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Dear all,

Please could you advise whether the unpaid leave counts towards the ILR or not?

I will apply for my ILR in January 2010 but due to financial downturn our office might close resulting in compulsory redundancies. My office director has offered me the option of unpaid leave which means that I will be on the strength of my current employer for next couple of months but will not be paid. My employer is happy to give me the reference letter when needed.

Your advice will be highly appreciated.

Kind regards

Bangashk

Which visa are you currently on?

i am on WP since march 2006 and will apply for ILR in Jan 2011.

regards

I will let the experts answer this query as I think it is important to show that your employer will continue to need you in employment at the time of ILR if you are on a WP. Not sure what will happen in your case.

On another note, a reminder that you cannot apply for ILR more that 28 days before the end of your 5 yr period. If you got your WP in Mar 2006, then the earliest you can apply is Feb 2011 and not Jan 2011

It would be preferable not to have your unpaid leave during the 3 months prior to your application, since you will have to show your three latest payslips. In this case I think it might not be noticed.

There is a more formal way.
Have a look at the circumstances of "technical change of employment" on the UKBA website. Your employer is allowed to reduce your working hours up to 30% to avoid redundancies.

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