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 convi