ILR after completion of 5 year stay on Tier 1 (Gen)

[tapindersingh]

Hello experts,

I will be applying for ILR Set (O) in Jan14. The 5 years finish on 17.02.2014. I have following questions:

1. Can the retention bonus be included while claiming points for earnings? The bonus was paid with the salary and is listed separately on the payslip. The retention bonus was due to my redundancy but the company kept me for few more months and paid me retention bonus. I am aware that redundancy cannot be used to claim points for earnings.

2. Does the dependant have to write an English level exam again even if the dependant has been in the country from last 10 years and has been working full time at a University and has completed a Post Graduate Diploma in IT from Liverpool University.

3. Will immigration officer just look in to the last 5 years of tier 1 (Gen) visa or will they look in to our last 11 years history in the UK?

4. I will try and book an appointment at any centre but I am finding it hard to get an appointment at any centre. I try several times everyday to book an appointment.

5. I have a 5 year old child born in the UK.

Please advice.

[O_Relly]

1. Policy guidelines states bonuses, so you should be ok to use retention bonus, I would think,

103. Earnings may include, among other
things:
• salaries (includes full-time, part-time, and
bonuses);

2. Yes the dependent partner will have to prove knowledge of English, See also, discussion here

3. Highly likely they will be looking at the entire immigration history.

4. Booking an appointment for PEO should be fairly easy given you will have to pay the entire application fee upfront.

5. Once either / both parents have obtained ILR, child is eligible for naturalization after registering as British, See here


Ps: If you have already completed 10 years in the UK, then you are eligible for ILR via long residence route. See here,

You can use form SET (LR) to apply to settle here if you have been legally resident in the UK for a continuous period of 10 years.

[tapindersingh]

Thank you for your response.

1. I read the policy and it seems that points can be claimed for bonus and other perks from work i.e overtime, travel allowance etc. Thank you for assuring it once again.

2. Shame I have to do a test even though I manage a team of Britishers. I guess IELTS/ESOL is an option?

3. Concern here is that during a day appointment, will they have time to go through last 11 years of our history? Do we have to take documents to prove any of the previous visas i.e. student visa and extensions for the student visas

4. Booking system is a nightmare, I have been trying to get an appointment in January and there is never a single appointment available in Jan for any centre. I have tried at midnight and early mornings. Any suggestions?

5. We will not apply for our child's ILR and apply for child's naturalisation once ILR is granted.

ILR on 10 year route takes a long time and one can only send the application by post. With tier 1 ILR, we will get it on the same day.

[s_saini]

Hi

You can only book appointment for 42 days in advance. Please correct me if I am wrong. You can check with dates earlier and you will find slots available.

Thanks

[tapindersingh]

The appointment can be booked 42 days in advance. Thank you s_saini.

One more Q:

- Is there a requirement to be in continuous employment at the time of ILR application. My company has given me notice & will end my employment in Jan14 and I am planning to book the appointment at PEO in early Feb14. This means I cannot really use the letter from employer as it will show my employment end date. Can I be unemployed and still apply for ILR?

[ADVA]

Hi there, probably best option would be to apply with the 10 years settlement period.

Cheers

[sagareva]

there is no requirement to be in continuous employment

for english, certain university qualifications obtained in the UK or another English-speaking country, exempt you from having to do the english test, but look carefullly what it says, i thought it had to be a degree, so a post-graduate diploma probably would not qualify

[tapindersingh]

Thank you all so far. I have another question:

Date of Tier 1 (Gen) application 12/01/2009
Date of visa from 17/02/2009
Date of first Entry for applicant: 26/02/2009
Date of dependant's entry: 31/12/2011
Visa expiry 17/02/2014

What is the date that I can book PEO appointment so that the following are fulfilled.
a) Dependant's two years on dependant visa
b) My 4 years 11 months continuous stay

Is 31.01.2014 okay or can I book the appointment before that?

Thanks

[tapindersingh]

Any comments on the dates, please!

[tapindersingh]

I got an email notification that a reply was posted by ajt6abgm1i6 but when I logged in the forum there is no reply.

Can someone please let me know about booking the date at PEO. I have tried and the last date that I can get is 22.01.2014 but before booking I want to make sure I fulfil the above mentioned two conditions. Please advice.