How early tier 2 dependent of British citizen can apply for visa extension?

[nirmayvathsa]

Hi ,
I am a naturalised British citizen via tier 2 general visa followed by ILR route . My wife and son are Indian passport holders and they are still on tier 2 general dependent visas and they have not completed mandatory 5 year period of stay in the uk . And, their visa expires on 27th September 2020 .

My question is, how early can they apply for extension of their tier 2 dependent visa? Is it ok if we plan to apply for extension in the first week of June for priority visa which is decided in 5 days ?

The reason we would like to apply soon is , we are planning to go on a trekking holiday to Europe in Switzerland, Italy and France in July and as per schengen visa requirements, the BRP card must have three months validity after return date from Europe .

And , I am aware that we would be losing three months in qualifying period for ILR if we apply early for extension , but we would still want to do it as we want to go on this holiday .

Please help .

Srini

[vinny]

Applicants may apply for extensions at any time, subject to satisfying the requirements under 319C or 319H. The early-time restriction applies to ILR applications under 319E, where they may apply no sooner than 28 days prior to the completion of the 5 years qualifying period.

Caseworkers should grant leave for 3 years from the date of the decision.