New Tier 1 General Rules from 6 April 2014 - no more endless extensions and ILR applications in April 2018.
New Rules come in force on 6 April 2014. There will be no more endless
extensions in Tier 1 General category. Last extension will be on 5 April 2015
and last ILR application (permanent residency) on 5 April 2018.
If you don’t qualify by 5 April 2018 you won’t be able to settle in the
UK!
The main problem tends to be absences from the UK, mainly because of
working abroad. At the point of qualifying for an ILR the main Tier 1 General
applicant must have maximum 180 days outside the UK in each of his/her 5 years
which led to an ILR.
If your visa expires in 2014 but you’d like to have extension for as
long as possible then it may be worth to extend again in April 2015. You may
lose some time on your current visa, and you’ll pay the money again for an
extension, but it will give you the maximum time allowed on Tier 1 General and
more flexibility to qualify for an ILR.
Other reasons preventing from applying for an ILR are not passing a Life
in the UK Test or having a criminal conviction, most commonly a driving offence.
Or a spouse not meeting the residential requirements, which should not stop the
main applicant because there are rules for dependants in such cases.
If you’d like to have an advice and plan your dates now - book our
advice session, over email or at our office, which is now in the City of
London, near Monument station. We charge £70 for an advice and count it towards
application in the future if you apply through us. In case of email advices we
respond by next working day.
We would advise to plan at least 3 months in advance if you’d like to
use same-day service. Like with any new rules, there will be a last-minute rush
for appointments.
For an individual advice or to make an application
please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com
If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor
please visit our immigration Training and CDP website: www.1st4immigration.com/training