Immigrationboards.com

Hi Members,

I have a question regarding my ILR eligibility. I am currently working and residing in U.K. under Tier1 (General) category. My initial VISA was granted under HSMP while I was outside U.K and residing in India.

My first entry clearance was stamped on 23rd Nov 2007 however because of work reason I was forced to delay my travel until 25th Feb 2008. I got an extension under Tier1 (General) Migrant on 30th Oct 2009 which is valid until 23rd Nov 2012.

My initial travel was delayed by 94 days, after first Entry Clearance.

My initial travel was delayed because of the notice period of up to three months which I had to serve with my then employer in India. As a proof, I have the employment agreement which mentions the duration of notice period and also a letter from the same employer mentioning about my final release date.

I have read the clause in the "Indefinite leave to remain calculating continuous period in UK" document which on Page 4 states the following

"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."

I am concerned because my travel was delayed by 94 days which is beyond three months.

Following are the details of my travel during the period of past 5 years.

Sr No     Start Date     End Date     No of Days
1     23/11/2007     25/02/2008     94
2     23/05/2010     19/06/2010     27
3     05/02/2011     19/02/2011     14
4     19/02/2012     11/03/2012     21
Total Days Outside U.K.     156

Except for the delayed travel after my first entry clearance, all other travel mentioned above were a part of my annual paid leave.

I would be grateful if you could advise me that do i qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain or do I have to take another extension?

I believe PEO at Solihull, Birmingham only charges you the visa fees after assesing the validity of your application. I was planning to prepare two sets of applications, one for ILR and one for extension. Then book an appointment for ILR. On the day of appointment if they insist that i need an extension and my application for ILR is not valid then will i be allowed to use the same appointment slot to file for an Extension?

Also, In case i am given an extension, how long will the extension be valid for. Will i still get an extension for three years?

Please advise me as i am not able to decide.

Thanks!!
Romy

I would think that you case for ILR is totally on the discretion of the caseworker or in other words, your luck on the application day. Since its marginally over the 90 days period, you may be able to get away with it.

But i agree with your approach here - Go with both sets of applications and Be ready for your tier 1 extension. If it comes down to extension, then you should get an extension of 2 years. You will be eligible to apply for ILR in the end of Jan 2013 anyway.

Good Luck

Will I be charged for ILR if they think that my application is not valid?

RomyT wrote:Will I be charged for ILR if they think that my application is not valid?

Please download and read page 2 second-last sentence of SetO guidance.