Need Help on ILR eligibilty

[sreepujari]

Hello,


1. Got the UK Entry Clearance stampped from 19/Dec/2007 till Oct 2008
2. Came to UK on 10/Jan/2008
3. Work permit extended from Oct-2008 till Oct-2009
4. switched to ICT from Oct-2009 till Nov-2010
5. Again visa extended from Oct-2010 till Sep-2012 under Est staff catagory
6. My company is going to extend my Visa in July 2012.

Can someone tell me when I will be eligible for ILR(Nov 2012 or Dec 2012) ?
Can I switch to tier 2 general catagory ?

Regards,
Sree

[Lucapooka]

Hello,
2. Came to UK on 10/Jan/2008

And thus began your five year residence period. You will be eligible for ILR 28 days before 10 Jan 2013

[manci]

Actually you may be eligible for ILR from 19 Dec 2012.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Applications that fall short of the five year continuous period
In some cases, applicants may have been granted five years continuous leave, but due to delayed travel will not have spent five years continuously in the UK before their current leave expires. Caseworkers may count the period between entry clearance being granted and the date the applicant entered the UK towards the five years, provided this period was not longer than three months.

In your case the delay was just about 3 weeks.

[manci]

on your 2nd question - yes you can switch from T2 ICT Established Staff to T2 General but only if you change sponsor

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... idance.pdf

see p. 4

[Lucapooka]

Manci, that late entry concession you have cited is limited to five years of continuous leave in the same category. It can't be used where there has been a switch into another type of leave (but one that can be aggregated with a previous relevant category to that leads to settlement).

Nor can it be used in situations where the applicant has sufficient leave to complete the residence period without the need for including the time before the delayed entry; there has to be a shortfall caused by the delay. The OP suggests that by the time he is eligible for ILR he will have further extended his leave and presumably this will take his extant leave well beyond five years and therefore he would not have shortfall that required a remedy.

[manci]

Lucapooka, thanks for the clarification/correction but what is the reference for the concession only applying if the 5 years have been spent in the same category?

In this case leave in the WP and T2 ICT categories can be aggregated i.e. it will be a continuous 5 years by the time it comes to applying for ILR.

[Lucapooka]

Yes, but T1 and T2 can be aggregated also. That is not relevant. It has be leave in the same category with a shortfall due to delayed entry.

been granted five years continuous leave

Additionally, there have been many situations cited on this forum (and others) where the caseworker refusal statement indicates this reason.

[manci]

Lucapooka, one more thought:
It seems that the OP wants to apply at the earliest possible time, so the issue is whether he can submit his application on 19/12/2102 -28 days or 10/01/2013 - 28 days. Using the former date there would in fact be a shortfall of 3 weeks.

[Lucapooka]

In situations where someone is eligible to include up to 3 months of delayed entry, that time will be incorporated into the five years qualifying period. So, in such cases, it's perfectly possible for a person who delayed their entry by 3 months (and has a shortfall due to this delay) to apply for ILR 3 months and 28 days (so, almost 4 months) before the end of their five years.

The OP, however, can only apply 28 days before his residence period began on 10 Jan (I'm not going to calculate that but it will be sometime in mid Dec).

[sreepujari]

Thanks Lucapooka & manci for help and clarification..

Can you please tell me whether I can switch to tier 2 general if my employer decided to not to extend my visa ?

[manci]

yes, since you are T2 ICT Established Staff you can switch into T2 General provided you change sponsors but allow plenty of time for it, the process is longwinded.

[geriatrix]

sreepujari, your post regarding ILR query has been moved to the relevant forum.