Nationality - "date of first arrival"

My immigration history is:
- 25 Sep 2005: Arrived in UK on a Working Holiday visa
- 17 Feb 2006: Transferred to HSMP (Tier1). This was an in-country transfer; at that time, you could change visa within the UK so I did not leave and re-enter.
- 15 June 2010: Returned to UK after absence of more than 90 days. My ILR and citizenship are calculated from this entry date.

The guidance notes state that I should provide the "day you first arrived with a view to staying in the UK on a long-term basis". What date should I use?

I can't use 25 Sep 2005 because I didn't have the intention of staying on a long-term basis. However, I can't use 17 Feb 2006 because I didn't actually *arrive* in the UK on that date.

Thanks lots for your help.

For anyone reading this, I've just called the UKBA Nationality Helpline (https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi/british ... ationality) and they said to put Feb 2006 and leave the port of arrival blank, but to add details in my covering letter explaining the change of visa.

goldfish wrote:My immigration history is:
- 25 Sep 2005: Arrived in UK on a Working Holiday visa

I can't use 25 Sep 2005 because I didn't have the intention of staying on a long-term basis. However, I can't use 17 Feb 2006 because I didn't actually *arrive* in the UK on that date.

Thanks lots for your help.

Who said you cant? You can 100% use 25th Sept 2005 as your first arrival date for your Citizenship .

This is what the law says:


Chapter 18b look at 2.3


" Physical presence here is normally sufficient for the purpose of theAct. The applicant does not have to have been ordinarily resident or domiciled here. Normally, an applicant is to be regarded as present in the United Kingdom unless physically absent"


Also look at the following link:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=76186.0

Hope it helps!

sanky_001 wrote:

goldfish wrote:My immigration history is:
- 25 Sep 2005: Arrived in UK on a Working Holiday visa

I can't use 25 Sep 2005 because I didn't have the intention of staying on a long-term basis. However, I can't use 17 Feb 2006 because I didn't actually *arrive* in the UK on that date.

Thanks lots for your help.

Who said you cant? You can 100% use 25th Sept 2005 as your first arrival date for your Citizenship !

I think you may have misunderstood the OP's question. It's not a matter of which date the OP can state, but more of which is the correct date to enter. The question in the form is when did you first enter the UK with the intention of staying on a long term basis. As the first entry was on a Working holiday visa (which is only granted for those to work on a short term basis while traveling & not for long term stay), it would anyway be inappropriate, if someone entered on that visa with the intention of settling in the UK. So the answer given by the HO is what I too would logically have entered based on the information the OP has mentioned.

For what it's worth, I had a similar situation. Working holiday to HSMP, more than 90 days out the country etc.

Anyway I used my WH entry date. I think I wrote an explanation in the additional notes. I have a feeling the NCS photocopied the WH from my old expired passport.

I think you may have misunderstood the OP's question. It's not a matter of which date the OP can state, but more of which is the correct date to enter. The question in the form is when did you first enter the UK with the intention of staying on a long term basis. As the first entry was on a Working holiday visa (which is only granted for those to work on a short term basis while traveling & not for long term stay), it would anyway be inappropriate, if someone entered on that visa with the intention of settling in the UK. So the answer given by the HO is what I too would logically have entered based on the information the OP has mentioned

I see OP's and your point cs95tdg. Thanks for your input.

The only thing aside from OP's update I want to highlight is this:

UKVI asks about the date you first entered in the UK and gives the following explanatory notes:

''2.1 Enter the day you first arrived with a view to staying in the UK on a long-term basis, and the airport or seaport through which you then entered. ''

However the following instructions mentioned in the Nationality Instructions is kind of contradicting to above note ( 2.1) :

If you look at ANNEX B to Chapter 18 (THE RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS)

2.3 section states "Physical presence here is normally sufficient for the purpose of the Act. The applicant does not have to have been ordinarily resident or domiciled here '' and

"9.1 Normally, all the time that applicants are physically present in the UK should be counted as residence."

In addition to it, the fact that UKVI has been granting Citizenship based on Physical Presence and not on the basis on first entry with a view to staying in the UK on a long-term basis is not making any justice to the above explanatory notes (2:1).

So I want to highlight that it doesn't matter whether you had intentions of staying long term when you first entered the UK but just your physical presence as long you meet the absence requirements.

I applied based on my physical presence when I came in tourist visa. So i hope UKVI approves my application.

sanky_001 wrote:I applied based on my physical presence when I came in tourist visa. So i hope UKVI approves my application.

I suspect your immigration history is different to the OP here, who appears to have applied for settlement as a T1G migrant. And thereafter is now applying for naturalisation. The residence requirements and valid types of Leave (visas) differ for different settlement application routes.

While presence in the UK on a valid visitor visa is considered valid for settlement under the long residence route, it is not for those who applied under 5 year T1 Route. Each person answering that particular question in the AN form would do so based on what's appropriate for their immigration history in the UK (this may differ based on the route they previously applied for settlement under).

Exactly - time on a Working Holiday visa does not count towards settlement (ILR) for those on HSMP/Tier 1 route.

Hello all,

I came under student visa and then switched to in country WP and then Tier 1. what do I need to put as entry date ? The date when I first arrived on student visa or the date when I switched to WP?

I am applying under 5 yr category WP+Tier1 plus 1 yr ILR

Thanks in advance
Regards
Nitro

cs95tdg wrote:

sanky_001 wrote:I applied based on my physical presence when I came in tourist visa. So i hope UKVI approves my application.

I suspect your immigration history is different to the OP here, who appears to have applied for settlement as a T1G migrant. And thereafter is now applying for naturalisation. The residence requirements and valid types of Leave (visas) differ for different settlement application routes.

While presence in the UK on a valid visitor visa is considered valid for settlement under the long residence route, it is not for those who applied under 5 year T1 Route. Each person answering that particular question in the AN form would do so based on what's appropriate for their immigration history in the UK (this may differ based on the route they previously applied for settlement under).

Good to know that. Thanks for your input cs95tdg. Cheers!