ILR - Biometrics completed but received query from Home Office

[kalyanpradeep]

Hi Team,

Happy New Year.

I am applying for ILR Application and need your inputs on how to fill the history of countries in the ILR Application. I travelled to UK in 2015 for 1 Year on Teir 2 short term ICT Visa dependent and again in 2018 on Tier 2 Long Term ICT Visa. I got a Job and offered Skilled worked Visa in Jan 2020 and completed 5 years now. I also travelled to France and Italy for 3 days vacation each in July 2015 and Spet 2015.
As all my travels are before my Skilled worked visa, Do i need to mention all entries and exits or only some of them are applicable. Request to please assist on this to proceed with application further.

Also I have NARIC letter from Dec 2020 used for Skilled Worked Visa. Could you please let me know If I can reuse same for ILR Application or need to request new one.

Awaiting your suggestions to proceed with next steps.

Thanks,
Kalyan

[zimba]

Only the absences during the last 5 years matter. The rest is irrelevant. The old NARIC letter obtained under the red route can be reused

[kalyanpradeep]

Only the absences during the last 5 years matter. The rest is irrelevant. The old NARIC letter obtained under the red route can be reused

Thanks for calrifying on the absenses, Now I am confused on what to enter for "Have you previously lived in a country outside the UK including your country of birth?" Do I need to include my travel history upto 2018 in this session. Really appreciate your response on this. Thanks.

[zimba]

It is countries you LIVED in, not travelled to. It is self-explanatory

[kalyanpradeep]

It is countries you LIVED in, not travelled to. It is self-explanatory

Thank you again. I lived in UK from Feb 2015 to Oct 2015 (Tier 2 ICT Dependent) but I mention I first travelled to UK as May 2018 as that is the time when I came to UK on Tier 2 ICT dependent and then coverted to Skilled Worker Visa. So Can i Mention that I lived in India from Birth to Feb 2015 and again from Oct 2015 to May 2018. Do I need to mention any where about my visit to UK in 2015. Apologies to put some many queries on this as this is slightly confusing me. Thanks again

[zimba]

That question is unimportant. You are not required to provide any details. Just put in UK and India

[kalyanpradeep]

Hi Team.

I have submitted an ILR Application for myself and my daughter and attended biometrics yesterday and we received mail from the Home Office regarding my daughter's application. I placed its content after our immigration history.

Please find below the details of our immigration history for your reference:

Myself - Main Applicant:

I entered the UK in May 2018 on a Tier 2 ICT Dependent visa and later switched to a Skilled Worker visa in January 2021. I have now completed 5 years on the Skilled Worker route, and an ILR application has been submitted.

My Husband:
He entered the UK in April 2017 on a Tier 2 ICT visa. Later switched to a Skilled Worker Dependent visa in August 2022. His current dependent visa expires on 27 January 2027. He will complete 10 years of continuous residence in the UK in May 2027 and will also complete 5 years on the Skilled Worker Dependent route by August 2027. Accordingly, I understand that he may need to extend his Skilled Worker Dependent visa in January 2027 to meet either the 5-year or 10-year ILR route requirements.

My daughter - Dependent Applicant
She entered the UK in May 2018 on a Tier 2 ICT Dependent visa and switched to a Skilled Worker Dependent visa in January 2021. She has also completed 5 years as a Skilled Worker Dependent and her dependent visa is valid till Jan 2027 along with my husband. An ILR application was submitted for her; however, we received an email stating that her ILR application cannot be processed because My husband's current visa is valid only until January 2027.

We would like to request clarification on whether an exception or discretion can be considered, as our daughter has lived in the UK for over 7.5 years, including 5 years as a Skilled Worker Dependent aligned to my timelines, who is eligible for ILR.

We are quite concerned and confused about the next steps, especially as we have already incurred significant costs for these ILR applications. We have been advised to respond within 10 days, and we would be grateful for guidance on how best to proceed.

We look forward to your advice and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this further.
- What would happen to my ILR Application?
- What action should i take for my daughters application? I didnt know that both partners should have ILR or apply together for kids to be eligble.
Option 1: Can I send email informing that I will withdraw my daugther application and apply to Skiller Worker Visa Dependent extension along with my husband and will apply for ILR for my husband and daugther together in Aug 2027? Will my dauther
Option 2: As she already completed 7.5 Years in UK, Can I request Home Office to consider for ILR? I heard that we can apply for ILR if kids stay in UK for 7 years. Need to study more about this type of ILR process.
Option 3: Any other if you can suggest as I am layman here and looking for advise.

Email from Home Office:
*** Start of Email.

Thank you for your Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) Priority application.

We are considering your application and require further information from you in order for us to proceed with your application.

We note that your spouse/partner has not submitted an application, and currently has leave until the 27/01/2027, the same as yourself and your child.

Unfortunately, this means that if we were to progress with this application, the child associated with this application would only be granted until the 27/01/2027, the same leave they already have, as per the rule listed below from Appendix Skilled Worker.

SW 36.2. A child will be granted permission which ends on the same date as whichever of their parents’ permission ends first, unless both parents have (or are being granted) settlement or British Citizenship, in which case the child will be granted permission for 3 years.

