Immigrationboards.com

Hi,

I came to UK on 24th June 2007 and been working on Tier-2 Visa ICT till now except for 117 days in between where i went to india and did not have any visa.

During 7th July 2010 and 31st october 2010....i was living in india and did not have any visa during that period. Other than those dates, i have visa till now.

Based on above, could you please let me know whether i will be eligible for ILR?
I qualify on all other requirements and only not sure about the above dates when i do not have any Visa.

Could anyone confirm whether i will be eligible even with those 117 days outside of UK and not having visa.

Thanks

Others may chime in but it appears as if you cannot apply for ILR now nor will you be eligible.
You said that between 7 July and 31 October 2010 you were living in India and did not have any visa.
This suggests a break in residency since you weren't out of the country on an existing visa in relation to the purpose of your leave, but out of the country with no visa and that you got a new visa from 1 November 2010. A fresh start.


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

 applicant leaves the UK with valid leave and re-enters the UK whilst that leave remains valid, provided the absence(s) do not exceed 180 days in a relevant 12 month period, or
 applicant’s leave expires for 28 days or less whilst outside the UK and the applicant returns with new entry clearance.

In the first bullet you were under 180 days but you weren't on the valid leave at the time.
In the second bullet you were well over the 28 days.

If that's the case, you got a NEW Tier 2 ICT visa AFTER 6 April 2010. Tier 2 ICT visas issued after that time do not qualify for ILR.

Assuming your new ICT from 1 Nov 2010 was issued for the maximum 3 years plus 1 month, then you will need to extend it this December. An extension has a maximum of 2 years, which gets you to December 2015. At this point you would be required to leave the country and enter the 12 month cooling off period. Unless you were able to get a completely different visa to continue your stay you won't make the 10-year period to 24 June 2017 to qualify for the Long Resident visa.

But again, others with more familiarity with the ins and outs of ICT may have a different view.

If the applicant’s leave expires whilst they are outside the UK and they apply for new entry clearance more than 28 days after their previous leave expires, then the continuous period is broken and leave is not aggregated. Although, for Long Residence (10 years) your absence without a visa should be ok.