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Hello folks,

I arrived in the UK on Tier-2 Established staff visa in Feb'2011 and have had continuous residence since with visa extensions submitted and renewed on-time.

Can someone please confirm my understanding?
(a) I assume that I will be eligible for ILR, via the 10yr long residence route, in Jan'21.
(b) My wife joined me in Apr'11 and has continued as a dependent. What route and when will she be able to apply for ILR (Note: She was not in the UK between 19 Aug 2011 and 19 Feb 2012)
(c) My eldest was brought to the UK in Feb 2012. What route and when will he be eligible
(d) My youngest was born in the UK in 2016. What route and when will he be eligible.




Thanks.

(a) I assume that I will be eligible for ILR, via the 10yr long residence route, in Jan'21.

Yes

(b) My wife joined me in Apr'11 and has continued as a dependent. What route and when will she be able to apply for ILR (Note: She was not in the UK between 19 Aug 2011 and 19 Feb 2012)

She has to switch to FLR(M). She must start her 5 year ILR period from scratch on that route

(c) My eldest was brought to the UK in Feb 2012. What route and when will he be eligible

He will follow the immigration path of the less privileged parent, same as your wife

(d) My youngest was born in the UK in 2016. What route and when will he be eligible.

He can be registred as a British citizen directly after you get ILR using the form MN1

Thank you for the prompt response. Please, could you advise on the following queries that I have.


1. The qualifying period is based on first entry clearance 'valid from date' or the 'date of arrival'. My first uk visa has the 'valid from date' as 04th Feb 2011 whereas the arrival date is 19th Feb 2011 (uk immigration stamp).

2. The earliest date of ILR (primary) application will be 08 Jan 2021 OR 23 Jan 2021?

3. The following are the leave period (travel outside of UK) since the first entry in Feb'11 (taken from immigration stamps on pp) where I need some confirmation
12 AUG 2011 to 21 AUG 2011 10 days
02 OCT 2011 to 16 FEB 2012 138 days (travelled on the same visa)
There are subsequent travels in the following years 2013/2014/2016/2018, each leave lasting no more than 40 days
I understand that I am not in breach of the non-consecutive residence rule (180 day?)

4. Will I have to use form SET(O) or other for primary ILR application?

5. About my spouse: I understand that the 180 day continuous residence rule was broken (by 9 days only between 12 Aug 2011 and 16 Feb 2012). However, why would she not qualify for the 10 yrs residence in Feb'2022 (demonstrating 10 year residence from Feb'12 to Feb'22)

6. About my spouse: Are there any grounds by which she can be given exemption to the 180 day rule

7. About my spouse : The entry in Apr'11 and Feb'12 were both on the same visa (originally issued 08th Apr 2011 up to 06th Mar 2013). Does this have any significance

8. About my spouse: Instead of FLR(M), can she apply for Tier 4 visa. Will this aid/obstruct the ILR route

9. About my spouse/eldest: Why can she/him not apply using form SET(M) , after I've applied for ILR and before the present visa runs out

1. The qualifying period is based on first entry clearance 'valid from date' or the 'date of arrival'. My first uk visa has the 'valid from date' as 04th Feb 2011 whereas the arrival date is 19th Feb 2011 (uk immigration stamp).

Long residence ILR starts counting from the date you entered the UK, not the initial visa issue date.

2. The earliest date of ILR (primary) application will be 08 Jan 2021 OR 23 Jan 2021?

No sooner than within 28 days before 19 February 2021.

3. The following are the leave period (travel outside of UK) since the first entry in Feb'11 (taken from immigration stamps on pp) where I need some confirmation
12 AUG 2011 to 21 AUG 2011 10 days
02 OCT 2011 to 16 FEB 2012 138 days (travelled on the same visa)
There are subsequent travels in the following years 2013/2014/2016/2018, each leave lasting no more than 40 days
I understand that I am not in breach of the non-consecutive residence rule (180 day?)

The absence limit is 540 days in the whole 10 years and no single absence of 180 days.

4. Will I have to use form SET(O) or other for primary ILR application?

SET O is not the correct form for long residence ilr. You must use form SET LR for long residence ILR.

5. About my spouse: I understand that the 180 day continuous residence rule was broken (by 9 days only between 12 Aug 2011 and 16 Feb 2012). However, why would she not qualify for the 10 yrs residence in Feb'2022 (demonstrating 10 year residence from Feb'12 to Feb'22)

Who said she won't qualify in 2022??

6. About my spouse: Are there any grounds by which she can be given exemption to the 180 day rule

No, the 180 days single absence is set in the immigration rules, there is no discretion for long residence ilr.

7. About my spouse : The entry in Apr'11 and Feb'12 were both on the same visa (originally issued 08th Apr 2011 up to 06th Mar 2013). Does this have any significance

Irrelevant for long residence ilr.

8. About my spouse: Instead of FLR(M), can she apply for Tier 4 visa. Will this aid/obstruct the ILR route

All visa count for long residence ilr. She can apply for tier 4 if she can get a CAS and has the stipulated funds to qualify for the visa. She will have to pay international student fees.

9. About my spouse/eldest: Why can she/him not apply using form SET(M) , after I've applied for ILR and before the present visa runs out

Because they do not hold a qualifying spouse settlement visa for 5 years to apply on form SET M. If you decide to do it, it will be refused and you will lose your fees.

Thank you CR001 for the super quick response.

• The response from Zimba to my original question prompted my query
  

  My question --> (b) My wife joined me in Apr'11 and has continued as a dependent. What route and when will she be able to apply for ILR (Note: She was not in the UK between 19 Aug 2011 and 19 Feb 2012)

  Zimba's response -->
  She has to switch to FLR(M). She must start her 5 year ILR period from scratch on that route

  So, as I understand, she will have to apply, in Jan'21, for either Tier 2 General/Tier 4/Spouse visa[FLR(M)] (or any eligible visa) and then apply, in Feb'22 via the 10 yr long residence ILR route - SET(LR).

• My eldest son
  • He will have to apply, in Jan'21 (along with his mother), for Family Visa [FLR(M)].
  • In Mar'22, can he not apply via MN1 (no need for ILR and assuming one of the parent has British Citizenship and the other has an ILR?)
  • Does he need to apply for ILR, wait for a year, and then apply for citizenship?

In my response I was clear that her 5 year ILR clock will reset. This has no effect on her eligibility under SET(LR).
Also a non-UK born child has NO automatic entitlement to citizenship. He can only be registered using MN1 (at the discretion of HO) if he holds ILR and one parent is British and the other one is at least settled.