Early Extensions: Tightening the noose

[foreign_immigrant]

You would not be short as ILR can be applied after 4 years 11 months and not after the completion of full 5 years.

I think it is still very ambigous. It may mean both of the following:

1. even if application date - expiry date < 30 days, the new visa will start from the expiry date
2. even if application date - expiry date < 30 days, the new visa will start from the application date

so my question: if someone applies 29 days before their visa expires, as it is recommended, might there be a risk of becoming short for ILR?

[epemolu]

I think the problem here is the ambiguity of the words used by the home office. Words like 'several' and 'significantly' earlier than a month is too vague. What is 'significant' here, is it 1,2,3 or 6 months before leave expires.

My own situation is as follows and I'd like anyone here to help me clarify

Initial VISA issued - 17 July 2008
Expiry Date - 16 July 2011

I'd like to apply between June 1st and 10th which will mean i would have applied for extension about 1 month and 10 - 15 days before expiration of current leave. The reason I'm doing this because i need to travel on 21/06/2011 and dont want to risk returning a few days before my current VISA expires or applying on 17th of June and not getting the Biometric Card back before 21st.

I dont suppose this should be a problem BUT its better to be safe than sorry.

I would be grateful if we can let me know what we think?

[rizwan567]

I applied 21 months earlier, My Tier 1 visa is till 3 jan 2013 but because of short of only 8 days for ILR i applied in this march because I just need 8 days. I dont trust HO because they say "Case worker may consider or may not" plus now I applied with my 3 dependant and paid 1600 and this gonna be 2500 after 6 april. I am sure its not possible for anybody to spend 2500 for extention and 3000 for ILR in the same year.

You should not have applied. Infact you just wasted good money on your visa application


read this was announced on 3 Feb 11 by UKBA

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... evised-ilr#

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... ht=#478840

[kavita1]

Hello sharjeelpk,

I am planning to apply about 18 months in advance, just wanted to know if u had any luck ort update on ur application..

Thanks,
Kavita

[tirfk]

See this

We encourage applications to be made at least a month before the applicant's
extant (still existing) leave expires. Applicants should note however that if the application is made significantly earlier than one month before the expiry of their leave, there is a risk of a shortfall in the required period of leave should they subsequently make an application for settlement. This is because any further leave to remain (for example Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settlement) is granted from the date that we make the decision, not the date the applicant's extant leave expires.

There are 2 problems with this..
if you apply within one month of expiry, you wont be sure you will get ur visa stamped in time in order to submit the visa to your employer.. as HO will not process your application untill you have submitted your biometrics..I heard its getting tough to get an appointment for the same..
secondly, if incase due to carelessness by case worker (which is happening a lot these days) if its rejected, then they will directly ask you to come n collect the passport from airport and then all appeal process from india..

its just too risky..

i have thought one option to apply earlier but mentioning a valid reason in the covering letter that is..
if like my case.. tier 1 visa expires in dec 2011, am intending to apply in august mentioning that I have an office trip to europe end of november and i need to apply for schengan visa. Schengan visa rules state that yoy must have a min of 3 months left on your UK visa...
i think it will work but want to know if someone have used this trick before...

[geriatrix]

secondly, if incase due to carelessness by case worker (which is happening a lot these days) if its rejected, then they will directly ask you to come n collect the passport from airport and then all appeal process from india..

Your assumptions are completely incorrect.

[tirfk]

Your assumptions are completely incorrect.

I thought if the visa expired while it is with home office and of they reject it, do they still post it and give you time to leave the UK?

[intalex]

Is there anybody who applied 2-3 months before their visa expiry date and issued a visa from the date of their initial visa's expiry recently?

The use of the word "significantly" in the policy really needs to be clarified, as it just doesn't sound fair to leave it as a judgement call on a case by case basis. I know there is a solution to all this, i.e. apply exactly 28 days before current visa expiry, but surely they should allow and specify a little more of a window, e.g. apply between 1-2 months or 1-3 months before current visa expiry.

I'm extra annoyed as my current visa expiry date is in mid-Jan 2012, and I'm really desperate to spend Xmas and NY back home (where it's warm), which I can't do if my passport will be held up at the home office from mid-Dec 2011. Isn't there a forum out there that can influence some of these issues/decisions with UK immigration policy makers? After all, it's not an unreasonable expectation to seek clarity and consistency.

[ldbright]

If we can apply a 2nd extension to make up the 5 years after the 1st extension, then we do not need to worry about short of years to get settlement anymore.
I am NOT considering the extra cost here.
Any thoughts?

[theroyale]

If we can apply a 2nd extension to make up the 5 years after the 1st extension, then we do not need to worry about short of years to get settlement anymore.
I am NOT considering the extra cost here.
Any thoughts?

Yep. I'm going with the same idea - don't care that I have to extend for the 2nd time.

[MICKS]

I now personally know 2 people who got approved for early extensions, one of them almost 11 months prior to visa expiry date.

If you Qualify and as long as you have a reason like: a long overseas trip, buying a house - getting mortgage, changing a jobs, your sickness, Marriage, Pregnancy, your parents illness etc etc they won't say no. The only issue is that the Visa will start from the date of approval and not from the date of current visa expiry.

Thinking about it, They actually make more money if people apply for additional extensions. However, a lot depend on the Case officer as well, but usually, as long as you have a cover letter explaining why you need an early extension, you will not have a problem.

