Tier 1 (no employment for 5 months) + Tier 2 to ILR QUERY

[nim380]

Hello Gurus,

I would like to thank all moderators and members of this forum which is helping many people.

Let me tell my background.

Entered in UK as student: september 2008
PSW: Oct 2009
Tier 1 (g) applied: April 2011
Tier 1 (g) granted: June 2011
Tier 1 (g) ext granted: June 2013 valid till June 2016

In Tier 1 (g), I was out of UK from June 2012 to Oct 2012 ( 116 days). During this period I was unemployed with no income in UK.

I left the job in mid june 2012, I went to Banglore for 3 months to take coaching for certification exam i wanted to give and than went to Tokyo to appear for an exam in sept 2012 as there was no exam centre in UK. I have all traveling tickets, hotel booking, visa letter and exam certificate to prove that i have passed the exam and it was genuine trip to improve my career opportunities in UK.

After coming back to UK in Oct 2012 I started working for new employer from November 2012. I am working for same employer currently.

Questions:

1) As I was un-employed during above period, Am I still eligible for ILR under Tier 1 5 years category?


2) Assuming the answer is ‘No’ to above question, I have already asked my current employer who is ready to sponsor me Tier 2 visa. Can I switch from Tier 1 (g) to Tier 2?


3) Once I get tier 2 visa approval (assuming this will be for another 3 years), Can I count last 3.5 years (of Tier 1 (g)) towards ILR even if I’m on Tier 2?
i.e. Tier 1 from Nov 2012 to June 2016, and Tier 2 from June 2016 to 3 more years?
Will I be eligible to apply for ILR (5 years) in Nov 2017? Or will I need to choose 10 years route for ILR?
FYI, I am already meeting Tier 2 threshold of 35K since Nov 2012.

Please answer all questions if possible.

Thanks for your time.

[O_Relly]

The gap of unemployed 5 months spent outside the country is not an issue for your ILR. As long as the absence is less than 180 days in any given 12 month period.

You need not have been in continuous employment in a Tier 1 General Visa. Also given that you were spending that time taking a course to better your career prospects is a perfectly acceptable reason to have spent outside the country.