When does the ILR qualifying period clock start?

[ILR_2014]

Hi all,

I am currently on a Tier 2 (General) visa and looking to apply for ILR this year:

Background:
1. First Tier 2 (General) visa grant date: 22 Mar 2009 - I was already in the country at the time as I switched from a student visa.
2. Employment start date: 1 Aug 2009. In continuous employment across 2 different jobs on separate Tier 2 visas since then.
3. Current Tier 2 (general) visa expiry: 20 Jun 2014

Questions:
1. So 5 years from my first Tier 2 visa grant completed on 22 Mar 2014. Does that mean I can apply for ILR post this date? Or do the 5 years in my case complete on 1 Aug 2014 as its the start of employment that counts?

2. Also, if its the latter, is there a grace period given on expiry of the Tier 2 visa within which you can still apply for ILR. I.e. can I apply 28 days before completion of 5 years from date of first employment which would be 4 July 2014 without having to extend my current Tier 2 which expires on 20 Jun?

3. Finally, are there any circumstances where it is okay to exceed the 180 days outside the UK requirement. I am well within the 180 days in all years so far, However if I wait till July I would likely be exceeding the 180 days in my last year almost entirely due to work related trips. I can obviously get my employer to provide a letter supporting that. Does anybody have experience with getting ILR applications approved/rejected with more than 180 days outside esp. if they were related to employment. Want to get a sense of whether it is worth pushing hard to limit within 180 days or okay to take a risk?

Thanks ever so much for your responses

[Apam]

Can you let us know why your visa was granted in country in march 2009 but your start of employment was August 2009 ie after 5 months?
We need to know the full picture to give any credible advise.

[ILR_2014]

Thanks Apam for your response.

I was originally supposed to start work in June hence applied for the visa earlier. My employer delayed the start date to Aug although the visa had already been applied/granted - hence the longer than usual gap between the two dates.

[Apam]

1.If that's the case you are overdue for ilr 28days before t2 was issued in country provided your sponsor didn't inform ukba that your start date was delayed till august 2009.
2. Even working on start date of august 2009, you are still due ilr in july 2014. You have a grace period of 28days after yiur visa expires to apply for ilr. So in theory you should be ok, I'm tempted not to recommend applying for ilr during this grace period but rather apply for extension to be safe.
Grace period could be at caseworker's discretion, hence may be risky!
3. 180 days allowed per year is inclusive of work related trips and paid holidays. You can exceed this purely on compasssionate reasons like bereavement, serious illness etc. Even then proof of all of this is required.
People who exceeded 180 days yearly absences have been refused ilr as ukba didn't find these reasons credible enough.
4. Don't forget that ilr means making the uk your home and spending most of your time in this country and contributing to the economy. It's a privilege, not a right! Once you become a BC, you can do what you like!
Hope this helps.

[ILR_2014]

Thanks Apam.

The letter from my employer would obviously be based on a 1Aug start date. Would that be okay you think?

Does anyone have experience if there is way to get an official clarification on such questions from UKBA prior to the appointment day so I can avoid having to do both extension on Tier 2 and ILR a month apart.

Also, if they decide not to approve based on technicality of start of qualifying period does that impact a future application a couple of months later? Didn't find a clear response in the guidance notes

Thanks

[Apam]

If you are not keen on extension, apply by post which is a long process so can make up for your 5 year stay should you choose august 2009 as your ilr start clock.
lots of members have had successes this way and avoided extensions. Again should your application be processed very quickly you may be found wanting!
Ukba guidance is very clear; 5 years then ilr
if not, option 1. Extension 2. 28 days grace period