ILR for Tier 1 exceptional talent dependent Partner

Hi,

I am on Tier 1 exceptional talent visa holder which gives me ILR option in 3 years. I will be eligible for ILR in December 2021. My wife is on Tier 2 General Visa since October 2018. We are in UK since August 2014 ( previously I was on Tier 2 ICT and she was on my dependent visa).

My query is about my wife's ILR. Can she apply ILR along with me in December 2021 when I am eligible for the same? I can move her to my Tier 1 dependent visa couple of months before ILR date if that helps for applying ILR together.

Can she apply ILR along with me in December 2021 when I am eligible for the same? I can move her to my Tier 1 dependent visa couple of months before ILR date if that helps for applying ILR together.

No she cannot. She need EITHER 5 years on Tier 2 General and can apply in October 2023 OR she needs 5 years as a PBS Dependent visa holder.

Simply living together and being married doesn't make her qualify if she does not hold the correct visa.

Thanks for your quick reply. Home office website shows following rules for ILR of dependent. I think we satisfy all these conditions hence just checking again.

partner may qualify if all of the following apply:

they have permission to be in the UK as your partner
they’ve been living in the UK with you for at least 2 years if they applied before 9 July 2012 or 5 years if they applied on or after 9 July 2012
your relationship is genuine
you intend to carry on living together
you have enough income to support both of you and your dependents
you’re not using public funds

ramgoel123 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:29 am

Thanks for your quick reply. Home office website shows following rules for ILR of dependent. I think we satisfy all these conditions hence just checking again.

partner may qualify if all of the following apply:

they have permission to be in the UK as your partner
they’ve been living in the UK with you for at least 2 years if they applied before 9 July 2012 or 5 years if they applied on or after 9 July 2012
your relationship is genuine
you intend to carry on living together
you have enough income to support both of you and your dependents
you’re not using public funds

She doesn't have 'permission to stay in the UK as your partner' so won't qualify for ILR with you.

The Immigration Rules Part 8 - PBS Dependents - also clearly state that for dependent visas issued AFTER July 2012, a PBS Dependent requires 5 years residence in the PBS Dependent visa category to qualify for ILR and all the other requirements are met.

It is NOT possible to combine time spent on Tier 2 General visa and PBS Dependent visa to make up 5 years for ILR. Her application will be refused if you try to do that.

My wife was on PBS dependent from August 2014 to October 2018 ( total 4 years and 2 months) when I was on Tier 2 ICT visa. This means she has to 2 spend only 10 more months on PBS dependent to complete 5 years. Can I move her to my Tier 1 dependent visa 10 months before my ILR date and then we both can apply for ILR together?

My wife was on PBS dependent from August 2014 to October 2018 ( total 4 years and 2 months) when I was on Tier 2 ICT visa. This means she has to 2 spend only 10 more months on PBS dependent to complete 5 years.

No it does not. By applying for her own Tier 2 General visa, her clock has reset to zero and a new 5 year route to ILR as a Tier 2 General main visa holder. The previous time spent on Tier 2 dependent is lost now for ILR based on 5 years residence.

You should have applied for her as your Tier 1 Dependent if you wanted to maintain her dependent status for ILR based on 5 years residence.

Can I move her to my Tier 1 dependent visa 10 months before my ILR date and then we both can apply for ILR together?

No you cannot. She require 5 consecutive years as a PBS Dependent visa holder. There is NO shortcut or quick route for her.

The ONLY time different visa categories can be combined for ILR is when applying based on 10 years long residence, which she will also only reach in 2024.

Thanks CR001 for your quick replies. There was no option for me to apply for her Tier 1 dependent visa as she got her Tier 2 General visa before I got my Tier 1 visa endorsement. Do you think home office can consider my case as unique and will provide some relief ? Shall I take help from immigration solicitor to clarify the situation?

There was no option for me to apply for her Tier 1 dependent visa as she got her Tier 2 General visa before I got my Tier 1 visa endorsement.

You could have simply waited till you got your endorsement and applied for both of you at the same time. OR even as soon as you got your visa or now even. She will still need 5 years on PBS Dependent visa though.

Do you think home office can consider my case as unique and will provide some relief ?

There is nothing 'unique' about your case and no, no 'special consideration' would be given. The Immigration rules are very clear.

