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Tier 2 to ILR: Which date to subtract 28 days from?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 12:06 pm
by londoner2015
I know this topic has been discussed here a few times before, but I thought I'd still ask again for my own piece of mind / in case something changed recently.

Here is my timeline:
  • 2016-11-30: Received an email saying "A decision has been made on your UK Visa application"
  • 2016-12-12: This is the "Valid from" date on my UK Entry Clearance vignette
  • 2016-12-17: Arrived in the UK
  • 2016-12-19: Fisrt day at work
  • 2016-12-20: Received my first BRP that had "UK 29-11-2016" under "Place and date of issue" (that's the day before I received the "decision made" email).
I have three questions:
  1. What's the earliest date I can submit my online application for ILR?
  2. What's the earliest date I can have my biometrics appointment?
  3. If someone could guide me to the exact doc / place in that doc where all these rules are defined, I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you!

Re: Tier 2 to ILR: Which date to subtract 28 days from?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 12:19 pm
by CR001
1. No sooner than within 28 days before the 5th anniversary of your initial entry clearance visa start date.

2. Irrelevant. Date of application is the date you submit and pay online and not the biometric appointment date.

Re: Tier 2 to ILR: Which date to subtract 28 days from?

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 1:24 pm
by londoner2015
1. No sooner than within 28 days before the 5th anniversary of your initial entry clearance visa start date.
Thanks very much. So it is 2016-12-12 in my case, right?

Funnily enough, I was just reading this thread where the advice from CULLINAN (guru) / Zimba (mod) was to use the BRP date if it's earlier (that would be 2016-11-29 in my case...):
indefinite-leave-to-remain/which-date-t ... 11812.html
3. If someone could guide me to the exact doc / place in that doc where all these rules are defined, I'd really appreciate it.
... which again brings me to this point, I'd very much appreciate it if someone could point me to the exact place in some government doc saying that 28 days are being counted from the UK Entry Clearance issue date, not the BRP issue date.

(It is a bit confusing to see conflicting advice from two mods with no references to official docs...)

Tier 2 to ILR - Any need to declare the "absence" between vignette start date and first entry date?

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 8:08 am
by londoner2015
I've been in the UK on Tier 2 (General) for almost 5 years now. The vignette "valid from" date is 12 December 2016 and I first entered the UK on 17 December 2016.

As discussed many times on this forum, the first date I can apply is (12 December 2016 + 5 years - 28 days), as the period between 12 and 17 December just counts as an "absence".

However, I just realised that I don't have this "absence" declared anywhere. The only relevant question in SET(O) asks about the "first entry" date (which in my case is 17 December 2016), and then the "absences" section only asks for absences after I first entered the UK. My employer letter doesn't list the 12-17 December "absence" either because, well, it is well before my start date with them.

Can this be an issue by any chance? Or is the caseworker going to look at my vignette anyway to calculate this "12 December 2016 + 5 years - 28 days" date?

Sorry if I'm overthinking this.

Re: Tier 2 to ILR - Any need to declare the "absence" between vignette start date and first entry date?

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:01 am
by zimba
NO need to declare the first gap. It will count but no need to declare

Re: Tier 2 to ILR - Any need to declare the "absence" between vignette start date and first entry date?

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 12:23 pm
by londoner2015
Zimba wrote:
Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:01 am
NO need to declare the first gap. It will count but no need to declare
Thanks very much, really appreciated.

One more question if you don't mind: back in 2016, I passed IELTS for UKVI (IELTS Academic that has a UKVI reference number on it). I can see that:
1. "IELTS for UKVI" is still on the approved list of tests
2. The test centre where I took it is still on the approved list of test centres

Based on this I am right to assume that it is safe for me to reuse this IELTS certificate?

Re: Tier 2 to ILR - Any need to declare the "absence" between vignette start date and first entry date?

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 4:17 pm
by zimba
Yes

5 days to ILR application, can't get a bank statement because of a "technical issue"

Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 2:38 pm
by londoner2015
Okay so this is the most hilarious issue I never thought I would face while applying for ILR, but here we go.

I have been with Barclays for 6 years and they never missed a single monthly statement - it would have always been generated by the 5th of the next month.

This time, however, I have not received my statement for October 1-31, and when I tried reaching out to them, I got told that there is a "technical issue" that makes it impossible for them to generate an October statement right now.

I see two options:
1. I can always download a PDF with last 30 days of transactions from Online Banking. It has the Barclays logo in the header, lists my name and accounts details (but not the address), and also has Barclays' contact details at the bottom. However, technically it is not a statement is it?
2. I just visited two of their branches and both were only able to print the same "transaction history" for me & stamp it. Still not a proper statement though.

How screwed am I? Would the HO accept something like this?

I am applying through the T2G route, SET(O).

Re: 5 days to ILR application, can't get a bank statement because of a "technical issue"

Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 3:01 pm
by zimba
PLease do NOT start new posts and stick to this thread for your ILR :!:
All electronic evidence is accepted. Use the PDF file

Re: 5 days to ILR application, can't get a bank statement because of a "technical issue"

Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 3:09 pm
by londoner2015
Zimba wrote:
Wed Nov 10, 2021 3:01 pm
PLease do NOT start new posts and stick to this thread for your ILR :!:
All electronic evidence is accepted. Use the PDF file
Thanks a lot Zimba and sorry for that, thought of sticking to the original thread but then decided to start a new one because it is a different sort of issue.