Switching to T2 from a T1 General - ILR?

[ps1234]

Hi all,

I was on a T1 general from 2009 but was posted to another country for 3.5 years and came back only in 2015 on my T1 General (which is valid till March 2018), so the clock on my continuous residence restarted from 2015. This means that I need to be in UK till 2020 to be able to apply for ILR.

I am switching from a T1 General visa to an employer sponsored T2 General visa. The switch is happening in-country - I am applying to switch from within the UK.

My question is: will the combination of T1 General from 2015-2017 and T2 General from 2017-2020 make me eligible for applying for an ILR in 2020? A consultant I spoke with on the phone said my clock would restart again from 2017?! I thought that because the switch was in-country, the whole stay since 2015 would/should count towards ILR?

Would love to hear your thoughts/advice.

[CR001]

Yes, you can combine Tier 1 G with Tier 2 G at this stage as far as I am aware to make up 5 years.