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Hi,

I got my Tier 1 Enterpreneur Visa in April 2019, joined as business director of a UK company and did the initial investment as required. Started the business work, however I went to holiday to India in August 2019 but could not come back due to covid restrictions and health conditions till March 2022.

However I continued the business operation from India during the period remotely and manged to full-fill the exployement requirement of 12months for 2 full time equivalents.

I got my visa extension as well in Dec 2022.

Now my questions are
1) Can I apply for ILR after end of current extension (Dec 2024) giving the Covid restrictions as pendemic as valid excuse for the absentism of more than 180 days for the initial 3 yrs.
2) If not then can I get any futher Tier1 Enterpreneur visa extension or should I apply for Tier2 Skilled worker visa ?
3) In worst scenario, can I apply for Skilled Worker Visa for the same company where I am director at the time of visa application or I need to resign first ?

Thanks in advance.

1. I very much doubt that you can get ILR at all under the Tier 1E route. You have had nearly 2.5 years of absence from the UK. COVID as an excuse cannot work. You had already been absent from the UK for 7 months before the start of the COVID restrictions and probably by that time had already broken your continuous residence for ILR. COVID is not even going to matter.

2. If you did not hold leave as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) before being granted as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) ), the final deadline for an extension application was 6 April 2023. So another extension may not be an option anymore

3. A skilled worker visa requires your company to be a licensed sponsor. You may have to resign as a director when granted a visa as you must work as per your job title in your CoS. You may also not succeed in securing a visa this way

Thanks, our company is in stage of expansion.

At moment I am single handed looking after the IT development activities in my company myself but after my visa is over no once is there to carry on.

We have advertised but not found suitable skillset and have also applied for sponsorship license.
I was wondering if I can apply for the same vacant position after my visa expires, obviously I will resign from the directorship. What challenges am I likely to face if I opt for this route ?

Note: I am Bachelor (Honours) in computer science and an MBA in IT with about 16+ yrs of prior experiences.

Thanks again,
AK