Absence from UK enquiries - Help please!

[sophia7]

Dear all, I would like to enquire the following questions for ILR application under the 5 years Tier 2 General visa route, my questions are below: (The previous post has submitted by a mistake, please ignore that one)

1. When should I start counting towards the 5 years, from the issue date of my first Tier 2 general visa, or from the start date of the work contract? I got my first Tier 2 visa on 1st April 2017, and start the job on 1st May.

2. Can I use the confirmation of absences letter issued 2 years ago from my previous employer for ILR application? During the 5 years, the first 3 years I am with my first employer and then changed the employer to the current one. I got the absence confirmation letter from my first employer 2 years ago when I left them. Can I use this letter for the ILR application now? does the UKVI has any requirement on the issue date of this letter?

3. In the first 3 years with my first employer, I have two tier 2 visas in this period because my initial visa is 2 years so I have extended the visa (for the same job) for another 3 years. However, I left this employer a year later, and start to work with my current employer for the past two years. So for the first 3 years with my first employer, do I have to request two confirmation of absence letters for each visa? or does one letter that covers 3 years is ok?

4. When caseworkers check for absent days, do they compare the absence days from the UK with the entitled annual leave days per year? For some years, I took more absent annual leaves than the total numbers I am entitled to because the remained annual leave carried over from a previous year. Is this an issue? or shall I explain this via a cover letter?

[zimba]

You should use the first visa approval date. The rules do NOT require an absence letter from your previous sponsors anymore. As long as your sponsor says that all absences were approved by them you should be ok

[sophia7]

You should use the first visa approval date. The rules do NOT require an absence letter from your previous sponsors anymore. As long as your sponsor says that all absences were approved by them you should be ok

Thanks! "The rules do NOT require an absence letter from your previous sponsors anymore." is this a new change? I am using the "Indefinite leave to remain: calculating continuous period in UK
Version 22.0" which seems still require the absence letter from the employer. Where can I find the information on the rules as you mentioned? many thanks!

[zimba]

That guide is not updated to match the latest rules.

indefinite-leave-to-remain/tier-2-set-o ... l#p2027888

[sophia7]

That guide is not updated to match the latest rules.

indefinite-leave-to-remain/tier-2-set-o ... l#p2027888

Thanks for sharing. The online application form still requires me to upload the absence confirmation letter from my previous employer. So for the safe side, I would like to upload. Could you please help to answer questions 2 and 3 in my post? Whether I can use the letter I get 2 years ago? or Did the UKVI has a requirement on the letter issue date? That is will very helpful, thanks very much!

[zimba]

There is no such requirement. The online form is not accurate. You can upload anything you want but I cannot tell you anything specific an they do not exist in the rules

[sophia7]

Hi Zimba, Can I ask several additional questions for my and my dependant's ILR applications under the Tier 2 (general) 5 years route please and looking forward to your advice:

1. Date of application should be the online submission date rather than the UKVCAS appointment date?
2. On the application form, it asks "When did you first enter the UK?" with an additional explanation "This is the date you entered the UK when the period of stay you are basing this application on started.". For my case, I first enter the UK on a Tier 4 visa in 2012 and after studying the degrees, I applied the Tier 2 within the UK in 2017 rather than enter again, so should I fill in the first entry date in 2012 or the first Tier 2 visa issue date in 2017?
3. On the application form, one question asks "Do you have any Home Office reference numbers". Any idea about how to fill in this question?
4. In the document section of the application form, it requires me to upload both:
- Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK
- Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX
Any ideas what do they mean by the "Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK", what shall I provide for this, I feel it is duplicated with the other requirement of "Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX".
5. For the bank statement, do I need to get the bank statement stamped by the bank for application?
6. For my dependant partner, the UKVI webpage says one of the Eligibility is that "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" (https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... ly-members). However, I can not find the information about the details of "enough income", any knowledge about this? how much is enough? what should we provide to justify it?