[mtuckersa]

If we can apply a 2nd extension to make up the 5 years after the 1st extension, then we do not need to worry about short of years to get settlement anymore.
I am NOT considering the extra cost here.
Any thoughts?

Yep. I'm going with the same idea - don't care that I have to extend for the 2nd time.

sounds like people have got money to waste

[Edo]

sounds like people have got money to waste

Exactly. And we dont even know how much would an extension cost next year. And the year after.....

[Anio]

I don't know what's the fuss ! I've been scouring the forum for people who have applied within this '3 months' grace and got their ILR.

I intend to 'waste' my money and apply for 2nd extension for my piece of mind - this is unless enough people post their experience of getting it. The guidelines are just not clear enough, how soon can one apply? It's still very confusing to me and i've read the guidance, law changes and many posts in this forum.

[nealsu]

Does anyone know if having spent time in the UK under the working holiday visa then switching to the tier 1 (general) when time comes for settlement can I claim the 6months i was residing in the UK under the working holiday visa to make up for the 5 year residence requirement for indefinite leave to remain?

[Greenie]

Does anyone know if having spent time in the UK under the working holiday visa then switching to the tier 1 (general) when time comes for settlement can I claim the 6months i was residing in the UK under the working holiday visa to make up for the 5 year residence requirement for indefinite leave to remain?

no. 245CD c)

[nealsu]

no. 245CD c)

Thanks for pointing that out. That is a bummer. Reading the bit that says indefinite leave to remain is only granted after spending 5 years continuously in the UK, does this mean you could never have left the country, say on holiday or for work/volunteer work, say for 2-3 months?.

[QuickSam]

The total period that you could be away from UK in the 5 yr period is 180 days and you cannot be outside UK for a continuous period of 3 months or 90 days whichever is shorter.

In case you've come late to UK, you would have to extend your visa 2-3 times till you complete the 5 yr continuous period in UK and the leaves cannot exceed the 3 month period at a single time.

Hope this helps.

[nealsu]

The total period that you could be away from UK in the 5 yr period is 180 days and you cannot be outside UK for a continuous period of 3 months or 90 days whichever is shorter.

In case you've come late to UK, you would have to extend your visa 2-3 times till you complete the 5 yr continuous period in UK and the leaves cannot exceed the 3 month period at a single time.

Hope this helps.

Yes that does help indeed! Thank you very much for this reply!

[longshift]

Is there any fresh applicants who applied for their extension at PEO more than 1 month before their visa expiry And have got their visa extended from the expiry date?

[jinfeng]

Is there any fresh applicants who applied for their extension more than 1 month before their visa expiry And have got their visa extended from the expiry date?

Take a look at page 13 of "Tier 1 (General) extension application processing timelines". The guy with the same day service got it extended 3 months before visa expiry, but then new visa is expiring exactly 2 years later.

Looks like he/she had some issues though, same day service but not getting his passport back on same day!! :O

[QuickSam]

Is there any fresh applicants who applied for their extension more than 1 month before their visa expiry And have got their visa extended from the expiry date?

Generally the visa extension start date is the decision date and not the original visa expiry date. This could be before or after the original visa expiry date based on when the application is sent to UKBA.

In your case, you applied three months in advance which would mean that you would definitely get the extension prior to your expiry date and hence that would mean that you would fall short of the 5 yr period for ILR. You can still go for ILR given that the shortage period is not more than 3 months.

[arnie365]

See this

We encourage applications to be made at least a month before the applicant's
extant (still existing) leave expires. Applicants should note however that if the application is made significantly earlier than one month before the expiry of their leave, there is a risk of a shortfall in the required period of leave should they subsequently make an application for settlement. This is because any further leave to remain (for example Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settlement) is granted from the date that we make the decision, not the date the applicant's extant leave expires.

I will have continuous stay thru my Tier2(1yr) and Tier1(2+3 yrs) visas towards my ILR in 2015. Could I presume that I will have the luxury to apply about 2 months in advance before my first Tier1 expires as this will not lead to an overall shortfall?

[nm]

Yes, I am thinking the same.

My extension is due in Dec this year (2011) so I am thinking to get the extension before Aprail 2011 but not sure if it is right thing to do.

One downside of doing early extension is the thing mentioned in the original post of meeting the 5 year requirement for settlement.

That is, if I apply for my extention by March 2011 (for example) instead of my actuall Dec 2011, and get a 2 year extension till March 2013. I will be short of 7 months for settlement and will need to re-apply for another extension to complete my 5 years.

However, If i go by my actual expiry date of Dec 2011 and get a 2 year extension till Dec 2013, I will still be short of 45 days !! from settlement as I came to UK after 45 days of getting the VISA and I am not sure if i will be required to re-apply in that case as well or not.

If I go by this ECB09 rule which states:

"Where an applicant may not intend or be able to travel to the UK immediately following their application: the ECO has discretion to defer the 'effective' date until the date of travel, or up to 3 months from the date of issue, whichever is shorter."

I may not need to re-apply if I am short of 45 days but I am stil in doubt

Anybody please help !

My Tier-1 expires Feb 2012. In the current uncertain climate would it make sense for me to apply for an extension before April 2011? (I don't care about the 'shortfall' towards ILR, I would just like a 2-year extension at this point). Are there others who are thinking about doing this?

Hi,

Have you applied for your visa extension earlier than your actual expiry.?

[vlinus]

I don't think they care too much if we apply before expiry date.

I applied 8 months before my current expiry date and got it extended from the date of expiry. That means my new visa is valid for 3 years and 8 months.

I believe it depends on the case worker you get .