Hi,
My friend is a Canadian and looking to settle in the UK. She has been here since 2006, initially on a UK work visa; she then met and married a UK national and changed her visa (as required) to a spousal visa. Her marriage unfortunately broke down but she was able to find a UK company to sponsor another work visa and has stayed in the country on that basis. She is a high-end IT professional and has been in full-time employment throughout her stay.

According to the rules she is entitled to apply for ILR after being a legitimate UK resident for five years, but since her current visa (1 year) is a work visa, and before that a spousal visa her attorney has advised she will need to wait a further four years to apply. According to his interpretation, the accumulated six years spanning the original work permit, the spousal visa and the new work permit cannot be used together to qualify in demostrating that she has been in the UK as a legitimate self-funded citizen for the prescribed five years.

Does anyone have any experience of any similar circumstances?

Please note it is not that there is a risk of her not being allowed to stay, she just wants to have permanent residency rights as soon as possible so she is free to pursue her career in the direction of her choosing without requiring a future employer to assist with work permits.

Thanks,

Tony