ILR Issue because of Gap in stay in UK

Hi,

I first arrrive in UK on June 2003 on a workpermit and stayed here for nearly 3 years and left the country in Apr 2006 for 8 months to work in Singapore for same company . Then i again back in dec 2006 on diff work permit.

So..
Work Permit - June 2003 - Dec 2003 - Employer 1
Work Permit - Dec 2003 - Dec 2004 - Employer 1 (Extension of Same WP)
Work Permit - Dec 2004 - Dec 2006 - Employer 1 (Extension of Same WP)
Work Permit - Nov 2006 - Nov 2011 - Employer 2
Tier -1 - May 2008 - May 2011

so in total i am having Work permit and HSMP fore more than 5 years (without any break), but i was not in country for nearly 8 months.
Am i still eligible for Indefinite leave to remian in UK ?
I am currently on HSMP valid till May 2011.

Regards,
Santosh

so in total i am having Work permit and HSMP fore more than 5 years (without any break), but i was not in country for nearly 8 months.

This amounts to break in your continuous stay. This is not what you would like to hear, but I guess you will not be eligible for ILR until 2011.

dnicky wrote:

so in total i am having Work permit and HSMP fore more than 5 years (without any break), but i was not in country for nearly 8 months.

This amounts to break in your continuous stay. This is not what you would like to hear, but I guess you will not be eligible for ILR until 2011.

Hi,

I have a similar query and I hope you may be able to clarify. I came to UK in July 2004 under HSMP. I was granted a year's visa which was extended to a 3 year residence in July 2005. I applied, via a consultant, for extension in May 2008 so that I could complete 5 years to gain ILR.

The consultant made mistakes in the payment and used old forms because of which the application was returned but 2 weeks after the visa had expired in July 2008. Therefore a valid application was finally made after the previous visa had expired.

I finally received my extension in September for the next 3 years with a letter stating that the Home Office has granted me sufficient leave to apply for ILR after I complete 5 years stay in UK. I have tried to reconfirm this from Home Office but the guys who pick up the phone neither know nor have sufficient rights on their systems to determine whether I have a visa gap from July 2008 to September 2008.

I shall be grateful if you could please comment on this.

Regards

OB40.