2 month gap between my visa expiry and my 5-year stay in UK

[sibaji]

Hello Friends,

The 5-year term of my Tier-1 visa ends on Dec 18, 2012, however my 5-year stay in the UK completes only 2 months after that. This 2 month gap is because I entered the UK 2 months after receiving my UK visa.

In such a situation, can I apply for an ILR straightaway in December, without applying for yet another Tier-1 extension, and hence save some money.

A reply on my post would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Sib

[longshift]

Hello Friends,

The 5-year term of my Tier-1 visa ends on Dec 18, 2012, however my 5-year stay in the UK completes only 2 months after that. This 2 month gap is because I entered the UK 2 months after receiving my UK visa.

In such a situation, can I apply for an ILR straightaway in December, without applying for yet another Tier-1 extension, and hence save some money.

A reply on my post would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Sib

As per the Caseworker's guideline for ILR you will get grace for those 2 months since you came in the country late. Read the sticky threads on Indefinate Leave Section.

As per my understanding you can apply for ILR as caseworker are allowed to give 3 months grace for late comers.

[shargaur]

As Long Shift said, the grace period is of 90 days. You will be fine. Apply for ILR

[cs95tdg]

Yes, see Q5 under the following sticky for further information.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=79378

[sibaji]

Thank you so much for replying.

As Q5 of your thread states that you cannot switch categories (eg. Tier-2 to Tier-1) to avail the 3 months grace period, I must state that my visa status moved from HSMP (2 initial years) to Tier-1 General (3 later years), am I still qualified for this 3-month grace period ?

[longshift]

Thank you so much for replying.

As Q5 of your thread states that you cannot switch categories (eg. Tier-2 to Tier-1) to avail the 3 months grace period, I must state that my visa status moved from HSMP (2 initial years) to Tier-1 General (3 later years), am I still qualified for this 3-month grace period ?

You are interpreting it wrong. Your qualifying period of 5 years is falling short due to late arrival in this country. And thats why you will get the grace. What MOD stated in Q5 is, if you switch from another category then the qualifying period starts immediately and you will not be given any grace. However, in your case, your qualifying period starts from the date you entered this country so long this is within 3 months of your initial leave which is included in the 5 year period.

[cs95tdg]

I agree with longshift. I gave you the link to the sticky thinking it would help as a pointer to the actual rules, for you to refer to yourself.

What is relavent here is the following statement on Page 4 of http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Applications that fall short of the five year continuous period
In some cases, applicants may have been granted five years continuous leave, but due to delayed travel will not have spent five years continuously in the UK before their current leave expires. Caseworkers may count the period between entry clearance being granted and the date the applicant entered the UK towards the five years, provided this period was not longer than three months.

[sibaji]

This is indeed a good forum to discuss.

So, from your explanations, I am underlining the fact that HSMP and Tier-1 are one and the same category, and therefore moving from HSMP to Tier-1 does not that I have switched categores. Thanks for the clarification.

Here are my final 3 queries, in sync with my original query:

(1) Have you heard of any horror stories about situations where caseworkers have used their discretion to deny the 3-month grace to any ILR applicant(s) ?

(2) I have passed the "Life in the UK test" a couple of months back. Do I have to additionally take a test to prove my english language ability ?

(3) My daughter was born in India 13 months back, but has been living with me for the last 9 months in the UK. Her current visa status is Tier-1 (Dependent). In this scenario, am I able to apply for ILR for her as well, at the same time as my ILR application ?

Would really appreciate a response.