Note that when I tried this myself, I received all kinds of documents but not any information on dates in or out of the country. I didn't fill in many landing cards either, since when you use the IRIS system you don't fill out a landing card.

date in, date out and reason

I spent hours preparing an elaborate spreadsheet which included passport page of stamp and so on (235 days in total). They were not interested in this and only looked at the dates for long absences - they spent barely a minute doing this in total.

You only have to do one of them. The Life in the UK test also serves as being an English test.

I reckon apply for ILR in person and don't worry about it. To be honest, this is one of things I was vaguely worried about too. At one stage I was earning about 30% more than stated on my workpermit due to bonus, pay rises and overtime pay. The caseworker seemed to be more interested in the letter f...

You've given very little information about your situation. How many days do you have to play with? Did you enter / were present in the UK on the day your visa was valid from? If so you could apply in person up to 28 days early at a PEO. If you were rejected, you'd still have time to apply for an ext...

So how many days absences do you have in total (not counting the day you departed and the day you returned)?

The 180 days excludes all days the case worker decides to disregard.

At their discretion they can disregard absences consistent with annual leave, and also business trips where you have a letter from your employer confirming them.

Not entirely true ... the 180 days people keep talking about is the maximum number of absences you can have *after* the caseworker has disregarded absences consistent with annual leave and so on. At least that is how I read Annex F. Myself, 3 other people I know personally, and many people that have...

Thanks ... So I imagine you'll need a letter from your WP employer.

Good luck!

Today I got my ILR at Croydon 8) Appointment was at 8am, got there at 7:15, there were more than 20 people in front me waiting at the doors. In addition there were other people not queuing but standing about chatting - they turned out to be immigration agents. They were let in first when the doors w...

Very interesting story girlpower, I actually know someone who was just as naïve as your friend - he changed his employer and mentioned to his new employer that they'd need to sort out a workpermit for him (which they neglected to do). After that he didn't give the issue any more thought until a yea...

Agreed - your ILR clock starts from the date you first entered the country on a visa eligible for ILR (the date the visa was issued is irrelevant).

Q1 - To calculate the date you can first apply for ILR add 5 years to the date you first entered then subtract 28 days. If that day is not a normal business day, then you have to wait to the first business day after that. Looks like you'll miss out by a few days. Q2 - I suspect you'd be pushing your...

In my opinion in your situation you should be getting professional advice.

If your employer hasn't met the conditions of the work permit then it is them that should be paying the consequences, not yourself.

Congratulations!!

Very interesting, I'll be applying under the same basis in a few weeks (WP+HSMP+Tier1). It seems like the ILR application is on the whole easier to prepare for than HSMP or Tier 1.

Regarding naturalisation the absence allowance is far more generous than ILR (as far as I can tell).

Thanks for posting your experience, it seems sometimes you can just get lucky! I myself canceled a 3 month unpaid backpacking trip because I was worried about absences. I've stopped traveling to Europe on weekends and similar too. In my opinion they should bring the ILR absences in line with the abs...

180 days might be right - but days consistent with annual leave annual leave may be disregarded by the case worker. Same goes for business travel - if letter from employer is provided.

If anyone is struggling to find the Reference ID like I just was when you register in the online booking system then move the email to your Inbox from junk mail. When I did it just then the Reference ID magically appeared! (While in junk mail I could only see the Transaction ID.)

Thanks for the story rnr79

You are right about the rules constantly changing, I'm applying for ILR in July and am worried due to the new government.

At least your story has a (mostly) happy ending!

I hope it is not a problem since I've got 1 month of unpaid leave too - about a week and a half outside the UK, the rest in. I'm on Tier 1.

I'd wonder about the Work Permit situation though since it is a visa specifically for work at a particular company.

Congratulations!

As someone who has a lot of absences myself I follow these sorts of posts with great interest

FYI - during the first 12 months of your employment, the employer can terminate your employment without stating a reason.

The work permit counts as contribution to the 5 years for ILR.

All I can say is .... just answer the question! And don't try to guess why they are asking the question.

So on your facts, the correct answer is clearly 1990.

Good point! Anyway I'm planning on applying in person so I'll be on hand to clarify if need be.

I agree, I first entered the UK in 1990, but I don't think that is the date they want.

When I fill this out in a few months time I'll be putting a date in 2005 which is the start of my (current) residency period.