pbs dependent [ ICT + Skilled ] applying for ILR

Hi Team,

My self have arrived in UK with my family [ wife + kid ] on 2020 Jan on ICT Visa.
in 2020 September have moved to Skilled worker but for my dependents they remained on ICT pbs dependent partner till 2021 September.
This September i am planning to apply for ILR for all 3 as we are completing my 5 years.
Would like to know if dependents both [ Partner + child ] will also be eligible or not. [ ICT pbs dependent 1 year + Skilled Pbs dependent 4 years ].

I am married for 10 years, and visited UK during 2017 - 2018 also once before.

Kindly advise.

It is a common misconception that the old PBS dependant routes were different. There was never a separate dependant route for various PBS dependants at all. They were all issued under the same route as 'PBS dependant'. Most PBS routes have largely been abolished over the years.

You will now be applying under the skilled worker rules and the current ILR rules for skilled worker route do NOT care about the type of the dependant visa of your dependant as long as your spouse has been your 'dependant partner' for 5 years (even time spent under the family route counts). You can all apply together

Thank you so much zimba and your team, god bless.
Your clarifications are really helpful.

Hi Team,

My employer has an third party agent for doing the visa processes, his response was as below while i asked tp apply for my dependents along with me.

" This is where the rules can get a little more complex, for example if applying under the 10 year route for ILR the applicant can use a combination of different visa types, however for the 5 year route it must always be based of a qualifying visa route that is eligible for settlement after a 5 year period. Skilled Worker falls under this condition but ICT would not. "

as Tier 2 ICT isnt in the below list you need to extend them as skilled dependent for another year.

Please advise. Thank You.

and shared below
https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... -work-visa

How long you need to have been in the UK depends on your visa.

You can only use time you’ve been in the UK as a dependant on your partner’s visa towards your continuous residence.

Your current visa Time in the UK
A dependant on a UK Ancestry or Representative of an Overseas Business visa No requirements
A dependant on any other type of work visa At least 5 years living with your partner
You must have spent no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 month period, if you’re applying as a dependant on your partner’s:

Skilled Worker visa
Scale-up Worker visa
Sportsperson visa
Minister of Religion visa
Tier 1 visa
Tier 5 visa
Global Talent visa

There are many topics on the forum where applicants got terrible advice from agents/advisors, etc. The advice you got is only applicable to the main applicants, NOT the dependants. These advisors do not know what they are talking about

Here is the relevant rule for dependants:

SW 42.1. The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK with permission as a dependent partner of the person (P) in SW 39.1.

As I said, there has never been a separate PBS dependant route for Tier 1, Tier 2, etc. They were all called the PBS dependant route and they were the same visa route. Then when Tier 2 became the skilled worker rules, the ILR rules simply asked for 5 years as a dependant partner of 'P'. Otherwise, people who spent time under the old PBS dependant visa could not even get ILR. You can even count the time under the family route (which is a totally separate route) as per the official guide. This is because the paragraph under the rules that I showed above, does not care about the actual route of a dependant partner visa.

5-year permission requirement: partners
Those who are required to complete a qualifying period must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK with permission as a dependent partner of the lead applicant. Dependant partner can include time as a spouse on family routes.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... routes.pdf

Thank you, You are saviour. Bless you and your team.

Hi Zimba All,

My organisations solicitor is not agreeing to apply for my dependents

reply below

" To answer your query, your dependents will not be eligible to apply for ILR with you in November 2025 because time spent as ICT PBS dependents does not count towards the 5-year qualifying period for ILR under the Skilled Worker route. Their 5-year qualifying period only starts from December 2021, when they switched to Skilled Worker dependents.

Therefore, they will become eligible for ILR in December 2026, assuming continuous residence and all other requirements are met. You can still apply for ILR in November 2025, and they can extend their dependent visas until they qualify the following year. "


I am totally confused which path to take now

Also when i mentioned about below :

SW 42.1. The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK with permission as a dependent partner of the person (P) in SW 39.1.

he provided below

SW 39.1 refers to the main Skilled Worker applicant

The solicitor is wrong and does not understand the rules under the appendix continuous residence.
Under the rules, there has never been a route called 'ICT PBS dependant' at all.
The official guide which I shared, explicitly tells you that even time spent under family route counts which has nothing to do with PBS or skilled worker route at all. This actually applies under all work related routes like SW or GTV as the appendix continuous residence applies to them all.

My interpretation and an ILR success: Time spent under all dependant routes count for dependants applying under GTV route for ILR

Thank you So much Zimba.
I am on Skilled worker Visa. Do you have case references where Skilled workers able to mix and match dependent visas for continuos residency and ILR. Thank You.

avinash126 wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 29, 2025 2:07 pm

Thank you So much Zimba.
I am on Skilled worker Visa. Do you have case references where Skilled workers able to mix and match dependent visas for continuos residency and ILR. Thank You.

There is no mix and match. The times was spent under the same exact route as there was only ONE route and that was the 'PBS dependant' route. There was never a Tier 1 dependant route, Tier 2 dependant route, ITC dependant route, etc. If someone is making such claim, it is up to them to demonstrate it. Ask the solicitor to show you that there was a separate route called 'ICT dependant route'. All the old PBS dependant visas were issued under the same set of rules. Needless to say that the rules now do NOT care about the routes at all anyway as I showed.

All work related rules and their dependant is calculated as per the rules under the appendix continuous residence. Again, the SAME set of rules applies to multiple work related route like skilled worker, GTV, etc. You have now been misled by the solicitor.