ILR impact if switched from Tier 2 to Tier 1 dependent visa

[christae]

Hello!

Please help if you can...

My UK visa history below:

August 2010- December 2012
Tier 2 sponsored visa

December 2012 - present
Tier 1 Highly Skilled dependent visa (had to apply for this visa from South Africa but Tier 2 visa was still valid at the time)

I have now been living and working in the UK for a continuous period of 5 years and have not breached the max number of days allowed outside of the country.

Quesions:

Am I now eligible to apply for ILR under the 5 years continuous period rule?

And how soon after receiving ILR will I be able to apply for citizenship given I have been married to my husband since December 2012 and he will receive citizenship in November 2015? I have read I do not have to wait a full year between ILR and citizenship as I would have been married to a UK citizen for 3 years and could apply for citizenship directly after receiving ILR - is this true?

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks,

C

[CR001]

No you are not eligible for ILR yet.

You need either 5 years as a Tier 2/Tier 1 main applicant OR 5 years in the dependent cateogory. You cannot combine the time spent on two different visa status for 5 years residence ILR. It can only be combined for 10 years long residence ILR applications.

Your clock for ILR will have reset when you applied for the dependent visa and as you seem to have applied after 9th July 2012, it is 5 years residence to qualify for ILR and if your case, you will qualify in 2017, assuming your partner is applying for ILR based on the Tier 1 visa and NOT long residence.

For citizenship, yes it is true, you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have ILR if your partner is already British. And it is not married for 3 years, it is 3 years legal residence in the UK.

Also note, that if you wish to retain your South African citizenship, there are two other steps/processes you need to do before you apply for citizenship, each step costing some money.

[christae]

Thank you very much for the clear response although I do find it very frustrating that even though I have been living and working here for 5 years non-stop (albeit on 2 different visas) I do not yet qualify.

Is this a hard rule or do you think there might be scope to appeal?

I am aware of the steps needed to retain my SA passport once I apply for UK citizenship.

C

[CR001]

It is a hard rule, there is no scope for discretion, the rules are clear.