Clarification Needed: 5-Year vs. 10-Year ILR Route

[acr09ak]

Hi all,

I’d like some clarification on whether I’m on the 10-year route or the 5-year route for ILR. I've not received any Home Office correspondence stating which route I'm on so would appreciate some advice, please. Here’s my situation:

• My spouse entered the UK for his PhD (then a Tier 4 visa) in October 2012.

• I first entered the UK in March 2015 on a PBS dependent visa.

• After completing his PhD in October 2019, my spouse switched to a Tier 2 visa, and I subsequently received a Tier 2 dependent visa.

• In 2022, my spouse applied for ILR under the 10-year route because he had completed 10 years in the UK. Under the 5-year route, he would have needed to wait another 2 years. He has also now acquired British Citizenship

• I’ve been working in an HR role since 2017, but I was made redundant for 7 months from April 2022 to November 2022. I've been working in the same role after this

I know I’m eligible for ILR under the 10-year route in March 2025, just 6 months away. However, if I’m also eligible under the 5-year route, I could apply now and save those 6 months.

Could someone please review my case and advise if I can apply under the 5-year route?

Thank you!

[zimba]

You have been eligible for ILR since 2022 under the skilled worker-dependant route. The fact that your spouse settled under long residence did not matter

ILR clock does NOT reset for skilled worker dependants when the main applicant settles under the long residence

[acr09ak]

Hi @Zimba, thank you for your comment and for sharing the link to the thread.

1. Based on your explanation, I understand that I could have applied for ILR in 2022 when my spouse received theirs. Could you please reconfirm if this is correct?

2. Since I am currently on a Family Visa of a Settled Person, my ILR clock has not been reset, and I can still apply for ILR right-now because my spouse was on a Tier 2 visa (now known as a Skilled Worker visa) and I was on a Tier 2 Dependent visa when they obtained their ILR. Please kindly confirm.

Thank you again for your help.

[zimba]

I assumed you are still under the dependant route as per your query.
What is your current visa ? Did you move to a family visa after your spouse got ILR or are you still under the dependant route ?

[acr09ak]

I moved to family visa after my spouse got ILR.

[zimba]

No problem. The skilled worker rules allow you to include the time spent under the partner of a settled person (family route) too.
You need to apply using form SET(O) and make sure to select the 'Tier 2/skilled worker dependant' route.
Note that to benefit from the rules, you need to do this and try not to worry that you currently have a visa under the family route. So the form SET(M) should NOT be used in this instance even though you are currently under the family route, because ILR under the skilled worker route is applied via form SET(O)

The guide says:

If the partner has switched into the partner of a settled person category they can apply for settlement without having to switch back to the relevant route. For more information relating to partner of settled person see Appendix FM guidance.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ing-period

[acr09ak]

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation.