Tier 1 to ILR question

[peterpan]

Hi, I have a quick question. Tier 1 to ILR requires a continuous period of 5 years spent in the UK. Does this mean that tier 1 holders aren't allowed to leave the UK during that period if they wish to obtain ILR? What if you take vacation for a week outside the UK to visit home or go on a quick business trip. Will that count against the 5 year requirement? I'm news to this, just trying to understand the process. Thanks.

[republique]

Hi, I have a quick question. Tier 1 to ILR requires a continuous period of 5 years spent in the UK. Does this mean that tier 1 holders aren't allowed to leave the UK during that period if they wish to obtain ILR? What if you take vacation for a week outside the UK to visit home or go on a quick business trip. Will that count against the 5 year requirement? I'm news to this, just trying to understand the process. Thanks.

You got a visa to work so Gosh Darn it, you will work, never stop, chained to your desk until you have been here long enough to qualify to ILR.
What do you think?

[peterpan]

Apologies for the stupid question, i wasn't sure at all.

[push]

Hi, I have a quick question. Tier 1 to ILR requires a continuous period of 5 years spent in the UK. Does this mean that tier 1 holders aren't allowed to leave the UK during that period if they wish to obtain ILR? What if you take vacation for a week outside the UK to visit home or go on a quick business trip. Will that count against the 5 year requirement? I'm news to this, just trying to understand the process. Thanks.

Apart from normal business trips, you can travel as per your annual leave entitlements. Again I am yet too see any clear guidance on this but a number of friends who took vacations in normal course and undertook business trips had no problems geting ILR (this was under HSMP & WP categories though).

Regards,

push_hsmp

[MrBaboo]

Apologies for the stupid question, i wasn't sure at all.

It's not a stupid question at all and you're right to want to know exactly what "continuous" means in this context. It certainly isn't "24/7, 5 * 365 days continuous"!

You can do a search on this site (in "general uk immigration forum" for best results) for "ILR" and "absence" and you'll find many tales of woe where someone, without knowing it, spent more time out of the UK than their case worker thought they should and were denied ILR. Sad but true.

Here's my summary of what I think I know from reading many posts on the matter:

a) It's largely at the discretion of the case worker / their manager as to how long you can spend outside of the UK before you endanger ILR. They do seem to follow some internal guidance notes which we have yet to see.
b) In recent times the rule seems to be that no more than 6 months can be spent outside of the UK in the 5 year qualifying period. Recent forum postings seem to indicate this figure is now 225 or 235 days.
c) No single absence longer than 90 days. This seems to be very strictly enforced.
d) The departure day and return day may be omitted in calculations for (b) but may depend on the case worker.
e) Absences for work related travel (employment or self-employment) may be omitted in calculations for (b). A recent forum post indicated this was no longer the case. Who knows?
f) Weekends during absences may be omitted in calculations for (b) but may depend on the case worker. This seems to be a recent development according to some forum posters.

The huge caveat here (if there weren't already quite a few in what I said) is that very few ILR cases by Tier 1 migrants would have been submitted so who knows if any of the above applies!

BTW: future questions on ILR should probably be posted to the "General Immigration UK" forum.