employment gap on Tier 2,currently Tier 1, eligible for ILR?

[namkongpapa]

hi all,

been through the forum and couldn't quite find the similar case to mine.
I am going to sheffiled PEO in less than 3 weeks time to apply for ILR as I have been here in uk since June 2005. however my case bit complex.

- on work permit while working company A : June 2005 to May 2009
- on Tier 2 working for the same company A : May 2009 to July 2009
- here actual employment gap or break had occured due to being made redundant before I managed to change to Tier 1 in December 2009 even though I made my first attempt to applying for Tier 1 on 1 Oct 2009.
to be accurate, it is 4 month unemployment on Tier 2 and 2 month on Tier 1
- and job offered and started working for the company B i am working for at the moment in Jan 2010 and working for them up until now.

wonder if anyone has got similar experience and was able to get ILR.
or do you think clock has been reset since i had lost my job while being on Tier 2 and then,gained Tier 1?

thanks in advance

[manoj123]

What is your visa status from June 2009 (point made redundant) to Dec 2009 (when you got Tier 1)?

I don't know exactly but if you are made redundant in June 2009 and only applied tier 1 in Oct 2009, Tier 2 visa being a sponsored visa (like work permit), is that stay legal?

[namkongpapa]

yes i had tier 2 by the time my position ceased at the preivous office and had stayed on tier 2 ( early Aug 2009 to early Dec 2009) before gained tier 1. in other words, i had stayed here on tier 2 for approx. 4 months while being out of work. of course tried to make a new application which was tier 1 that i have at the moment. based on the article,
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/worki ... s/#header6

i sent out my tier 1 application within 60 days after left work and first and second attept were not successful for various reason and finally got tier 1 in early Dec 2009. do you think my stay was illegal? do you think i should have left uk as immediately as possible?

as i have been on tier 1, of course i can prove that i am economically active and i've got my 5 p60's even though the last one is significantly different from the others in terms of amount of money earned and tax paid due to being out of work. do you think i would have to show them my p45 as well?

thanks,

[manoj123]

yes i had tier 2 by the time my position ceased at the preivous office and had stayed on tier 2 ( early Aug 2009 to early Dec 2009) before gained tier 1. in other words, i had stayed here on tier 2 for approx. 4 months while being out of work. of course tried to make a new application which was tier 1 that i have at the moment. based on the article,
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/worki ... s/#header6

i sent out my tier 1 application within 60 days after left work and first and second attept were not successful for various reason and finally got tier 1 in early Dec 2009. do you think my stay was illegal? do you think i should have left uk as immediately as possible?

as i have been on tier 1, of course i can prove that i am economically active and i've got my 5 p60's even though the last one is significantly different from the others in terms of amount of money earned and tax paid due to being out of work. do you think i would have to show them my p45 as well?

thanks,

i am not an expert. might be worth waiting to see replies from expert members regarding above questions.

regarding your original question of resetting the period, I don't think 5years period is calculated on the employment basis but on the immigration status.

[renzokuken]

In theory your Tier-2 is invalid once you are made redundant, If I remember correctly there is 90 days grace period for you to get new visa, but in your case it is more than that, therefore it is considered as break of residence.

[namkongpapa]

thanks manoj for your comments.
would like to get a second opinion on this matter as well as you said.
not problem with my visa continuity but inevitable break in my employment has been concerning me quite a lot.
still not decided whether i should approach a solicitor. it's not definately a straightforward case is it?

experts! need your opinions plz.

kind regards,

[namkongpapa]

In theory your Tier-2 is invalid once you are made redundant, If I remember correctly there is 90 days grace period for you to get new visa, but in your case it is more than that, therefore it is considered as break of residence.

It might be arguable as well. First of all, I have never come across ‘ 90 days’ other than ’60 days’ linked above,
Can you plz let me know where I can see the rule?
Having said that, I made a new application for Tier 1 within 60 days after I left work and was not successful and had to apply for it 2 more times to be finally able to receive tier 1, which took me 2 and half months.
Are you sure that it is actually ‘break in my residence’ here?

[tier1extension]

may i know what happened in the end? did you still get your ILR? my case is very similar so I am wondering whether the home office allowed you to get ILR even with the gap when you were waiting for Tier 1

[namkongpapa]

yes. i applied for it back in Feb this year and have had it since then. went smoother than i thought to be honest with you. well hope it helps. what i did was to have all documents sorted as described all over the places in this forum and the form filled out.
if you have more things to know, please specify them. i will be trying to answer as many as possible.