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Hi,

I need to know the eligibility criteria for my wife based on the following situation.

My wife came to the UK as my tier 2 dependent in Jan 2018 and has a visa expiry date in Nov 2020. Since it will be my 5 years in tier 2 next year, I will hopefully get ILR by Dec 2019.

I will then renew my wife's visa in Nov 2020 to be dependent of me as a settled person.

Now my question is, when will she be eligible for ILR based on CURRENT RULES (I am aware rules will change)?

Will she be eligible after living 5 years as a dependent from January 2018 (which includes 2 types of visa - dependent of tier 2 and dependent of a settled person)?

OR

Will she be eligible after living 5 years as a dependent of a settled person from Nov 2020?

I am a bit confused. Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Syed

I will then renew my wife's visa in Nov 2020 to be dependent of me as a settled person.

Why would you do that? Changing to this visa will reset her clock to zero for ILR and she will have to wait a new 5 year period, 2 x 2.5 year visas, before qualifying for ILR.

Now my question is, when will she be eligible for ILR based on CURRENT RULES (I am aware rules will change)?

She needs 5 years residence as PBS dependent OR 5 years residence as spouse of settled person. You cannot combine the time spent on different visa categories.

Will she be eligible after living 5 years as a dependent from January 2018 (which includes 2 types of visa - dependent of tier 2 and dependent of a settled person)?

No, you cannot combine the time from two different visa categories.

Will she be eligible after living 5 years as a dependent of a settled person from Nov 2020?

Yes, if you switch her visa to spouse of settle person.

There is no need for her to change to spouse of settled person visa. She can continue to extend her Tier 2 Dependent visa, which will be a 3 year extension, and then apply for ILR when she reaches 5 years. The rules allow this.