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You can apply for ILR as a Skilled Worker 28 days before you complete 5 years qualifying period for ILR.

The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK, consisting of time with permission in any of, or any combination of, the following routes:

• Skilled Worker
• Tier 2 (General)
• Global Talent
• Innovator
• T2 Minister of Religion / Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
• T2 Sportsperson / Tier 2 (Sportsperson)
• Representative of an Overseas Business
• Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
• Tier 1 (Investor)
• Tier 1 (General)

The most recent permission must have been in either the Skilled Worker or Tier 2 (General) route.  An applicant does not need to have switched from Tier 2 (General) to Skilled Worker before applying for settlement as a Skilled Worker, as the definition of Skilled Worker in the Immigration Rules includes those with permission in the Tier 2 (General) route.

If you are on spouse visa, your qualifying time for ILR would start from the date of your first entry in the UK and not from the date you were granted entry clearance (UK visa).  If you are on a work visa, your time for qualifying for ILR can start from the date the entry clearance was granted and not necessarily from the date of first entry in the UK.  You will be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) 28 days before completion of 5 years and you do not necessarily have to wait for 28 days before the expiry of your current visa.

The Home Office UKVI will take into account the following factors when considering whether the applicant can be treated as a sole representative under the representative of an overseas business category.

The sole representative must have:

• been employed by the parent company in a senior job role within the company
• a track record of setting up branches for other companies, if they have been employed specifically to undertake this role
• authority to take operational decisions once in the UK, as indicated by the role in the company hierarchy

Majority shareholders in the parent company are not eligible for entry as sole representatives.  The Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) will refuse an application when an applicant’s shareholding is over 50 per cent.

You cannot switch into representative of an overseas business visa from inside the UK and the initial application can only be made through an entry clearance from outside the UK.

You can apply for immigration bail if you are detained in an immigration removal centre, a detention centre or a prison.  You must be held on immigration matters.

Unless you are a national of Republic of Ireland, your husband cannot apply for EEA Family permit under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) because your marriage took place after 31 December 2020.  Your husband can apply for spouse visa entry clearance under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

An applicant will normally be refused if they have received:

• a custodial sentence of at least 4 years
• a custodial sentence of at least 12 months but less than 4 years unless a period of 15 years has passed since the end of the sentence
• a custodial sentence of less than 12 months unless a period of 10 years has passed since the end of the sentence
• a non-custodial sentence or other out-of-court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record which occurred in the 3 years prior to the date of application

It is pertinent to note that the whole sentence imposed by the court that counts, not the time served by the applicant.  The Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 still applies to applicants who reside in Northern Ireland.  This means that the fact a conviction is spent will be relevant to these applications.

An applicant will normally be refused if they:

• have a criminal conviction which falls within the sentence-based thresholds
• are a persistent offender
• have committed an offence which has caused serious harm
• have committed a sexual offence or their details are recorded by the police on a register

The documentary evidence to be submitted in support of the spouse visa entry clearance for UK varies from case to case depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant and the sponsor.  Our immigration solicitors can provide you a comprehensive list of supporting documents after fully assessing the personal circumstances of the applicant and the UK sponsor.

Your sponsor must be earning not less than £18,600 gross per year if you are applying for spouse visa with no dependent children.

You must apply for asylum if you want to stay in the UK as a refugee.  To be eligible you must have left your country and be unable to go back because you fear persecution.

You can continue to work in the UK while waiting for a visa application, so long as you submitted your extension application before your existing visa expires.

You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if the Home Office has decided to:

• refuse your protection claim (also known as ‘asylum claim’ or ‘humanitarian protection’)
• revoke your protection status
• refuse your human rights claim
• refuse you a residence document or deport you under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016
• revoke your British citizenship
• refuse or revoke your status, vary the length or condition of your stay, or deport you under the EU Settlement Scheme
• refuse or revoke your travel permit or family permit under the EU Settlement Scheme or restrict your rights to enter or leave the UK under those permits
• refuse or revoke your permit, or deport you if you’re a frontier worker
• refuse or revoke your leave, or deport you if you’re an S2 healthcare visitor

The tribunal is independent of government.  A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.