Running 50 days short of 5 years for ILR

[mustafa.hamdani]

Hi Everyone,

Let me start with few dates:

HSMP Visa Start Date: April 24, 2008
Arrived in UK: June 14, 2008
Tier-1 Extension: April 24, 2010
Visa Expires on: April 24, 2013

Now although there is almost 1 year left my ILR but I just want to get some clarifications, so I can work out any issues with my application and be prepared to sort out everything. So following are my questions:

1. I'll complete 5 years of stay in UK on Jun 14, 2013 but my visa will expire on April 24, 2013, running short of around 50 days to complete 5 years stay. Can I apply for ILR straight away or do I need another Tier-1 extension to cover 5 years?

2. If I need another extension, then can I apply for it now or it only needs to be in last 3 months?

3. Do I need to be on job when I apply for Tier-1 extension or ILR or it doesn't matter as long as I show sufficient earnings (through job but have lost the job or finished a contract when applying)?

4. Can I just show the earnings for less than 12 months as long as I score enough points?

5. Do I need to have higher earning than the last time I applied for extension?

6. How much earlier before ILR can I pass the life in UK test?

Those were the questions for my own application, now the situation gets a bit complicated for me because I got married in Nov 2011 and my wife came over here in Mar 2012. So I've some more questions about her visa:

7. As far as I understand she needs to complete 2 years to get ILR. Given that she is not going to get ILR with me, does it make it necessary for me get a Tier-1 extension first? If I need to get an extension in Tier-1 then when I'll move to ILR in June 2013, do I need to apply for another dependant visa for my wife at that time because my status will change from Tier-1 to ILR?

8. Is there a limit on number of days my wife can't spend outside UK to get ILR or British nationality?

If anyone has got any other recommendations or similar experiences, please do share.

Thanks,

[geriatrix]

Read FAQs for ILR - WP/Tier 1/Tier 2/HSMP holders, to begin with.