Applying for ILR SET(O) more than 28 days before current visa expires

[procyon]

Hello everyone,

I am on a Tier 2 (General) visa. I arrived in the UK on 18 January 2017. I renewed the visa in October 2019, and the renewed visa expires on 15 October 2022. I was planning on applying for indefinite leave to remain this year. I've seen some conflicting information around the internet about the appropriate time to apply.

The official UK website seems pretty clear that one can apply anytime after the day 28 days prior to the 5-year anniversary of arriving on a qualifying visa, and up until the visa expires. So for my case this would be anytime between 20 December 2021 and 15 October 2022:
https://www.gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to- ... orker-visa

On the other hand, some private solicitor websites state there is an additional restriction - they claim that one should not apply more than 28 days before the current visa expires.
For example:
Solicitor web link removed by moderator ("You should not apply more than 28 days before the end of your current leave or your application may be rejected.")
Solicitor weblink removed by moderator ("The general advice provided by the Home Office is that visa extension applications should be made no earlier than 28 days before the expiry of the current visa.")

If this was correct then I would have to wait a few months and apply during the narrow window between 17 September and 15 October.

I have not been able to track down any similar statements about needing to wait until the current visa is almost expired on the ILR webpages on gov.uk, so I am guessing that this advice is really for visa extensions and does not apply to ILR (which as I understand it, is technically not a visa) - i.e. that the solicitors are simply incorrect here. However, I can't track down exactly where this claim actually comes from, and at least one of the pages above states that applying too early would result in the application being rejected with no refund, which would obviously be a disaster... so it would be nice to be sure about this!

Does anyone have any experience with this issue? (Note, just to avoid any confusion, that I am not asking about applying prior to 28 days before the 5-year eligibility window - I passed that landmark several months ago.)

[manci]

Refer to the Immigration Rules:

Eligibility requirements for settlement as a Skilled Worker
Qualifying period requirement for settlement as a Skilled Worker
SW 21.1. The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK.

Note that Tier 2 counts as Skilled Worker

[ywlgy]

You can apply now.

That advice only applies to those with 5 year work visa from the beginning.

[zimba]

Your visa expiry is irrelevant. ILR eligibility is based on completing the required qualifying period and NOT when your current visa expires.
In your case, it is 28 days from completing 5 years in the UK since first visa approval (not arrival)

[procyon]

Great, thanks so much to both of you for the assurance that I wasn't somehow missing an important rule there! I'll probably put in the application soon, then.