visa rejected as well if the contract says 40 hours and pay is as per soc code, which pushes it down.

[jaybmth2]

wrong perception. It works for people working on hourly basis too. hence some people get their visa rejected as well if the contract says 40 hours and pay is as per soc code, which pushes it down.

I see. Thanks for the insight, iworker.