We are not able to grant a child due to the following rules:

This rule states;

SW 39.4. If applying as a child, the applicant’s other parent (who is not the person (P) in SW 39.1.) must be being granted settlement at the same time, or be settled or a British citizen, unless:
(a) the person (P) in SW 39.1. is the applicant’s sole surviving parent; or
(b) the person (P) in SW 39.1. has sole responsibility for the applicant’s upbringing; or
(c) the decision maker is satisfied that there are serious and compelling reasons to grant the applicant settlement.

Therefore we are writing to you to ask if your spouse/partner is going to submit an application to submit an Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) application or you wish to withdraw this application. If you withdraw this application, there is no refund available.

We are therefore offering you the chance to vary the application and re-apply for permission to stay.

Due to how our system works we are not able to change an application type, therefore, for us to be able to complete this option you will need to submit a new application. The current application will stay open so that you can vary from this one to the new one so there is no break in your leave and that the new application is considered in time.

Should you require any advice, it is recommended that you seek an accredited immigration adviser.

Please can you confirm how you wish to proceed with your child’s application within 10 working days to xxx quoting your application reference.

**** End of Email.

Thanks,
Kalyan.

[zimba]

If you had said that you are applying with your daughter a month ago, I would have prevented you from making this mistake.

Children do NOT have a residence requirement and can only settle when both parents settle. Your child can only settle when your husband settles. The child also can only get a visa in line with your husband and this is clear as they both have the same visa expiry.

So you have two options:
1. withdraw her ILR application, accept the loss of fees paid and let your own application to go ahead.
2. You can vary her ILR application to an extension application (which will be a fixed 3-year extension) but that also requires your husband to apply for an extension too (as their visa expiry has to match)

Also, there is no automatic 7-year path to ILR for children unless the non-UK born child has been granted leave under the private life route. The dependant children cannot benefit from the rules under the Appendix Private life rules. The dependant children of migrants will follow the same path as their parents and are expected to accompany their parents as explained

Private life official guide: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... e_life.pdf

[kalyanpradeep]

Hi Zimba,

Thanks for your quick response again.
I fully acknowledge that its my mistake to include child without knowing the eligibility rules. I am always under impression that if main applicant and my daugther completes 5 years, we can apply for ILR and can process ILR for my husband seperately as there is difference in timelines.

Request to please clarify on both options you suggested:
Option 1: "withdraw her ILR application, accept the loss of fees paid and let your own application to go ahead." - As my daugther current skilled worker dependent visa is valid till 27 Jan 2027, If I withdraw and accept the fees, I assume her Current Visa still stays intact. My initial plan is to apply for Skiiled worked extention for my husband in Dec 2026 and will add her and apply for both of them now. Is this possible?

Option 2: "You can vary her ILR application to an extension application (which will be a fixed 3-year extension) but that also requires your husband to apply for an extension too (as their visa expiry has to match)" - My Husband requires visa till next Aug 2027 i.e., addition 7 months after the current Visa exspiry date. If I initiate extension visa now, I will end up paying more IHS fees i.e., already paid till Jan 2027 and now again as part of this extension (not sure how to request as I dont need 3 years skilled worker dependent extension). Please suggest on this as well and any reference documentation on how to apply for this extension.

As I already spent a lot on ILR, I didnt planned for these many applications. I need to check on finances as well now

Thanks again for all your support.
Regards,
Kalyan.

[kalyanpradeep]

HI Zimba,

I am exploring more on Option 2 to understand from overall costs:
As My husband and daugther Visa expire now in Jan 2027 and Need extension Visa request for another additional year to initiate ILR Application for them in Aug 2027. Could you please clarify how finaces work?
1. Can I apply for Skilled Worker dependent Visa application for My Husband to extend his visa till Jan 2028 that provide enough room to apply for ILR in Aug 2027. That will leave me with additional Cost (Visa Fees £885 + IHS Fee £1035 ) = £1920 or does Home office consider it as two years and charge me £2995.
2. As Home office is allowing me to vary the application. Does this mean that I dont need to pay extension cost for my daughter (Visa Fees £885 + IHS Fees £776) and her skilled worker visa will extend till Jan 2028.

I can apply for ILR for My husband and daughter in Aug 2028. Please suggest if my calculatios are correct and proceed in this way.
If this is correct, Do I need to submit extension visa for my husband and submit the application number as reference to Home Office so they will take action on my daughter ILR applicaton to extend her Visa end date or should I need to submit new application again for my daughter as well.

Thanks,
Kalyan

[zimba]

The child's visa remains valid as it is. If you apply for any extension, you cannot request a shorter period than 3 years. The visa extension period is fixed and you have to pay the IHS for those 3 years as well. A new visa will be issued upon approval but you can get a partial refund of the IHS fees paid for the period between the date that the new visa extension is granted and the expiry date of the existing visa.

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

To vary the child's application, you apply for a new extension application for both your husband and the child. The UKVI will then refund the fees paid for the child's ILR application.

The choice is yours on what to do next