ILR(10 years), switching tier 4 to tier 5

[lluser123]

Hi,

so a bit of background, I have been holding various valid UK visa for the past 10 years (8 years of tier 4 and 2 years of tier 2). I currently hold a tier 4 visa that expires on March 2021. However, since I have been out of the country for over 540 days during that 10 years period, from my calculation I will still need another 2 years or so in order to meet the requirement for 10years LR.
Assuming I am not able to find a job that sponsors me tier 2 visa before my tier 4 expires on March 2021, I am looking to apply for a tier 5 youth mobility visa which should be able to make up the remaining 2 years I needed.

My question is:
1. As tier 5 has to be applied outside the UK, does it mean if I switch from tier 4 to tier 5, it will break my streak required for 10years LR?

2. If it won't break my streak, am I eligible to apply for the 10 years ILR when I am holding a tier 5 visa? The website say you can't extend your stay so I am unsure about this.

3. If during my tier 5 visa period, I am able to find a job that can give me tier 2 sponsorship, can I switch to the tier 2? And if so, will it break my 10 years LR streak?

Thanks a lot in advance

[CR001]

1. No, it does not, as long as you leave the UK with a valid visa and return to the UK within 180 days.

2. All visas count for ilr based on long residence. Extend your stay means apply to extend for a further tier 5 YMS.

3. If you meet the requirements for a tier 3 then yes you can switch. All visas count for long Residence.

[lluser123]

1. No, it does not, as long as you leave the UK with a valid visa and return to the UK within 180 days.

so just to confirm, say if my visa expires on 1st March,
1. if I leave the country on 23th Feb, and apply my tier 5 visa in my home country on 27th Feb (and don't get approved till mid March), I will still be considered to have a valid 10 years period?
2. How about if I apply after 1st Match (but still leave UK before visa expires), does that break my streak?
3. And will it be possible my tier 5 visa to be refused as they see me application for my tier 5 as padding the 10 years period?

4. And finally, just curious, since my passport allow me to stay in UK for 180 days without any visa, will those time count towards my LR as well? Like in theory, can I pad out my last 180 days required uing no visa?

Thanks

[CR001]

1. Yes.

2. No.

3. Unlikely.

4. As has been advised twice now, all visas count for ilr based on long residence.

[seagul]

. However, since I have been out of the country for over 540 days during that 10 years period, from my calculation I will still need another 2 years or so in order to meet the requirement for 10years ILR

If the absence will be greater than 540 days then the continuous residence would be broken which can't be refilled/repaired by spending the extra time.
https://www.gov.uk/long-residence/eligibility

[lluser123]

. However, since I have been out of the country for over 540 days during that 10 years period, from my calculation I will still need another 2 years or so in order to meet the requirement for 10years ILR

If the absence will be greater than 540 days then the continuous residence would be broken which can't be refilled/repaired by spending the extra time.
https://www.gov.uk/long-residence/eligibility

But if I start counting my 'continuouos residence' 2 years after my visa got issued, then in 2 years time I will have met the continos residence requirement. For example, from 2009-2010 I left country for 200 days in total, so if I count my stay in the UK from 2009-2019, I will be out of country for a total of 739 days. But if I start my counting 'continuous residence' period from 2011-2021, assuming I dont leave the country, my total days out of UK for that period will be 539 days in total. which meet the reqirement.
Am I understanding it wrong? Because from the website it did not specify my kinda case, but I interpret it that my scenario above is OK, as long as I start counting my day in which I enter the UK with a visa (don't have to be new visa)
Your 10-year qualifying period starts from either:

when you arrived in the UK with a visa
when you were given permission to stay in the UK

Alternatively, do I have to start counting 'contious residence' period starting from the visa I have after 2011? i.e. My tier 4 visa are 2009-2011,2011-2013,2013-2016 (and so on). So I can only start counting from when my 2011-2013 visa is valid rather than the day cut off (the day which I enter UK with visa) which gives me enough continous residences days in the UK?

Thanks in advance

[zimba]

You can count it from ANY day as long as on that day you were in the UK with valid leave or entered the UK. So in that period of 10 years, you should have absences below 540 days in total