10 Year ILR - Absence allowed.

[harihary]

Dear All -

I have a question regarding 10-year ILR – The following are the visa dates.

T2 ICT Short Term Visa – Dependant
Applied in - India
Date of Issue - 29/07/2015
Entry to UK - 20/08/2015
Valid Until - 28/07/2016
Left UK - 28/07/2016

T2 ICT Long Term Visa - Dependant
Applied in - India
Date of Issue - 14/11/2016
Entry to UK - 26/11/2016
Valid Until - 01/12/2021
Left UK - Did not Leave

Skilled Worker Visa - First 2 Years – Dependant
Applied in - UK(Before previous visa expired)
Date of Issue - 05/12/2021
Entry to UK - Present in UK and continued from previous visa
Valid Until - 01/12/2023
Left UK - Did not Leave

Skilled Worker Visa - 2 Years Extension – Dependant
Applied in - UK(Before previous visa expired)
Date of Issue - 08/12/2023
Entry to UK - Present in UK and continued from previous visa
Valid Until - 01/12/2025
Left UK - Currently in this visa

I am currently in dependant status(and always was) as mentioned above and the principal applicant (my wife) has similar dates as mentioned above. We had to leave the UK after 1-year Short Term visa on 28/07/2016 which was the exactly the date till the 1-year Short Term visa was valid. The flight departed out of UK at 9:30 PM BST on 28/07/2016 – Hopefully that’s alright. There was about 120 days gap when we were in India and we came back on 26/11/2016 to UK with new entry clearance. I (only me) was not available in the UK from Jan 2017 to Feb 2017 for about 40 days and Feb 2017 to Apr 2017 about 40 days for personal/professional reasons. There are no other major gaps for either of us in the period under consideration.

1) We followed all the rules and all the stays are within the dates allowed.

2) There is a gap of 120 days where we were in India from 1/8/2016 to 25/11/2016 and there was no visa’s stamped until we got the T2 Long term visa on 14/11/2016 and re-entered UK on 26/11/2016

3) There is also a gap of 40 days + 40 days in 4 months starting 1st week of Jan 2017 to 1st week of Apr 2017. I was in UK for about 13 days in Feb 2017 (This was only me and principal applicant my wife was still working in UK on those days)

4) That’s all the major absences – Point 2 and Point 3 - However I have more than 184 days absence in 12 months rolling in 2016-17 (I am guessing this is not an issue and only applicable from 11 Apr 2024 as an ineligibility which will not be counted)

5) The total no of days not in UK including all the absences mentioned in point 2 and point 3 is about 400 as on today(12Sep2024)

6) All the other skilled work visas (In Nov 2021 and Nov 2023) were applied on time in the UK before the expiry of previous visa

My wife has similar dates except point 3 – I am sure she will also qualify if I qualify for 10 Year ILR. She did not have point 3 meaning she never had a 184 days absence in 12-month period. But she was away for 120 days just like me from 1/8/2016 to 25/11/2016

I have only one question for now. Do I qualify for a 10-year ILR in Aug 2025 or within 28 days before. I was always thinking I would but the recent “continuous residence guidance” where it’s a mixture of guidelines for various visa’s (so I was confused) and speaking to a visa consultant did not agree for those 120 days gap and said it should have been 28 days to apply for entry clearance confused me. The gentleman suggested that we can apply ILR only in Nov 2026 or apply 5 Year ILR in Dec 2026. My views are that we can apply 10-year ILR in Aug 2025 reading all the responses in this forum – However still wanted to confirm if I would qualify for a 10-year ILR in Aug 2025 or within 28 days before.

Thank you.

[zimba]

Your assessment is correct. You qualify within 28 days of completing your 10 years in 2025

Read: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

You left the UK with a valid visa and returned within 6 months in 2016, so no issues.
Also, the rolling absence calculation does NOT apply as it was before 11 April 2024.

Read: Lawful and continuous residence changes to Long Residence route from 11 April 2024