Work Permit - anyone know how to calculate 4 year period?

Hi, everyone!

I am very pleased to find this forum. My case is as below:

I started to work in Feburary 2002 as a work permit holder. I am now approaching the end of my 4 year period to ILR application next month.
But, today when I opened my passport I happened to find that my FLR visa was stamped in May 2002 which is 3 months after I started woking, as I just remember, that when I applied for work permit back in 2002, my employer did not ask me to give him my passport. Then when my work permit was approved, work permit(UK) sent me a letter stating that I can start to work straight away and ask me to send my passport for endorsement to change my immigration status. And it takes nearly 3 months for them to put a new stamp on my passport and send it back to me.

My question is: when I can start to apply for ILR? January or April? Does immigration rule tell you how to calculate the 4 year period ? Does the qualify period start from the day you started working when your work permit allow you to work or from the day your visa was stamped?

Your answer on this question is greatly appreciated! And wish you all have a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year![size=18][/size]

The 4-year calculation methodology is one of the few bits of the immigration rules that is secret, unfortunately.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that they apply it strictly, but give allowance for special circumstances e.g. if you were being made redundant near the end of the 4-year period they'd probably give you the benefit of the doubt.

My guess is that you would be free to apply in January as that is the date upon which you began legal work permit employment here. But why not just wait until April anyway? (If you're looking to move jobs the market is better in the spring).

John2006 wrote:Hi, everyone!

I am very pleased to find this forum. My case is as below:

I started to work in Feburary 2002 as a work permit holder. I am now approaching the end of my 4 year period to ILR application next month.
But, today when I opened my passport I happened to find that my FLR visa was stamped in May 2002 which is 3 months after I started woking, as I just remember, that when I applied for work permit back in 2002, my employer did not ask me to give him my passport. Then when my work permit was approved, work permit(UK) sent me a letter stating that I can start to work straight away and ask me to send my passport for endorsement to change my immigration status. And it takes nearly 3 months for them to put a new stamp on my passport and send it back to me.

My question is: when I can start to apply for ILR? January or April? Does immigration rule tell you how to calculate the 4 year period ? Does the qualify period start from the day you started working when your work permit allow you to work or from the day your visa was stamped?

Your answer on this question is greatly appreciated! And wish you all have a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

philgeorge999 wrote:The 4-year calculation methodology is one of the few bits of the immigration rules that is secret, unfortunately.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that they apply it strictly, but give allowance for special circumstances e.g. if you were being made redundant near the end of the 4-year period they'd probably give you the benefit of the doubt.

My guess is that you would be free to apply in January as that is the date upon which you began legal work permit employment here. But why not just wait until April anyway? (If you're looking to move jobs the market is better in the spring).

Not sure that "secret" is quite the word - penganglad made an FOI request for the "not disclosed" IDI Chapter 5 Annex F, which has been posted as a sticky here

The start date question may be covered in detail elsewhere on the IND website; if it is I cannot find it! But Annex F includes such phrases as "the requirement to have spent 4 years in continuous residence in the same capacity" and "time spent here in this capacity" which, to me, imply that they are talking about the duration of the applicant's stay in employment, not the length of time that the endorsement has been in the passport.

It seems to me that if the date of the endorsement were crucial, this would be mentioned - because it would be necessary to give instructions for refusal of applications based on the arrival date...

But others may have different views - and frequently do.....

John2006,

Please clarify what your immigration status was in Feb 2002 or when you first entered the UK.

Smit

Your time for ILR started to run when your passport was stamped with the new WP FLR stamp. Until then your immigration status remains the same as it was before (assuming it was not a WP LTR / LTE).

tvt wrote:Your time for ILR started to run when your passport was stamped with the new WP FLR stamp. Until then your immigration status remains the same as it was before (assuming it was not a WP LTR / LTE).

Can you point to the appropriate para in IDI?

cheers

Smit wrote:John2006,

Please clarify what your immigration status was in Feb 2002 or when you first entered the UK.

Smit

I have been staying in UK on a student visa for 2 years before my work permit was granted.

Many thanks for your help.

My 0.02c,

I have reviewed the OP's details in the totality. IIRC prior to the 2 tier IED approval then FLR(IED) aplication system the WP application was a single/combi WP and WP FLR. The WP application forms asked for a passport to be submitted for the appropriate endorsment. Often employers never submitted passports (it could prove difficult to get it back through loss/misplacement) and the FLR component would be granted by virtue of an electronic/ paper visa. The applicant would then be told to send in their passport for an endorsment or obtain such at re-entry in to the UK (non visa nationals) or EC (visa nationals).

I believe that if the OP's original letter is indeed an electronic WP FLR then timeline to 4 years is from Feb 2002. Can the OP provide the annotation of the WP letter - this likely to be on the LHS of the footer section. By virtue of said letter authorising employment I believe this is the case. Were the said letter not a WP approval then ILR timeline would be from May 2002.

ppron47 - In respect of 'capacity' this refers to meeting the requirements of the IR's in their totality throughout the qualifying residence period to include having the correct endorsment as appropriate unless operation policy, the rules or applicable concession states that leave may be granted by other means other than endorsment. Para 134 deals with ILR from WP FLR reading from para 128 - IMHO the contents follow my comments but feel free to point out if otherwise.