T1-GE > T2-G > T1-Ent > ILR

Hi there,

I came to the UK in Sep 2013 on a T4 student visa.
I then had a T1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa on Jan 2015.
I created a company on March 2015 me being the director.
On April 2015 I worked on a full time job with a salary +£38K.
On Jan 2016 my employer registered themselves as a sponsor for me and issued me a CoS. I changed my visa to T2 on Jan 2016 continuing to work for the same employer and doing some side business in my company.

Now I am in a position where my company makes more money than my full-time job. So, I'd like to leave my job without losing the time spent there towards my ILR. (1) What would be the best way to do so?

Option 1:
I am thinking to change to T1-Ent visa with £200K. I can secure the money jointly with a friend in a team (each of us contribute £100K). If I changed to T1-Ent visa, (2) will the time spent on T1-GE be counted towards ILR? (3) will the time spent on T2 visa be counted towards ILR?

Option 2:
My wife is and has been dependant on me all the time. I am thinking to make a T1-Ent visa on her name and become dependant on her. (4) Will any previous time in the UK be counted for ILR?

Option 3:
to reach an agreement with my employer to continue to provide my services to him from home. (5) Does this contradict with any laws?


I checked online an found this under para 245AAA
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... sed-system

"(b) Except for periods when the applicant had leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Migrant or a highly skilled migrant, the applicant must have been employed in the UK continuously throughout the five years, under the terms of their Certificate of Sponsorship, work permit or in the employment for which they were given leave to enter or remain, ...." which means I can combine my time on T1-GE visa + my time on T2 visa. (6) Did I understand this correctly?

Thanks for your reply

Option 1:
I am thinking to change to T1-Ent visa with £200K. I can secure the money jointly with a friend in a team (each of us contribute £100K). If I changed to T1-Ent visa, (2) will the time spent on T1-GE be counted towards ILR? (3) will the time spent on T2 visa be counted towards ILR?

No. Under Tier 1E rules it must be ONLY 5 years spent under Tier 1E visa for 5 year settlement.

Option 2:
My wife is and has been dependant on me all the time. I am thinking to make a T1-Ent visa on her name and become dependant on her. (4) Will any previous time in the UK be counted for ILR?

No. Your wife must apply for home to become a main applicant and any time spent before for her or you will not count under Tier 1E towards ILR.

Option 3:
to reach an agreement with my employer to continue to provide my services to him from home. (5) Does this contradict with any laws?

Not a rule that I know of under Tier 2

I checked online an found this under para 245AAA
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... sed-system

"(b) Except for periods when the applicant had leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant, a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Migrant or a highly skilled migrant, the applicant must have been employed in the UK continuously throughout the five years, under the terms of their Certificate of Sponsorship, work permit or in the employment for which they were given leave to enter or remain, ...." which means I can combine my time on T1-GE visa + my time on T2 visa. (6) Did I understand this correctly?

Tier 1GE will NOT count, only Tier 1E counts under Tier 2

You cant switch from T2 to TIE. The T1E route will be treated as a new application and will count on its own for 5 years before ILR.

bizman wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:41 am

You cant switch from T2 to TIE. The T1E route will be treated as a new application and will count on its own for 5 years before ILR.

Incorrect. You can switch to Tier 1E from Tier 2 within the UK. Only the time spent under Tier 2 will not count towards a Tier 1E settlement.

zimba88 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:18 pm

bizman wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:41 am

You cant switch from T2 to TIE. The T1E route will be treated as a new application and will count on its own for 5 years before ILR.

Incorrect. You can switch to Tier 1E from Tier 2 within the UK. Only the time spent under Tier 2 will not count towards a Tier 1E settlement.

True. Exactly what I wanted to say.

My wife can't go home because she is a Palestinian and the borders are closed (no body gets in or out). In this case, can she apply from the UK?

She should apply from outside the UK. If the borders are closed, she should try to apply from a third country like Lebanon instead

zimba88 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:25 am

She should apply from outside the UK. If the borders are closed, she should try to apply from a third country like Lebanon instead

For clarification a dependent cannot switch to T1e from inside the UK?

OP for wife to be T1e (inside or outside UK application) she has to pass genuine entrepreneur test.

They will see it is existing company (yours) etc so make sure she is fully up to the task

PBS dependants cannot switch to Tier 1E in the UK. There is no genuine test for PBS dependants.

zimba88 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:31 pm

PBS dependants cannot switch to Tier 1E in the UK. There is no genuine test for PBS dependants.

For clarification there is the test if she applies as a new T1e (as u said can be done exUK only)

Yes. That applies to all Tier 1E main applicants