second Extension Tier 1 or ILR

[mah]

Dear mates,
Do you know any body whose arrival was more than 3 months later than his/her initial visa and got ILR without second extension.

I was talking to a solicitor and he was claiming it is possible but I can't rely on his word.

I know that the rule clearly says that the officer can discard 3 months late entry and consider it in the 5 year continuous life in UK.

I came 3 months + 1 day after my initial visa. However after that I have been out of country for only 108 days of which 24 days were business trips. so personal ones only 84 days (I didn't include my arrival and departure days).

One of the reasons I came late, is that my niece passed away after I got my initial visa so I couldn't really travel that soon and needed to be with family. Also I had job commitments that I needed to do back at home country. (Also even when at home country I was under the employment of a british company operating internationally). Do you think these can be legitimate reasons and I can apply direct for ILR instead of applying for second extension because of that 1 day extra? It is really hard to spend extra money and time for this.

Thanks,
Mah

[cs95tdg]

You may want to post your EC date & date of first entry for others to verify whether you go over the allowed 90 day threshold or whether you entered exactly 90 days after EC.

In the meantime you may find the following topic an interesting read. Note however that what is stated there is contrary to the general concensus. http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=123987

If you want to take a chance you may want to try an in-person appointment at Solihull PEO, as they are known to assess your application and advise you whether you would be successful before taking payment. Alternatively, if you do not meet the requirements then they would suggest what you should do next. E.g. apply for ILR by post, apply for a T1G extension etc...

[mah]

Thanks again,

My visa stamped 14 May and my initial entry was 15 Aug. Exactly 3 months and 1 day I think.

Solihull is a good idea. But I am afraid of time nearer my visa expiry. And want to see if there is no chance, then I apply for second extension now.

Thanks for the link. It was a nice understanding and interpretation of the rule in place. But his visa expiry date is unfortunately 2 weeks after mine so I can't wait to see the outcome of his applicaton.

Mah