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Hi all,

I have a situation and I wonder if any one could help me.
I have spent 8yrs and 10 months in UK (Came to UK as student on Sept 2002, was student for 6 yrs, then 2 yrs psw and now 1 yr tier 2 work permit - expiring in Aug,2010).

My employer is not willing to extend my current Tier 2. But a friend suggested that, because I had a long stay in UK, I will be able to apply for ILR via route of Discretionary Application.

I have no idea if am eligible or if my application for ILR will be acceptable under discretionary application.

I shall appreciate if any of you guys could guide me in this regard as I don't want to leave UK after spending such a long time.

Thanks.

do you have any family in the UK?

boredinuk wrote:now 1 yr tier 2 work permit - expiring in Aug,2010

Misprint?

Yes,

I do have a family in UK. My wife and son, one and a half year old, born in India.

Wife lived in UK for about 2 yrs apx, all together.

Application for discretionary leave is different from a settlement application.

Perhaps relevant:
[quote="[url=http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKUT/IAC ... razil.html]CDS (PBS: “availableâ€

Given the circumstances you describe you would find it very difficult to be granted indefinite leave to remain on discretionary grounds or discretionary leave. Perhaps look for another tier 2 sponsor.

Your option is to either find another Tier 2 sponsor or get yourself another visa (e.g Tier 1/ Student etc) to allow you to complete your required ILR time.

You can apply for ILR after 10 years legal stay in the UK. So in theory you can switch back to student visa for another 1.5 years and then apply under long stay ILR route. Search the forum for more details on 10 year ILR.