"You must also: ... still be doing paid work in the field you came to the UK to work in"

[drgold]

My partner and I have lived in the UK nearly 5 years and are planning to apply for ILR before the end of the year. We have now saved enough money that it makes sense for us to invest a big chunk of it somewhere other than checking/savings. Ideally, we would like to invest in a US index fund, relatively soon (before Brexit).

However, we are hesitant about whether there is any downside to doing this, from the perspective of our ILR application. We have read that the Home Office likes to see stable bank statements (at least according to the most popular answer at https://travel.stackexchange.com/questi ... hey-say-ab ), so we are concerned about whether a large amount of money suddenly disappearing from our savings account might raise questions in the mind of our caseworker. We also aren't sure about whether it would hurt our application to be investing a significant amount of money outside of the UK - would that hurt us in the "strength of ties to the UK" department?

Any advice or pointers to relevant guidance appreciated.

[zimba]

What category are you applying under ?

[drgold]

Tier 1 exceptional talent (under exceptional promise criteria.)

[zimba]

Tier 1 ET route requires you to show (using payslips and contracts) that simply you have earned money in your field however there is no requirement that you need to show maintenance of funds. UKVI doesn't care how much money you spend or move around

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 3_2019.pdf

[drgold]

Thank you very much, that's very clear. Much appreciated.

[drgold]

My wife and I are non-EEA nationals and have lived in the UK for over 5 years. The whole time we have been here I have been on Tier 2 visas or Tier 1 ET, and my wife has been on a dependent visa. We've completed the Life in the UK test as well.

We are in no great hurry to apply - our current visas last about another 3 years - but having heard about the big shake-up in the immigration system coming on 1 Jan 2021, we are wondering if we are better off applying now since we know we should be eligible as the rules currently stand. Is it known whether any changes are coming in 2021 that could affect ILR requirements for non-EEA nationals like ourselves? And have all the changes coming on 1 Jan all already been announced, or are people expecting surprises?

[CR001]

No changes have been announced to the ILR route.

The changes are relevant to the time limited PBS route visas.

[drgold]

Excellent, thank you.

[drgold]

I see from one of the pinned posts that "it is NO LONGER required to send any of your documents to UKVI for processing as only digital scans are submitted for settlement applications" -- I assume this includes passports and BRPs (please correct me if I am wrong) -- and that travelling outside the UK whilst the settlement application is being processed will cause the application to be considered automatically withdrawn.

I am considering what happens if an urgent need arose to travel before the application were decided (i.e. a family emergency in home country). Given that my current leave to remain does not expire until 2023, would there be any consequences to withdrawing the ILR application and travelling out of the UK, aside from losing the application fee and having to submit a new application later on? For example, would it become more difficult to get a subsequent application approved? Or is there any reason that it would become more difficult to re-enter the country after having withdrawn an ILR application?

[AmazonianX]

I see from one of the pinned posts that "it is NO LONGER required to send any of your documents to UKVI for processing as only digital scans are submitted for settlement applications" -- I assume this includes passports and BRPs (please correct me if I am wrong) -- and that travelling outside the UK whilst the settlement application is being processed will cause the application to be considered automatically withdrawn.

I am considering what happens if an urgent need arose to travel before the application were decided (i.e. a family emergency in home country). Given that my current leave to remain does not expire until 2023, would there be any consequences to withdrawing the ILR application and travelling out of the UK, aside from losing the application fee and having to submit a new application later on? For example, would it become more difficult to get a subsequent application approved? Or is there any reason that it would become more difficult to re-enter the country after having withdrawn an ILR application?

Only the loss of application fees is the known consequence.
Subsequent application getting approved will not be a difficulty as it is supposedly treated on its own merit subject to your meeting all requisite requirements backed up with needed evidence.
Neither any difficulty for reentry as you stated you still have valid leave.

[drgold]

Very helpful, thank you.

[drgold]

On https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/y ... alent-visa , where it states the requirements to apply for ILR on a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa, it states that "You must also: ... still be doing paid work in the field you came to the UK to work in".

However, the guidance at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf seems to state this requirement differently: "During your most recent period of leave as a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) migrant, you have earned money in the UK as a result of employment or self-employment in your field of expertise".

So it seems from the guidance that while you do have to have been employed in the expert field at some point during your most recent period of leave, it is actually NOT correct that you have to be employed in the expert field at the time of application. Am I right about this?

[CR001]

On https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/y ... alent-visa , where it states the requirements to apply for ILR on a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa, it states that "You must also: ... still be doing paid work in the field you came to the UK to work in".

However, the guidance at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... idance.pdf seems to state this requirement differently: "During your most recent period of leave as a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) migrant, you have earned money in the UK as a result of employment or self-employment in your field of expertise".

So it seems from the guidance that while you do have to have been employed in the expert field at some point during your most recent period of leave, it is actually NOT correct that you have to be employed in the expert field at the time of application. Am I right about this?

Immigration Rules Part 6a Appendix A, point 1 to 6a. The immigration rules trump any guidance notes.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... attributes

[drgold]

Thank you, that's extremely helpful. Hm - the rules read slightly ambiguously to me with respect to whether the applicant needs to be employed in the field at time of application.

Although the criterion is simply that "During their most recent period of leave as a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Migrant, the applicant has earned money in the UK as a result of employment or self-employment in their expert field", the word "is" in the next bit seems to presuppose that the applicant will currently be working in that field: "Points will only be awarded for money earned in the UK if the applicant provides the following specified documents: (a) If the applicant is a salaried employee, the specified documents are at least one of the following..." (emphasis mine)

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience as to how UKVI would/did rule on a case where the applicant did earn money in the UK as a result of employment in their expert field during their Tier 1 leave period, but was no longer provably employed in that area at the time of application?

[Emmy281]

I am really curious about having to work in your field in the immediate months leading up to the application. I will have worked for 2 years and 4 months in my field out of the 3 years but my post ends in April and I would be applying for ILR in November.