Tier1 ext and ILR 5 year route

[dcsean2001]

Hello Everyone, I hope someone can advise me on my problem which i think a lot of migrants must be facing.

I am about to apply for my tier 1 general extension, my visa will be expiring on 10th of May 2013, now because of the Visa fees increasing massively from 6th of April i want to apply before this date as i will be applying for 2 dependents as well.

I have been keeping an eye on "Tier 1 (General) extension application processing timelines" and it seems like people applying these days are getting there visa within a month and i have noticed some of them wont be able to complete full 5 Year route when they apply for ILR because they will be short of few days. I am making this assumption as some of the post on this forum suggest there new Visa starts from before there existing visa expire and assuming there new visa will expire extely after 2 or 3 years from there "Date (new) leave to remain valid from"

my questions is about if this true to apply for ILR you need to have full 5 years in the same category or there is some relaxation if someone is shy of few days?

Regards
Faisal

[nafe12]

I was in a similar position, and after some research, I found out that

a) The date the leave is from is the date of the decision of your application
b) You can only apply for ILR 28 days before 5 years. They are strict on this.

So basically, if you submit your Tier 1 extn early, you have to hope they process it late enough so that you get the the full 5 years while covered by Tier 1.

As I type this - I remember reading that they do not start processing a (postal) application until after they take your biometrics. I don't know if this is true. But if it is, you could always just stall before giving your biometrics, to delay your app.

That said, it's only a vague recollection. And it sounds risky.

Personally, I'm just paying more - better to be safe, I think.
And given the already huge fees, it's not THAT much more.

[Bijuk]

Do you really need full 5 years on tier 1 or if you are within 28 days short of days then possible for ILR ?

[dcsean2001]

This is what my confusion is, for example my visa starts from 11 May 2010 therefore

11 May 2010 to 10 May 2013 => 3 year

if my second extension starts from before 10 May 2013 lets say 5 May 2013 then it will be like this

11 May 2010 till 10 May 2013 => 3 year
5 May 2013 till 4 May 2013 => 2 years

but combine it will be 4 years and 359 days therefore even if i apply within 28 days of my Visa getting expired I havent got complete 5 year visa and i am confused if i will then need to apply for another extension to cover the 5 days.

PLease help so that i can apply for my extension but i am thinking of going with NAFE12 and pay a bit more now rather then paying the full extension fee again..

[bubin123]

You can apply for ILR 28 days before you complete 5 years of stay in applicable categories.
In your case, you can apply for ILR as early as 14th April 2015 considering the fact that you started your UK stay on 11th May.