Does time during the temporary Covid extension count towards 10 ILR route

[sankerkd]

Hello Everyone

I came to UK back in July 2014 on a ICT short term visa. Went back before the short term expired and applied for ICT long term and travelled back to UK within 35 days in 2015. I kept extending my ICT Long term until 1st July 2020. ( total 6 years on ICT)

With regards to absences I am good as I have not been outside UK for more than 40 days in any given year.

However because my ICT long term expired on Jul 1, 2020 I couldn't travel back because of CoVid. Home office gave temporary extensions till the end of July 2020 and a further 30 day grace period till end of Aug 2020.

During the month of July 2020, luckily my wife got a sponsor and we applied for Tier2 general visa ( me being the dependant this time ) and was issued in NoV 2020 which was valid till Aug 2023. And Subsequently we applied for extension . This time on Skilled worker visa and was granted till 2026.

My questions are
1. Does ICT short term , ICT long term, T2G dependant and Skilled worker dependant count towards 10 year ILR route

2. Because the application for T2G was made on 17 Jul 2020 ( 16 days after my ICT visa expired ) while I was on temporary visa extension and Subsequently granted in Nov 2020. Does the period between Jul and Nov be counted towards my 10 year , thereby making me eligible to apply now

3. The reason i am asking the question 2 is there are some contradictory info .

Appendix Long Residence states that any time 39E applies , that period won't be counted LR11.2(c)

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... -residence

'LR 11.2. The following periods will not count towards the qualifying period for Long Residence:
(a) time spent on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release; and
(b) any period of overstaying between periods of permission before 24 November 2016 even if a further application was made within 28 days of the expiry of the previous permission; and
(c) any period of overstaying between periods of permission on or after 24 November 2016 even if paragraph 39E applies to that period of overstaying; and
(d) any current period of overstaying where paragraph 39E applies.'

Paragraph 39E applies to
(3) the period of overstaying was between 24 January and 31 August 2020; or

By reading the above 2, I was under the assumption that I need to wait few more months to get to 10 year CR

However the appendix CR says something which suggests that time spent during temporary covid extension can be counted .

APP CR 5.1. The applicant will not be regarded as lawfully present in the UK under CR 1.1. (and these periods will not count towards the qualifying period for continuous residence):

(d) during any period where they required permission and did not have it unless:
(i) the applicant was in the UK without permission between 1 and 31 August 2020; and
(ii) the applicant had permission immediately before that date,
in which case the applicant will be treated as lawfully present between 1 and 31 August 2020.

I did had leave and was allowed to work while I was on temporary extended visa in Jul 2020

Please can someone advise

Thanks

[zimba]

1. Yes they do count.

2. Unlike exceptional assurance, the initial Coronavirus extension concession extended your existing leave, so all that period counts. Given that you lodged an in-time application in July 2020, then section 3C automatically extended your leave after 31 August 2020 and onwards. This means that your lawful residence did not get interrupted until you got a new visa in Nov 2020.

This is covered in the long residence guide:

No periods of overstaying (disregarded or otherwise) are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period. No periods of exceptional assurance between 1 September 2020 and 28 February 2023 are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period. However, any extensions of leave granted under the Coronavirus extension concession and the following grace period (covering 24 January to 31 August 2020) count toward the qualifying period requirement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

[sankerkd]

1. Yes they do count.

2. Unlike exceptional assurance, the initial Coronavirus extension concession extended your existing leave, so all that period counts. Given that you lodged an in-time application in July 2020, then section 3C automatically extended your leave after 31 August 2020 and onwards. This means that your lawful residence did not get interrupted until you got a new visa in Nov 2020.

This is covered in the long residence guide:

No periods of overstaying (disregarded or otherwise) are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period. No periods of exceptional assurance between 1 September 2020 and 28 February 2023 are included in the calculation of the continuous residence for the qualifying period. However, any extensions of leave granted under the Coronavirus extension concession and the following grace period (covering 24 January to 31 August 2020) count toward the qualifying period requirement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

Thanks for the response . I am just wondering in what cases will 39E apply and the stay wont be counted between Jan24 2020 and Aug 2020 as stated below

'LR 11.2. The following periods will not count towards the qualifying period for Long Residence:

(d) any current period of overstaying where paragraph 39E applies.'

Paragraph 39E applies to
(3) the period of overstaying was between 24 January and 31 August 2020; or

My understanding is that leave was extended automatically for all as part of Coronavirus extension concession. In that case 39E should never refer to the period between Jan 2020 and Aug 2020

Thanks

[zimba]

This is intended to protect the individuals who could not benefit from the concessions offered in 2020. Note that your leave was automatically extended, so you were not overstaying at all and so you should not be worried about what the rules say under paragraph 39E.

There is a whole guide explaining all of this: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

[sankerkd]

This is intended to protect the individuals who could not benefit from the concessions offered in 2020. Note that your leave was automatically extended, so you were not overstaying at all and so you should not be worried about what the rules say under paragraph 39E.

There is a whole guide explaining all of this: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

Thanks a lot again for your timely response.

I have some queries around the documents that were requested as part of the application but I guess that would be a seperate topic.

Thanks again @Zimba

[sankerkd]

Apologies. One last question before I submit my application

I was talking to one of the immigration lawyer and she said she is not sure if ICT short term ( 1 year ) visa counts towards 10 year route. I went through home office guidance and couldn't find anywhere where it mentioned about ICT short term being not eligible

Please can someone advise

Also wirh respect to list of documents no where it was asked to submit address proof for the last 10 years. Do i need to provide that even if its not requested

Thanks

[zimba]

ICT short-term counts towards the 10 years. Only specific short-term visas are excluded. There is no requirement to send address proof, so do not invent your own requirements

[sankerkd]

ICT short-term counts towards the 10 years. Only specific short-term visas are excluded. There is no requirement to send address proof, so do not invent your own requirements

Thanks once again for your timely response

[sankerkd]

Hi
Just wanted to provide an update that I have recieved positive outcome . Went for super priority appointment on 21-Aug and received outcome the next day.

Thanks @Zimba for your help.

[zimba]

Hi
Just wanted to provide an update that I have recieved positive outcome . Went for super priority appointment on 21-Aug and received outcome the next day.

Thanks @Zimba for your help.

Excellent news