Reg:ICT and ILR

[rohaneng]

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

I have relocated from India to London in 2018 under a Tier 2 ICT visa for 3 years by my current employer and my Visa has been effective since July 2018 in the UK. My wife has a Tier 2 ICT dependant visa effective from April 2019 till the duration of my Visa expiration and is in the process of finding a job in the UK. Her work profile is that of a Business Analyst (Banking domain).
I would like to understand a few options with regards to the below:-
1. What are the conditions for either me or my wife to apply for ILR given our current Visa statuses
a. If my wife remains on a dependant Visa throughout, what options do I have under my present ICT Tier 2 visa to apply for an ILR eventually
b. What are other visa categories that could enable either of us to apply for ILR
2. Is there any option like pre-settlement, that is typically applied by EU residents, for non-EU residents like myself
3. If my wife gets a job outside England (Scotland or Ireland) Pre-Brexit. Post-Brexit would there be any issues with working in those countries (Scotland or Ireland)
4. If I have relatives (My own Aunt, father’s sister) is a citizen of the UK, is there any option for me based on relation to apply for ILR

Thanks in advance

[secret.simon]

Tier 2 ICT visas (and visas dependent on them) do not lead to ILR. There is also a limit on how many times it can be extended (I believe a maximum of six years in total, but I could be wrong).

Any time spent on Tier 2 ICT would count for the purposes of ILR (Long Residence) after 10 continuous years of legal residence in the UK on different visas.

b. What are other visa categories that could enable either of us to apply for ILR.

Tier 2 General.

2. Is there any option like pre-settlement, that is typically applied by EU residents, for non-EU residents like myself

No. That is specifically for people who already have rights to reside in the UK under the EEA Regulations.

3. If my wife gets a job outside England (Scotland or Ireland) Pre-Brexit. Post-Brexit would there be any issues with working in those countries (Scotland or Ireland)

Scotland and Northern Ireland are still a part of the UK and the same immigration laws apply. The Republic of Ireland has a separate immigration system. You should place quesstions regarding that in the Ireland section of these forums. Note that your wife cannot work in the Republic of Ireland based on being your dependent. She will have to apply for a substantive visa in her own right to do that.

4. If I have relatives (My own Aunt, father’s sister) is a citizen of the UK, is there any option for me based on relation to apply for ILR

No. The UK does not facilitate extended family immigration. Naturalised British citizens can't even sponsor their non-EEA citizen parents.

[CR001]

1. ILR long residence if you have 10 years valid visas.

1a. None as ICT PBS route visa holders for ILR based on 5 years residence.

1b. Tier 2 General for your spouse or Innovator visa or Tier 4 Student visa. Note that Tier 4 does also not lead to ILR based on 5 years residence.

2. No there is not.

3. Brexit has no effect on UK immigration route visas. Scotland is part of the UK, as is Northern Ireland. Republic of Ireland is not and you would need a visa relevant to Ireland to work there.

4. No.

Edit : beaten by secret.simon

[CR001]

Tier 2 ICT visas (and visas dependent on them) do not lead to ILR. There is also a limit on how many times it can be extended (I believe a maximum of six years in total, but I could be wrong).

Not 6 years for ICT. It is 5 years for ICT unless earning more than £120k pa then it is 9 years.

The 6 year cap applies to Tier 2 General main visa holders.

[secret.simon]

Not 6 years for ICT. It is 5 years for ICT unless earning more than £120k pa then it is 9 years.

The 6 year cap applies to Tier 2 General main visa holders.

Thank you for clarifying, CR001. I was not sure, especially with the many changes in the Tier 2 rules.