ILR Long residence - Query about absence

[solarisshiva]

Hello ,

I am currently on TIER2 General ( Switched from ICT to general,- In country route). I first came to UK in 2010 Jun (Issued after April 6th 2010) and continously living in UK since then. Am i eligible to apply for ILR through 5 year route (grant of leave at the time of application under Tier 2 Visa category) and combining the continous period i have spent in the UK through ICT?. Please advise. thank you

Regards

[CR001]

No, tier 2 ICT does not lead to ILR with any visa combination for ilr based on 5 years residence. For 5 years ilr, you need 5 years on tier 2 general.

It only counts for ilr under 10 years long residence route. But if you have dependents and choose this route, your dependents have to change visas to FLR m which resets a dependents 5 year ilr clock.

[solarisshiva]

Hello All,
I first came to UK in July 2010 ( TIER2 ICT, Established Staff) and with a visa validity till 2013.My first absence was for 231 days from Jan 2011 till Aug 2011 when I had to travel back to India for business purposes ( Sent back by my company). I have a letter from the company stating that i was away from UK for business reasons and i was paid over and above the TIER2 minimum salary during the absence in INR. All my Visa applications have been continously extended from with in UK and hence they are continous. I have now completed 10 years. Need advise if the above absence can be covered and will my application be sucessfull?. Thank you in advance.

[CR001]

Your continuity of residence is broken. You don't qualify for ilr.

Any absence of 180 days or more breaks your residence, regardless of what the absence was for.

You will qualify for long residence ilr in August 2021 only if you meet the requirements at that time since August 2011.

[solarisshiva]

Aah thank you very much for the quick response. Further in continuation to my ILR LR query, I am currently on TIER2 General and my family as dependents ( 1 of my son was born here in UK). What should be the best for my Family members visa. Should this be PBS dependent or Should i apply for FLR?. Their current visa is due to be renewed in June 2021.

[CR001]

Aah thank you very much for the quick response. Further in continuation to my ILR LR query, I am currently on TIER2 General and my family as dependents ( 1 of my son was born here in UK). What should be the best for my Family members visa. Should this be PBS dependent or Should i apply for FLR?. Their current visa is due to be renewed in June 2021.

If you apply for ilr based on long residence, your dependents cannot apply to extend their lbs dependent visas. They have to apply for FLR M and meet the financial and English (for your spouse) requirment. This resets the 5 year ilr clock to zero.

You have asked about two different ilr routes since posting. It is imperative you decide which you choose to do when you qualify, as the 5 year tier 2 general ilr and 10 year long residence have completely different requirements and rules, both for you and your dependents.

[solarisshiva]

Thank you very much for the advise. I should have been more specific, apologies. My question was as follows,

1) My ILR (10 year) eligibility is in Aug 21 however my dependents have a valid visa (as PBS Dependents) till Jun 2021 which is 2 months before my ILR.

Hence should my dependents can wait and apply for FLR along with my ILR application or should they first extend PBS and then switch to FLR?. Its a matter of two months but costing twice. Please help with your advise.

[CR001]

They must apply for a PBS dependent extension before their current visas expire, otherwose they will be overstayers. They will only get a visa ending with your tier 2 visa expiry date, whatever date that is as you don't state what it is.

They can apply for FLR m when you apply for ilr, or vary the PBS dependent application to FLR m if the PBS dependent is still pending.