discretionary leave to remain

[kar100]

I was wondering if someone cud help me with some advice on wat to do next.
I got married in 2008 to my husband who has indefinite leave to remain in the uk. i was then given a spouse visa for 2 yrs. wen the 2 yrs came to an end i then went in person to one of the public offices for the visas. they told me that i cud not make the application since i did not have my husbands passport then. i had his visa which is on a piece of paper. due to time limit i then applied for ILR based on my 10yrs stay in th uk. they refused this saying i do not meet the criteria due to gaps in my 10 yrs stay in the uk. so they gave me 3 yrs discretionary leave based on the fact that i am married to someone with settlement in the uk
my husband travelled to africa 3 months before i put in my application and as it stands he is saying he does not want to come back to the uk. he is not willing to send his passport just in case it gets lost. we have agreed to divorce as i am not willing to settle back in africa. someone told me that he will lose his indefinite leave if he stays out of the country for 2 yrs. he has been out of the country now for 1 yr.
wat can i do to get ILR. will they send me back to africa, i have been in the uk for 12yrs next yr. shud i go ahead with the divorce. will they cancel my 3 yrs discretionary leave when i inform them of the divorce.

[geriatrix]

Since the basis of DL granted to you is your relationship to a person settled in the UK, it may not be renewed if the relationship ends or if your spouse loses his settled status for any reason, and if there are no other circumstances that warrant discretion to grant you DL on any other basis (within or outside the immigration rules).

Changing to a different immigration category that you qualify under is an option you may wish to explore. But this change will need to be done from outside the UK. Without knowing the details of the "gaps" that you refer to, it cannot be said if such a change will make you eligible for settlement under long residence or when.

[kar100]

Hi
Thank you so much for you response. I have calculated the gaps, they are about 6months in total over 4 different occasions. They wrote in the letter that I failed to meet the requirements for completed 10years continuos stay because I submitted four out of time applications. Can one make up for the gaps. If so that means I have now completed the owing 6 months to make it 10yrs.
My marriage is definitely over and I'm looking at starting the divorce thing next year.
Any suggestions what I can apply for without leaving the UK. It will be 11yrs in the UK for me in October next year.