4 years and 7 months with tier 2, now moving to a different job

Hi,

I was working with a Tier 2 visa for a period of 4 years and 7 months continuously until now. I have recently been offered a permanent position at a different company. My new COS has been issued for 5 years at the new company (Skilled Worker (Switching immigration category)).

As I would be completing 5 years of continuous stay soon and will be eligible to apply for ILR, I am not sure if it would be wise to ask for a shorter visa? Is there advice as to what would be an ideal way to approach this?

As an aside, as I had completed my PhD in a European university, I have applied currently for NARIC verification and approval - this unfortunately takes around 30 days as they rely on some external entity. While I have the NARIC reference number (which is what is required for the UK VISA application), whould I go ahead and apply for UK VISA?

Also, I have been with my partner who is from EU and has pre-settled status for over 3 years. We have co habitted together. We have bank statements (not joint, but separate statements - such as revolut ones for 3 continuous years). Only this year I have a tenancy agreement where my partner is also named. Would it be easier to apply for pre-settled status through this route?

Many thanks in advance