[AmazonianX]

Hi Zimba, Can I ask several additional questions for my and my dependant's ILR applications under the Tier 2 (general) 5 years route please and looking forward to your advice:

1. Date of application should be the online submission date Yes rather than the UKVCAS appointment date?
2. On the application form, it asks "When did you first enter the UK?" with an additional explanation "This is the date you entered the UK when the period of stay you are basing this application on started.". For my case, I first enter the UK on a Tier 4 visa in 2012 and after studying the degrees, I applied the Tier 2 within the UK in 2017 rather than enter again, so should I fill in the first entry date in 2012 or the first Tier 2 visa issue date in 2017? 2017
3. On the application form, one question asks "Do you have any Home Office reference numbers". Any idea about how to fill in this question? If you have fill, if not no problem
4. In the document section of the application form, it requires me to upload both:
- Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK
- Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX
Any ideas what do they mean by the "Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK", what shall I provide for this, I feel it is duplicated with the other requirement of "Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX". Correct, BRP can be used for both.
5. For the bank statement, do I need to get the bank statement stamped by the bank for application? No, online statements resembling what comes through the post are acceptable
6. For my dependant partner, the UKVI webpage says one of the Eligibility is that "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" (https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... ly-members). However, I can not find the information about the details of "enough income", any knowledge about this? how much is enough? what should we provide to justify it?

[sophia7]

Hi Zimba, Can I ask several additional questions for my and my dependant's ILR applications under the Tier 2 (general) 5 years route please and looking forward to your advice:

1. Date of application should be the online submission date Yes rather than the UKVCAS appointment date?
2. On the application form, it asks "When did you first enter the UK?" with an additional explanation "This is the date you entered the UK when the period of stay you are basing this application on started.". For my case, I first enter the UK on a Tier 4 visa in 2012 and after studying the degrees, I applied the Tier 2 within the UK in 2017 rather than enter again, so should I fill in the first entry date in 2012 or the first Tier 2 visa issue date in 2017? 2017
3. On the application form, one question asks "Do you have any Home Office reference numbers". Any idea about how to fill in this question? If you have fill, if not no problem
4. In the document section of the application form, it requires me to upload both:
- Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK
- Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX
Any ideas what do they mean by the "Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK", what shall I provide for this, I feel it is duplicated with the other requirement of "Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX". Correct, BRP can be used for both. - thanks for all the answers! for the evidence of immigration status, do I need to upload the scan for all the previous tier 2 BRPs (I have several tier 2 visas) or just the current one?
5. For the bank statement, do I need to get the bank statement stamped by the bank for application? No, online statements resembling what comes through the post are acceptable
6. For my dependant partner, the UKVI webpage says one of the Eligibility is that "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" (https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... ly-members). However, I can not find the information about the details of "enough income", any knowledge about this? how much is enough? what should we provide to justify it?
Looking forward any answers/advice to this question.

[AmazonianX]

Hi Zimba, Can I ask several additional questions for my and my dependant's ILR applications under the Tier 2 (general) 5 years route please and looking forward to your advice:

1. Date of application should be the online submission date Yes rather than the UKVCAS appointment date?
2. On the application form, it asks "When did you first enter the UK?" with an additional explanation "This is the date you entered the UK when the period of stay you are basing this application on started.". For my case, I first enter the UK on a Tier 4 visa in 2012 and after studying the degrees, I applied the Tier 2 within the UK in 2017 rather than enter again, so should I fill in the first entry date in 2012 or the first Tier 2 visa issue date in 2017? 2017
3. On the application form, one question asks "Do you have any Home Office reference numbers". Any idea about how to fill in this question? If you have fill, if not no problem
4. In the document section of the application form, it requires me to upload both:
- Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK
- Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX
Any ideas what do they mean by the "Evidence of XX's immigration status in the UK", what shall I provide for this, I feel it is duplicated with the other requirement of "Current Biometric Residence Permit for XX". Correct, BRP can be used for both. - thanks for all the answers! for the evidence of immigration status, do I need to upload the scan for all the previous tier 2 BRPs (I have several tier 2 visas) or just the current one?
5. For the bank statement, do I need to get the bank statement stamped by the bank for application? No, online statements resembling what comes through the post are acceptable
6. For my dependant partner, the UKVI webpage says one of the Eligibility is that "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" (https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... ly-members). However, I can not find the information about the details of "enough income", any knowledge about this? how much is enough? what should we provide to justify it?
Looking forward any answers/advice to this question.

