ILR query

[abbas18]

My query is regarding obtaining ILR. I am married, and have a daughter who was born in the UK. We are all Pakistani nationals. My UK immigration history as is follows:

Sep 1998 - Aug 2001 - 3 years Student visa
Sep 2001 - Aug 2004 - 3 years TWES permit
Sep 2004 - Sep 2006 - 2 years work permit
Sep 2006 - present - HSMP

My wife's immigration history is as follows:

Aug 2003 - Aug 2004 - TWES permit dependant - 1 year
Sep 2004 - Sep 2006 - work permit dependant - 2 years
Sep 2006 - present - HSMP dependant

I will have 10 years lawful resident in Sep 2008, therefore I understand I can apply for ILR under the 10 year rule, however I cannot apply under the 5 year work permit/HSMP rule as TWES does not count towards this 5 year limit? Is this right?

Can I apply for ILR for myself, my wife and daughter if I apply in Sep 2008 under the 10 year rule? If not how long will I have to wait before my wife and daughter can get ILR? Is there any other way of getting ILR for all of us quicker?

A reply from any having knowledge of this will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[abbas18]

Can somebody please advise me on this? Thanks.

[chetan]

Hi Abbas,

The 10 yrs rules only applies to yourself, your dependants can not be included in your application.

Chetan

[Smit]

The 10 year rules have been changed recently and you can only qualify if all the visa extensions were done from within the UK.

Have a good read of this document:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary

[jazbaati99]

Hi Abbas

As pointed out earlier you cannot include your wife and children in your ILR application based on 10 year residency. As soon as you get ILR is Sep 08, you have to apply for a 2 year spouse visa for your wife and register you child as a british citizen since she is born in UK. You wife can then apply for ILR 28 days before the expiry of her spouse visa in Aug 10. Assuming if you are a british citizen by then, your wife can immediately apply for naturalization.

The second route can be that you apply ILR based on 5 year residency (HSMP and workpermit) in 2009. You can include your wife and child as a dependent in that application. Assuming you all get ILR, then you can proceed to register your child as british. You and your wife can then apply for naturalization in 2010 having ILR for a year.

All the best
Rgds

[John]

The 10 year rules have been changed recently and you can only qualify if all the visa extensions were done from within the UK.

I have had a good read of the document you provide a link to and have to say that I cannot reach the conclusion reached by you. Now it is totally possible I am overlooking something, so please could you quote the words that lead you to your conclusion.

The only difference I can spot is that the applicant :-

.... after 2 April 2007 will have to show that he has sufficient knowledge of the English language, and of life in the UK before qualifying for ILR.

-: which is to be expected.

[Smit]

John,

Look at paragraph 2.1.3 and especially the part that provides, "A person who leaves the UK when one period of leave expires, and comes back with a fresh grant of leave, will not be resuming his continous residence, but will instead be starting a new period of residence in the UK."

This effectively means that any fresh applications made from outside the UK reset the clock for purposes of the 10 years rule.

Smit

[jes2jes]

John,

Look at paragraph 2.1.3 and especially the part that provides, "A person who leaves the UK when one period of leave expires, and comes back with a fresh grant of leave, will not be resuming his continous residence, but will instead be starting a new period of residence in the UK."

This effectively means that any fresh applications made from outside the UK reset the clock for purposes of the 10 years rule.

Smit

That is so Smit. But previously I remember there was a thread concerning ties to the UK whilst abroad and the OP (A university postgrad student) was trying to use this rule although he had a short break in France. I don't think he will now succeed due to the release of this IDI unless ofcourse he made the application earlier before its publication.

Funny enough, it looks as if this has been set in stone and there is no descretion on the part of the case workers concerning absences abroad whilst LTR expires and an applicant enters with a new EC.

Here is a scenerio that comes to mind: An applicant with 2 months LTR in the UK travels out to his/her home country and makes an application for another category of visa (EC) whilst the leave had not expired and in turn flies back to the UK before the expiration of the LTR to activate the current issued EC. Would this person's leave be seen or deemed as broken under the 10 - year rule?

Well, I will wait for John, JAJ, Jeff and Co to respond.

[Smit]

Jes,

The scenario that you mention is precisely what the new IDI's are trying to catch out.

From a reading of the IDI's, a person coming back to the UK having made a new EC application abroad will have his clock reset, irrespective of the fact that his previous leave has not expired whereas a person who goes abroad and comes back (provided that he doesn't remain outside the UK for longer than the permitted period) using his previous leave will be treated as being continously resident in the UK for ILR purposes under the 10 years rule.

Any other opinions welcome.

[jes2jes]

Jes,

The scenario that you mention is precisely what the new IDI's are trying to catch out.

From a reading of the IDI's, a person coming back to the UK having made a new EC application abroad will have his clock reset, irrespective of the fact that his previous leave has not expired whereas a person who goes abroad and comes back (provided that he doesn't remain outside the UK for longer than the permitted period) using his previous leave will be treated as being continously resident in the UK for ILR purposes under the 10 years rule.

Any other opinions welcome.

According to the IDI, the clock would only be reset if the LTR has expired and there is no mention of coming into the UK with a new EC whilst the Old LTR has not expired. I guess this question needs to be put to the BIA.

I don't know if they thought of this scenerio first. Remember that, the LR Rule is for continuous residency in any category so coming in with a different type of visa should not break the rule.

I await what the experts would say.

[abbas18]

Hi Abbas

As pointed out earlier you cannot include your wife and children in your ILR application based on 10 year residency. As soon as you get ILR is Sep 08, you have to apply for a 2 year spouse visa for your wife and register you child as a british citizen since she is born in UK. You wife can then apply for ILR 28 days before the expiry of her spouse visa in Aug 10. Assuming if you are a british citizen by then, your wife can immediately apply for naturalization.

Thanks for your reply. You have said that once my wife has ILR in Aug 2010 and I am a British citizen by then, then she can immediately apply for naturalization. Does that mean that she will not have to wait another year, after she has got ILR, to apply for naturalization? Therefore theoretically will she be able to apply for naturalization the next day after getting her ILR?

Thanks again

[jazbaati99]

Hello Abbas

If you are married to a British citizen you do not need to have ILR for one year, you only need to have ILR at the time of application AND three year residence in UK altogether. Now senior members may correct me but theoretically you can apply for naturalization on the same day your receive your ILR.

Best of luck

[abbas18]

What if I am not a British citizen when my wife gets ILR? Can we then both apply for naturalisation together once she gets her ILR?

[jazbaati99]

She need to complete one year on ILR before she can apply for naturalization. Moreover she also has to satisfy a residency period of five years (as opposed to three) if you are not British.

Hope it helps

[JAJ]

What if I am not a British citizen when my wife gets ILR? Can we then both apply for naturalisation together once she gets her ILR?

No. There are two options:

1. You both apply for naturalisation at the same time, as soon as you are both (independently) eligible under the 5 year rule. A longer wait, but you save a certain amount on the fees.

2. You naturalise first. As soon as you are naturalised, wife is eligible to apply as a spouse (3 yr rule).