Long Residence (Time Spent outside UK)

[RCRC]

I am on Tier 2 ICT and my visa was originally stamped in Dec 2010. I was in UK for 5 months and I travelled back to India on May 2011.
I travelled back to UK on the same visa on Feb 2012 and have been living in the UK since. I understand that i was away from UK for a continuous period of more than 6 months and this breaks the continuous period rule. However, as per below, am I still eligible to apply for ILR in December 2020?

If not when is the latest I am eligible for applying for ILR under Long residence rule?

Time spent outside the UK
Continuous residence is not considered broken if the applicant:
• had existing leave to enter or remain when they left and when they returned – this can include leave gained at port when returning to the UK as a non-visa national

[CR001]

Which link is that quote from that you have posted?

Which category of ICT visa did you get in 2010?

You don't have continuous residence, it is broken as you were out of the UK for more than 180 days in one go (May 2011 to Feb 2012), so not you cannot apply in 2020.

For Long residence ILR, IF you meet all the requirements, are within the total absence limit and no single absence of more than 180 days and you can get a visa you qualify for to reach 10 years LR, you can apply in 2022.

[RCRC]

The above quote was taken from Long Residence guidelines document v15. This section was confusing and contradicting to the rules and hence this post.

I came with ICT tier 2 Establishes Staff visa category in 2010 with 2 years of expiry and came back in 2012 with the same visa.

[RCRC]

Long Residence Guidelines
Page 10 of https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -v15_0.pdf

[CR001]

So regardless of whether you had a valid visa when you left the UK and then returned, you were absent for more than 180 days, which breaks continuity of residence and your clock for long residence ILR reset to zero when you returned in 2012.

The quote is also not contradictory to the rules, it is merely an example of when residence is not broken but you must have returned within 180 days.

[secret.simon]

(a) “continuous residence” means residence in the United Kingdom for an unbroken period, and for these purposes a period shall not be considered to have been broken where an applicant is absent from the United Kingdom for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided that the applicant in question has existing limited leave to enter or remain upon their departure and return,...

For continuous residence to be maintained, two conditions need to be met together (i.e. with an AND statement joining them).
a) the break must be less than six months/180 days AND
b) the person must have had leave both while exiting and reentering the UK (although the specific leave that the person had can differ, such as leaving while on T4 visa and reentering as a spouse).

As your leave exceeded 180 days, the continuous residence was broken. You will be eligible for ILR (LR) in February 2022, assuming that the Immigration Rules have not changed by then.

What leave are you currently on? It is possible that you may qualify for ILR on another route.

[CR001]

(a) “continuous residence” means residence in the United Kingdom for an unbroken period, and for these purposes a period shall not be considered to have been broken where an applicant is absent from the United Kingdom for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided that the applicant in question has existing limited leave to enter or remain upon their departure and return,...

For continuous residence to be maintained, two conditions need to be met together (i.e. with an AND statement joining them).
a) the break must be less than six months/180 days AND
b) the person must have had leave both while exiting and reentering the UK (although the specific leave that the person had can differ, such as leaving while on T4 visa and reentering as a spouse).

As your leave exceeded 180 days, the continuous residence was broken. You will be eligible for ILR (LR) in February 2022, assuming that the Immigration Rules have not changed by then.

What leave are you currently on? It is possible that you may qualify for ILR on another route.

ICT issued after April 2010 so not eligible for ILR 5 year route.

[RCRC]

What leave are you currently on? It is possible that you may qualify for ILR on another route.

I am currently on Tier 2 ICT Long Term Leave to Remain

[CR001]

What leave are you currently on? It is possible that you may qualify for ILR on another route.

I am currently on Tier 2 ICT Long Term Leave to Remain

You won't qualify for ILR on 5 years and your long residence route would be 2022 if you qualify for any visa to stay that long.