Scan and upload current one.

[ywlgy]

6. For my dependant partner, the UKVI webpage says one of the Eligibility is that "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" (https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... ly-members). However, I can not find the information about the details of "enough income", any knowledge about this? how much is enough? what should we provide to justify it?
No need for additional evidence. Your salary is sufficient.

[sophia7]

Hi All, thanks very much for answering my enquiries above, very much appreciated it!

May I ask another question about the consent form within the online application? The online application form asks three questions about the consent which I suppose respectively match the three parts in the downloaded consent form. The 3rd question is "Does the account with the bank or utility company for which you have supplied information and supporting documentation relate to another person who is to provide you financial support?"

In my case, my dependent partner (husband) and I will apply together, and we will provide individual bank statements, a joint account of mortgage statement, a joint account of council tax. We are happy to support each other for living financially if needed, so if the caseworker wants to add our savings from the bank together to meet any financial requirement they have, we are more than happy for the home office to do so. In this case,

- how should I answer the 3rd question above? I did not understand what is this question asking?
- how many downloaded consent forms should we sign? one or two, as I am the main applicant, and my husband is the 2nd applicant.

Many thanks all!

[ywlgy]

Form 3 is not needed as no 3rd party is involved. Both of you will need to upload the consent form.
Under your name: You sign form 1, husband sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank
Under your husband's name: Husband sign form 1, you sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank

[sophia7]

Form 3 is not needed as no 3rd party is involved. Both of you will need to upload the consent form.
Under your name: You sign form 1, husband sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank
Under your husband's name: Husband sign form 1, you sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank

Thanks so much, that is crystal clear. But I have ticketed Yes for the 3rd question. Is this going to have any harm to our application? Do I need to write a cover letter to explain it?

Another question is the checklist requires to upload "If you have added a spouse or civil partner to this application form who is applying at the same time as you, please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years). Evidence provided should cover the whole period and be in the form of official letters or documents, addressed to yourself and your spouse.". I saw some posts saying evidence from 6 types of resources are needed, is this apply to our case for the tier 2 five years route? Do we have to provide multiple types of resources for justifying living together?

Many thanks as always!

[ywlgy]

Form 3 is not needed as no 3rd party is involved. Both of you will need to upload the consent form.
Under your name: You sign form 1, husband sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank
Under your husband's name: Husband sign form 1, you sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank

Thanks so much, that is crystal clear. But I have ticketed Yes for the 3rd question. Is this going to have any harm to our application? Do I need to write a cover letter to explain it?Better to explain it

Another question is the checklist requires to upload "If you have added a spouse or civil partner to this application form who is applying at the same time as you, please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years). Evidence provided should cover the whole period and be in the form of official letters or documents, addressed to yourself and your spouse.". I saw some posts saying evidence from 6 types of resources are needed, is this apply to our case for the tier 2 five years route? Do we have to provide multiple types of resources for justifying living together?Yes, try your best to diversify the source, it can be sent to you individually as long as the address matches

Many thanks as always!

[sophia7]

Form 3 is not needed as no 3rd party is involved. Both of you will need to upload the consent form.
Under your name: You sign form 1, husband sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank
Under your husband's name: Husband sign form 1, you sign form 2 and leave form 3 blank

Thanks so much, that is crystal clear. But I have ticketed Yes for the 3rd question. Is this going to have any harm to our application? Do I need to write a cover letter to explain it?Better to explain it - will do thanks!

Another question is the checklist requires to upload "If you have added a spouse or civil partner to this application form who is applying at the same time as you, please provide documentary evidence of cohabitation since you were last granted leave (up to a maximum of two years). Evidence provided should cover the whole period and be in the form of official letters or documents, addressed to yourself and your spouse.". I saw some posts saying evidence from 6 types of resources are needed, is this apply to our case for the tier 2 five years route? Do we have to provide multiple types of resources for justifying living together?Yes, try your best to diversify the source, it can be sent to you individually as long as the address matches - may I understand there is no compulsory requirements on how many types of resources from UKVI, just do our best to provide?

Many thanks as always!