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Hi,

I got the HSMP on 5 Nov 2007
Arrived in UK on 24 Dec 2007 i.e. After 49 Days
Tier 1 Geeneral extension 5 Nov 2009
Current visa expire on 5 Nov 2012

Should I go for ILR or extension?

I have read the guideline Continous Period and Settlement but it is very confusing as it is not clear:

1. What points will be considerd by caseworker before taking this decision on the basis of above guidance?

2. There is no definition of late arrival of several weeks = exactly how many weeks?

3. If someone apply for ILR on the basis of this guidance and caseworker don't count late arrival towards continous 5 years, can the applicant appeal against the decision?

Has anyone got ILR with similar case as mine?

Please share your experience as it may reduce confusion of many people like me.

Thanks

[quote="nmm"]Hi,

I got the HSMP on 5 Nov 2007
Arrived in UK on 24 Dec 2007 i.e. After 49 Days
Tier 1 Geeneral extension 5 Nov 2009
Current visa expire on 5 Nov 2012

Should I go for ILR or extension?

Applications that fall short of the five year continuous period
In some cases, applicants may have been granted five years continuous leave, but due to
delayed travel will not have spent five years continuously in the UK before their current leave
expires. Caseworkers may count the period between entry clearance being granted and the
date the applicant entered the UK towards the five years, provided this period was not
longer than three months.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

nmm: as you entered within 90 days of getting HSMP, you are eligible to apply for ILR 28 days before the 5th anniversary of your HSMP Entry Clearance.

Your HSMP stamp date (Monday, 5 November 2012) minus 28 days = Monday, 8 October 2012

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd ... &ad=28&aw=

So the earliest you can apply is Monday, 8 October 2012

If you are planning to apply in person at one of the PEOs, you need to book an appointment 42 days in advance.

To get an appointment for Monday, 8 October 2012, you need to book it on Monday, 27 August 2012.

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd ... &ad=42&aw=

Thanks linkers and selva

So it looks like from your reply that it don't need to worry about the wording "Caseworkers may count the period" in following para:

Applications that fall short of the five year continuous period
In some cases, applicants may have been granted five years continuous leave, but due to
delayed travel will not have spent five years continuously in the UK before their current leave
expires. Caseworkers may count the period between entry clearance being granted and the
date the applicant entered the UK towards the five years, provided this period was not
longer than three months.

Do anyone has similar situation and grander the ILR?

nmm: this rule has been around for a while now and I have seen in recent months that case workers have no issues with it. Most of the applicants (including myself) are benefiting from this rule.

For your peace of mind, you can even send an email to SettlementOpsPolicy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and they will confirm your eligibility for ILR. (I also did the same)

Below is the template I used for myself.

Respected Sir/Madam,

I am currently working in UK on Tier-1 General visa.
Please find below the dates of my visas and also the date I first entered UK.

HSMP Entry Clearance: xx xxx xxxx
Entered UK: xx xxx xxxx
Tier-1 General Ext: xx xxx xxxx
Tier-1 Valid Until: xx xxx xxxx

As you would notice from the above dates, I entered UK within 90 days of getting HSMP Entry Clearance; and as per the ‘UKBA Modernised Guidance for Calculating Continuous Period in UK for ILR’ (please see the URL below); my understanding is that I will be eligible to apply for ILR/Settlement 28 days before my HSMP entry clearance start date.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Which in my case would be on or after xx xxx xxxx. (as I got entry clearance on xx xxx xxxx).

I would be really thankful to you, if you could please confirm that my understanding is correct and I am eligible to apply for ILR 28 days before the 5th anniversary of my HSMP entry clearance start date.

Regards,
xxxxx

************************And Below is the reply I got from UKBA******************************

Dear Mr. xxx,

Thank you for your e-mail dated xx xxx xxxx regarding the 5 year continuous period and your eligibility to apply for settlement. I can confirm that from the details of your periods of leave listed below, and provided you can meet all of the other requirements; you will be able to apply for settlement no sooner that 28 days before xx xxx xxxx.

I trust that this answers your question.

Regards
Ann
UK Border Agency – Settlement Ops Policy

Thanks linkers, for such a detailed reply!

Thanks for this, it's really helpful.

Just a quick one.. see below marked in bold and red.

linkers wrote:*******************And Below is the reply I got from UKBA******************************

Dear Mr. xxx,

Thank you for your e-mail dated xx xxx xxxx regarding the 5 year continuous period and your eligibility to apply for settlement. I can confirm that from the details of your periods of leave listed below, and provided you can meet all of the other requirements; you will be able to apply for settlement no sooner that 28 days before THE VISA's START DAY or YOUR FIRST ENTRANCE? xx xxx xxxx.

Manatwork: it was my HSMP (EC) visa start date in the email.

Thanks Linkers. I have got reply as below.

Dear xxxxx,
We can confirm that as you did not delay your entry to the UK by more than 90 days after your Entry Clearance date, and provided you can meet all other requirements, you will be eligible to apply for settlement 28 days before xx june 2012.

Regards
UK Border Agency – Settlement Ops Policy

That’s great yvr_1978. This is the same email I got from UKBA.

You can take the print out of both emails with you (your mail and the reply from home office). So you can at least show it to the case worker if she is not familiar with this rule (but as I earlier said, this rule has been around for a while and they should all about it).

Hi yvr_1978,

In how many days you got the response from them.
It's now around two weeks but I have got no response from them.
Which email address you sent your email to?

Thanks

They are pretty quick in replying. I got the response within 2 days. One of my friends also got reply the next day.

Please make sure you send it to SettlementOpsPolicy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Hi linkers,

I have checked the email address and it is correct (SettlementOpsPolicy@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk)

Should I send it again or is there some other email address where I can send it. What was subject of your email?

Thanks

The subject of my mail was Inquiry about calculating 5 years for ILR, but to be honest case workers don’t even bother about this as most of the applicants are applying under this rule these days.

Hi Linkers,
Did you mention UKBA reference number and date of birth on your letter.
Regards
Arifahmmed