I've been searching on the internet and find this forum hugely helpful. I wonder if any of the experts could advise on my situation below.
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1st T2 dependent visa issue date: 19/10/2016
2nd (current) T2 dependent visa issue date: 01/10/2018
2nd (current) T2 dependent visa expiry date: 06/08/2021*
My partner obtained ILR on date: 16/09/2020
My projected 5 year anniversary date: 18/10/2021
* This date was granted as such in 2018 as my partner started the T2 visa on 06/08/2015. And I only joined my partner about 1 year later in 19/10/2016.
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As my current visa is about to expire on early August, I have the following questions that I wish some members of the forum could kindly offer help or advices with your past experience and expertise.
1) Can I still apply to extend my T2 dependent visa? Does it matter that my partner has already converted to ILR and is no longer a T2 visa holder? Is there any limit on how many times I could extend T2 dependent visa (since I've already extended it once in 2018)?
2) Is there by any means possible to choose the duration that I wish to extend the current visa for? As you can see, I am only 76 days short of 5 year anniversary while the IHS amount will be tremendous for a standard 3 year extension.
3) Is it still practically feasible nowadays to apply for T2 dependent visa first and then vary the application to ILR, 28 days prior to 18/10/2021? I've read some posts on this forum and noticed the success of this path relies heavily on timing as well as UKVI processing time. I understand one crucial step is to delay Biometrics. Then I wonder whether there is a maximum time lag UKVI would allow for late submission of biometrics and materials through UKVCAS.
4) What any other advices would you have? Any other bits I should pay attention to?
Many thanks and have a good day!
