ILR eligibility

[ambak]

Hi,

My question is around applying for ILR. I travelled to the U.K. in Oct '2010 on an T2 ICT Established Staff visa type and was on it for three years, in Jan of 2014, i successfully applied for an EEA Resident card (Card of family member of EEA national) and have been on it since then.
I have looked around forums etc, and it seems that the combination perhaps is not the problem while counting the total duration for ILR, but the fact that the rule changed in April '2010 and therefore the T2 ICT ES visa duration cannot be counted.
I've seen some experts on here refer to paragraph 245GF of the immigration rules. I've looked this up on the web and i see that paragraph 245GD states:

ILR Requirements: (Please look at point (b) -> (i) -> 2)

(a) The applicant must not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal, and must not be an illegal entrant.
(b) if the applicant is applying for leave to remain as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant in the Long Term Staff sub-category:
(i) the applicant must have, or have last been granted, entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain as either:
(1) a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant in the Long Term Staff sub-category, or
(2) a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant in the established Staff sub-category under the Rules in place before 6 April 2011, or
(3) a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant granted under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010, or
(4) a Qualifying Work Permit Holder, provided that the work permit was granted because the applicant was the subject of an Intra-Company Transfer, or
(5) as a representative of an overseas Business, and
(ii) the applicant must still be working for the same employer as he was at the time of that earlier grant of leave.

I am not an immigration expert but this seems to suggests that that T2 ICT ES before 2011 should be able to apply for ILR!!..

Can anyone please let me know..
Cheers.
A

[CR001]

No it ICT does not lead to ILR after 6 April 2010.

In addition to this, you cannot combine UK immigration routes with EEA/EU route, which you are now on, to make up 5 years residence for ILR, so yes, the combination is a problem for ILR purposes.

[secret.simon]

Here is a link to the relevant Immigration Rules

Look at the titles of the relevant sections
245GD - Requirements for leave to remain
245GE - Period and conditions of grant
245GF - Requirements for indefinite leave to remain

The first section listed (245GD) that you reference is for leave to remain, what we on these forums would call FLR. 245GE lists the period for which you can apply for FLR in this specific tier.

(b) The maximum time referred to in (a)(iii) is:
(iv) No limit, if the applicant:
(1) is applying in the Long Term Staff sub-category,
(2) previously had leave as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant under the Rules in place before 6 April 2011 or as a Qualifying Work Permit Holder, and
(3) has not been granted entry clearance in this or any other route since the grant of leave referred to in (2) above.

But if you look at 245GF, which specifies the requirement for ILR under this path;

(c) The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK, of which the most recent period must have been spent with leave as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant, in any combination of the following categories:
(i) as a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant,
(ii) as a Qualifying Work Permit Holder, or
(iii) as a representative of an overseas Business.

(d) The continuous period of 5 years referred to in paragraph (c) must include a period of leave as:
(i) a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) Migrant granted under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010, or
(ii) a Qualifying Work Permit Holder, provided that the work permit was granted because the applicant was the subject of an Intra-Company Transfer.

So, people who applied for the Tier2 ICT visa between 6th April 2010 and 6th April 2011 can, in theory, keep on extending their Tier 2 ICT ad infinitum, but are not eligible for ILR under that stream.

As CR001 has mentioned, and you undoubtably know, years can't be aggregated across the UK Immigration Rules and the EEA Regulations, except on the 10 year Long Residence route. You will acquire PR under the EEA Regulations automatically in January 2019, assuming that your EEA citizen sponsor does not acquire British citizenship.

[ambak]

245GD - Requirements for leave to remain
245GF - Requirements for indefinite leave to remain

I see..
Thanks for pointing that out..