I am an American citizen employed on a Tier 2 (general) visa, and this November I will be approaching my 5 years in the UK. In the last 5 years, I have been employed by the same employer doing the same role with the required income needed for ILR. What's unclear to me now is what happens come November.
The HR person in our office is absolutely inept and when I brought this up to give them some advance notice of my visa status (because they themselves don't track it), the HR person said they had no idea and I'd have to call the Home Office to figure out what to do. The HR person said that the company wouldn't pay for ILR, because this HR person in particular, who is a European citizen, recently got their British passport which the company did not pay for. In my head I was thinking - "yes, because for YOU, the British passport was optional and not required for you working here, versus my visa is required for me to work here" But nevermind - I'm trying to stay on HR's good side while I figure out what to do next.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Looking on the gov's website, it says applying online for ILR can take up to 6 months. What's unclear is:
1) If I only have 3 months between now and November, what happens to me in those 3 months that they are still processing my application?
2) How early before my visa expires can I apply? If I apply now, technically I haven't completed the 5 years. If I wait till I complete the 5 years in November then I won't have had enough time to apply and I'd be here without a valid visa
3) If the application does take 6 months and they require my US passport, does that mean I cannot travel outside of the UK for that time?
If the company does not want to pay for my ILR, could they at least pay for 1 more year of the Tier 2 general visa and I would apply on my own time and money for the ILR? Or do you have to go for ILR once you've done 5 years?
My company still needs my role and I plan to continue working for them. So would they be expected to pay for the visa? Also, the Gov website says the company will need to provide a letter that I'm needed to work. Is that necessarily the case - come November I'd have been living here for 5 years anyway, so do I really need the company's letter?
Thanks for all your help!
M