Tier 2 General Dependent Visa ILR eligibility

Respected members,

My wife (Tier 2 General Dependent visa holder) entered the UK in September 2015 and is eligible for ILR in September 2020. She will be flying to India in April this year on maternity leave and planning to be back by February 2020. Hence she will be outside of the UK consecutively for about 10 months. I was wondering as per new ILR eligibility rules will she have issues in becoming eligible for ILR in September 2020? Her current Tier 2 general dependent visa is valid until June 2021.

When was her most recent visa granted? Was it after 11th January 2018??

uk-tier-1-general-dependent-visas/ilr-t ... l#p1571196

Thanks Char for the prompt response.

She got her Visa extended on 26th April, 2018 along with me.

10 months absence will reset her clock to zero for ILR, which means she will not be able to apply in 2020 after 5 years residence.

Is it possible to break 10 months absence down in 2 visa year cycles as mentioned below?

If I count her visa year from date of entry into UK and duration outside of UK,

9th September 2015 - 8th September 2016 : 15 days
9th September 2016 - 8th September 2017 : 35 days
9th September 2017 - 8th September 2018 : 30 days
9th September 2018 - 8th September 2019 : ~140 days (roughly 4 months)
9th September 2019 - 8th September 2020 : ~170 days (roughly 5.5 months to ensure more than 6 months is not spent outside of the UK in give visa year)

It is no more than 180 days absence in ANY 12 month period, as the link I have quoted says.

After paragraph 319E(d)(ii)(c), insert:
“(d) not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days during any 12 month period in the continuous period, except that:

oh okay so no other option to circumvent new criterion? For e.g. if she travels back to UK sometime in July (not sure if it is a realistic option considering she must be about 7 months pregnant by then) for a week before returning to India and comes back to UK (with baby!) before 6 months from the most recent date of exiting the UK? We are looking to ensure she doesn't remain outside of the UK for more than 180 days consecutively.

I am assuming new born baby will travel to UK on Tier 2 Dependent visa and would be eligible for ILR along with me in June, 2020.

oh okay so no other option to circumvent new criterion? For e.g. if she travels back to UK sometime in July (not sure if it is a realistic option considering she must be about 7 months pregnant by then) for a week before returning to India and comes back to UK (with baby!) before 6 months from the most recent date of exiting the UK? We are looking to ensure she doesn't remain outside of the UK for more than 180 days consecutively.

Why not have the baby in the UK and then she travels home for a couple of months??

I am assuming new born baby will travel to UK on Tier 2 Dependent visa and would be eligible for ILR along with me in June, 2020.

If the child is born in the UK, there is no requirement to apply for ILR for the child. Once EITHER parent gets ILR, the child can register as British on form MN1, saving you the £3k ILR fee.

If child is born abroad and has a dependent visa, child will qualify for ILR when the mother does in September 2020.

Why not have the baby in the UK and then she travels home for a couple of months??

I wish we could but due to circumstances back home it wouldn’t be possible unfortunately.

So, i get that maximum 6 months continuous stay outside of the UK will be fine for my wife to remain eligible for ILR in September, 2020 and our child will get the ILR at the same time (ofcourse as you quoted with 3 yrs visa + IHS surcharge + ILR fees for child).

I would like to know as asked earlier if she travels to india for 2 months (april & may, 2019) and after staying in UK for entire June month she again travels back to India for about another 175 days, will she be still eligible for ILR in September, 2020?