Shall I take help from immigration solicitor to clarify the situation?

They would have NO influence or bearing on your situation, which is NOT unique or special. You will only be substantially poorer as they will likely promise you lots and deliver naught.

Do you mean to say that she would have been eligible for ILR after 10 months if I would have moved her to my tier 1 dependent (without her any period on Tier 2 General)? Can PBS dependent apply for ILR even if main applicant is not eligible for ILR? Sorry for multiple queries from my side.

ramgoel123 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:03 am

Do you mean to say that she would have been eligible for ILR after 10 months if I would have moved her to my tier 1 dependent (without her any period on Tier 2 General)? Can PBS dependent apply for ILR even if main applicant is not eligible for ILR? Sorry for multiple queries from my side.

No, a PBS Dependent cannot apply for ILR separately to the main PBS visa holder for ILR based on 5 years. Had you applied for her dependent visa instead of Tier 2 General, her continuous residence would not have been broken and she would have been able to apply for ILR with you in 2021. Even if you apply for her now, she will still have to wait 5 years as PBS dependent. The 3 year ILR from Tier 1 ET does not apply to dependents on Tier 1 ET dependent visas, only to the main visa holder.

Why did she apply for Tier 2 General instead of waiting to see about your Tier 1 process? By trying different applications simultaneously to get out of the ICT restriction, you have created a more difficult process for her.

Note also that IHS fees double next week, so you will need to take that into account too.

She applied for Tier 2 General because her organization was ready to sponsor her at that moment. Knowing the uncertainty in the market, we could not have waited for decision on my Tier 1 endorsement. As such its not easy to get Tier 1 ET endorsements and we were not very confident about it considering amount of references it needs to get endorsed.

With limitations on Tier 2 ICT visa, we took decision to go ahead with which ever option came first for us to maintain continuity in UK else we would have been forced to go back to India for serving cooling period in August 2019.

Please let me know your thoughts if we have taken right decisions.

The only options she has are :

1. Stay on tier 2 general till she qualifies for ILR in 2023, providing she meets all the requirements, whatever they are at that point.

2. Change to Tier 1 Dependent this year and then wait till 2024 to apply for ILR, either as a PBS Dependent based on 5 years residence OR if she reaches 10 years long residence she can apply on that basis.

Note that if she changes back to PBS Dependent now, she will be subject to the absence limits of 180 days per 12 month period.

Thanks CR001 for clarifying all my queries. I will go with option 1. Overall, I think its better to be in this situation rather than remain under uncertainties of ICT visa. As such I think its better to have own visas rather than creating dependency on each other as we have flexibility in terms of jobs.

ramgoel123 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:17 am

She applied for Tier 2 General because her organization was ready to sponsor her at that moment. Knowing the uncertainty in the market, we could not have waited for decision on my Tier 1 endorsement. As such its not easy to get Tier 1 ET endorsements and we were not very confident about it considering amount of references it needs to get endorsed.

With limitations on Tier 2 ICT visa, we took decision to go ahead with which ever option came first for us to maintain continuity in UK else we would have been forced to go back to India for serving cooling period in August 2019.

Please let me know your thoughts if we have taken right decisions.

There are no right and wrong decisions - you did what you needed at the time.

You now need to make another decision - whether you switch your wife's visa to PBS dependant or remain on T2. Take into account that if the sponsorship ends for whatever reason, the 5 year clock will restart if she can't find another T2 sponsor at that time.

Thanks. Another related query is about british citizenship. Do we need to spend 1 year on ILR after spending 10 continious years in UK for applying citizenship via 10 years naturalization route?

There is no 10 year route citizenship.

It is based on 5 years residence or 3 years residence if a spouse of BC.

12 months on ILR is mandatory unless you are married to a British citizen.

Hi CR001, homeoffice website clearly mentions about 10 years naturalization route. These 10 years total can be on any visa type i.e. ICT, General, student, tier 5, tier 1, PBS dependent etc.

Post the link!!

You are likely confusing the 10 year route to ILR which can include various visas!!

ILR is not citizenship.

Ok got it. This means 10 years route also needs ILR of 1 year before citizenship. Thanks.

All ILR routes require one year of holding ILR for the full 12 months.

The only exception where it is not required is if an applicant is married to a British citizen.