Tier 2 general switching to Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and ILR

[andyj1225]

Hello,

Thanks in advance for those who help advise.

I got my Tier 2 (General) visa in Nov 2013 (valid until Sep 2016). Now, I am thinking about to apply Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) before the Tier 2 expires. The ultimate objective is to get Indefinite Leave to Remain.

I found the statement under Length of Leave section in Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) of the Points Based System –Policy Guidance as follows:

"30.You are allowed to make an initial application in the UK for leave to remain as a Tier 1
(Entrepreneur) migrant if you are currently in the UK with permission to stay as:
▪ a Tier 2 migrant;

Length of leave
Entry clearance: Three years, plus four months
Extension where your previous leave to enter or remain was in a different category of stay and
this will be your first grant of leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) (see paragraph 23
below): Three years"

Question 1: So, in my case, it is the case of extension, and Tier 1 will allow me to stay 3 years maximum after the leave is granted, right?
Question 2: Can I apply for extension (of Tier 1) for the second time in 2018 when the granted Tier 1 visa expired?

With regard to Indefinite Leave to Remain, I found below under section Length of time in the United Kingdom needed to qualify – settlement:

"195. You can apply for settlement under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) once you have reached five
years continuous leave in the United Kingdom under the route.
197. You cannot combine Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) leave with leave in any other category to meet
the continuous leave requirement."

Question 3: The past 2 years of Tier 2 time won't count as far as ILR application is concerned, right?
Question 4: To meet the continuous 5 years requirement, I definitely need extension for another time under Tier 1 provided that is allowed. So, my earliest time for IRS application would be 2021, am I right? (I am aware of Accelerated settlement within 3 years, which is not in the equation).

Thanks again,
Andrew

[Cynthia2015]

Andrew

I am in the same predicament as I have already spent 2 years in UK as a Tier 2 sponsored visa holder. Now I am thinking I have 2 options.
option 1) Save up the 200k and apply for tier 1 ent in 5 months and contineu to be in UK under tier 1 ent

option 2) continue to be in tier 2 skilled and then apply for ILR after 3 more years and then do my entrepreneurial ventures

the reason for my predicament is although I got an answer here in the forum that the tier 2 skilled time WILL count towards the tier 1 ent, i found the following in the ukba website in the following document
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _0_EXT.pdf

"have spent a continuous period of 5 years lawfully in the UK, with absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 calendar months during that period, with leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
migrant"

which really is frustrating because it looks like i will lose my residency of 2 1/2 years in UK as a tier 2 if i switch. not sure why they are making it so difficult

if you hear contrary to the above please post here (if the tier 2 skilled residency WILL count towards the ILR if you switch to tier 2 entrepreneur) i am waiting for more people to chime in on this as i am getting conflicting messages. maybe time to consult an immigration lawyer? (too many immigration ADVISORS in uk who are not really fully qualifiied - so please watch out and only go to immigration LAWYERS instead of ADVISORS. i got toasted once before with a guy charging me £75 for 30 mins of advice when he simply read from the ukba website lol)

thank you and good luck

hope people will help us here first

Cynthia

[andyj1225]

Hi Cynthia, thanks for your reply and alert on "advisor". As you said, hope people will help us here first. I read through the PDFs in relation to Tier 2 ent again. Unfortunately, I didn't find any statement contradicted against "197. You cannot combine Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) leave with leave in any other category to meet the continuous leave requirement.". Let me know if you did. It seems very unlikely Tier 2 residency will count. I am thinking if you genuinely want to start a business in the UK, sooner is better than later unless your current job is preparing you for that goal either experience and finance wise. Opportunity cost must be taken into account. No matter which option you go with, good luck to you too!