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I am currently in UK on Tier 1 General visa which was granted initially on 22nd May 2010 in India. I failed to enter UK within 90 days of receiving the initial grant. However during the extension of the visa last year, my new expiry date is 12th Jun 2015 (i.e. got additional 20 days to expiry of 22nd May 2012). I would like to enquire if another extension is required for me in order to quality for ILR in 2015.

Below is the summary of key dates:
- 22/05/2010 – Tier 1 General visa granted in India for 2 years
- 02/09/2010 – Entered UK
- 12/06/2012 – Tier 1 Extension granted for 3 years
- 12/06/2015 – Tier 1 Visa expires

Based on the information provided above please advice if second extension is required for me to qualify for ILR in 2015 i.e. When is the earliest date to become eligible for ILR?

From 28 days before 02/09/2015. An extension may be needed based on that. However, I'm not sure if the gap between EC and entry can just be counted as an absence if >90 days thus if >90 but less than 180 days in the first 12 months then perhaps one should be able to apply from 28 days prior to EC + 5 years? The guidance is not clear. For a safe bet, an extension.

The period between entry clearance being issued and the applicant entering the UK may be
counted toward the qualifying period, as long as it does not exceed 90 days. This can occur
if the applicant is delayed travelling to the UK. Provided the period of delay does not exceed
90 days, it will not be counted as an absence.

D4109125 wrote:..... However, I'm not sure if the gap between EC and entry can just be counted as an absence ...

No, because one has to be in the UK initially to be then out of UK for absences.

The reason I said above is that the guidance is not explicit unless I am missing it?

The guidance states:

The period between entry clearance being issued and the applicant entering the UK may be
counted toward the qualifying period, as long as it does not exceed 90 days. This can occur
if the applicant is delayed travelling to the UK. Provided the period of delay does not exceed
90 days, it will not be counted as an absence.

All I was saying is that leads you to believe if the period of delay exceeded 90 days, it would be counted as an absence, and for absences, they must be <180 days per 12 months. Perhaps I'm just reading too much into this. But anyway I was advocating an extension.

This is gets more confusing now.
I cross referred with an immigration consultant/solicitor and he has advised that I can apply for ILR on or after 02-Jun-2015 (i.e. Date of First Entry – 90 Days). The rationale is that 90 days is being accounted as part of first year.

The 90-day rule seems to confuse me more.

Anybody else who has come cross a similar situation, please advice. Alternatively, please let me know contact details from UKBA who can clarify this for me.

either way if your initial entry was not within the 90 days of EC, your 5 year clock starts on entry date.