Hope you are doing well. Thanking you in advance for having the patience to read the below post and helping out in anyway you can.
Let me give you a bit of background about myself before I ask any questions.
Nationality - Indian passport Holder
Marital Status - Married with a Kid (born here in the UK)
Educational Qualification - B.E. from Madras University and PDGM from one of the IIMs
Current Leave to remain - Tier 2 (general) expiring in Dec 2015.
Time line of my immigration related activities is given below.
Dec 2009 - Came to UK on Tier 2 (general) Visa to work at the client location. Initial VISA granted for 3 years
Jan 2011 - Got Married
Mar 2011 - Wife enters UK as a Tier 2 Dependant.
Dec 2012 - Tier 2 (general) extension for another 3 years till Dec 2015 for both me and my Wife
Oct 2013 - My son is born in the UK.
Jan 2014 - Got son's Indian passport. Registered my son as Tier 2 Dependant as there was a need to visit India.
Dec 2014 - I am eligible for ILR and I want to apply for it right away. Don’t want to wait for Dec 2015 which is when my current leave expires.
My Questions
1. I understand that my wife definitely (?) needs to get an ILR, but my son's case is not very clear. My Son is currently on Tier 2 Dependant which is valid till Dec 2015. I have heard from some of my friends that I can register him right away as a British Citizen after I get my ILR even if he is currently on Tier 2 Dependant VISA. Reading through FAQs about ILR in this very forum I got the same impression. But would like to confirm this.
- a. Does it make sense for me to include him on my ILR application and Stump up 1500 pounds(assuming I am going for premier service) ?
b. There is a distinct possibility that we would like to travel to India for a short trip early next year. So assuming I get my ILR first in Dec 2014, is it ok for me (on ILR) and for my family (on Tier 2 Dependant VISA) to travel to India say in Feb 2015? Would they be allowed to return to UK on dependant VISAs?
c. If possible I would like to delay my wife's application until after I get my ILR and our India Trip is done. I could then use the postal service application route as time wont be a constraint.
d. Since I save no money (?) by including the dependants on my application or doing it separately for them, I would like to space the applications in such a way that it wont be a huge financial burden on me. Are there any advantages of including all the dependants in a single form?
3. One of the requirements for ILR is to get a letter from the employer for explaining absences. Every year I have taken a short 3-4 week vacation to India not on Business. Do I need to get a letter from employer explaining this? If yes, what should the letter look like, is there a sample available?
4. Also would greatly appreciate if some one could provide me with a sample for a letter from employer stating they intent to keep me here in the future. The thread on this doesn’t display well for me only half the letter is displayed. Not sure why this is required. Once I get my ILR I should be free to change my employment if I so desire?
Apologies if any or all of the above questions are answered in some other threads. I will keep looking but any help or nudge in the right direction is greatly appreciated.
With Regards,
C-22.