ILR Application and travel before an appointment.

Hello I hope I am not repeating a question already answered but I could not find what I was looking for .. sorry.
I also tried to search for answers on the UK Govt website and asked a couple of immigration advisors who weren't interested in answering, only in selling me their services.
Kind of understandable but also made me not want to engage them either.

My situation is this.

1. I have been living and working in the UK for 7 years straight after 14 months away previously and have been employed the entire time - I definitely qualify for ILR.
2. My current ancestry visa runs out on the 3rd February 2020.
3. I was notified a month ago that my job was now outsourced and I was being terminated on the 29th November.
4. This past week I have been made an offer with the same company for a job they have funding for starting the 20th January and it is a big jump in pay and guaranteed for 2 years so I am keen to take it up.
5. I have a flight booked to NZ on the 4th December to spend Christmas with family and celebrate my (adult) daughters significant birthday.
6. I have completed the online application up to the point of paying - I can afford to do the super priority service.

My questions are thus:

If I submit the application and make an appointment for say early January and do my trip ...

1. Will this invalidate my application and thereby get rejected?
2. Will I have to put that time away on the application even though it is in the future?
3. How far in advance are appointments available at this time?
I.E. Could I get the appointment in before I am due to travel? I know that could be risky if they decide to keep my passport or say I can't travel until they make a decision.

I know I should have dealt with this sooner but I am a fully confessed procrastinator.

Thanks for all intelligent answers

Maybe I’ve missed it in ur story somewhere but why can’t you apply once ur back?

wozzupnz wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:10 pm

If I submit the application and make an appointment for say early January and do my trip ...

1. Will this invalidate my application and thereby get rejected?

Likely.

2. Will I have to put that time away on the application even though it is in the future?

Yes

3. How far in advance are appointments available at this time?

If you can afford it- the very next day.

I.E. Could I get the appointment in before I am due to travel? I know that could be risky if they decide to keep my passport or say I can't travel until they make a decision.

Passport is not kept but ur application shall be deemed withdrawn as soon as you leave UK.

The issue is that there is no guarantee on getting a decision via super priority.
If money is not an issue you can try- if you don’t get an answer within the time ur supposed to leave- you can just reapply once back as you have extant leave

aman90 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:22 pm

Maybe I’ve missed it in ur story somewhere but why can’t you apply once ur back?

Forgive me if I am wrong, but don't I have to apply 28 days before my visa runs out?

I'm not even sure where I got that number from. I have read so much recently all the information is melding into one big blob.

aman90 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:25 pm

wozzupnz wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:10 pm

If I submit the application and make an appointment for say early January and do my trip ...

1. Will this invalidate my application and thereby get rejected?

Likely.

2. Will I have to put that time away on the application even though it is in the future?

Yes

3. How far in advance are appointments available at this time?

If you can afford it- the very next day.

I.E. Could I get the appointment in before I am due to travel? I know that could be risky if they decide to keep my passport or say I can't travel until they make a decision.

Passport is not kept but ur application shall be deemed withdrawn as soon as you leave UK.

The issue is that there is no guarantee on getting a decision via super priority.
If money is not an issue you can try- if you don’t get an answer within the time ur supposed to leave- you can just reapply once back as you have extant leave

Brilliant, thanks for the answers to my questions - I really appreciate it!

They confirm what I suspected but was having trouble finding out.

If I am able to return in early January and only have to apply before my current visa runs out, then I will do that rather than risk a whole heap of dough unnecessarily.

Sorry for my ignorance but what does

aman90 wrote:... you have extant leave

mean?

Extant leave means valid visa, or applying anytime before your visa expires.

Date of application is the date your submit and pay online.

wozzupnz wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 16, 2019 6:12 am

You can choose to apply any day- from the time you complete continuous residence minus 28 days till date of visa expiry. As long as one applies by date of expiry- it’s considered an “in time” application.
Enjoy ur holidays.

Thanks for confirming and answering my questions. I really appreciate your help.

One more question sorry.

When it is time to upload documents to your application - do you scan and upload the original documents or ...?

Even though I won't do it until January I thought I might start preparing them to save time.

Documentary evidence can only be uploaded AFTER online application payment n submission.
And anytime before or on date of Biometric enrolment appointment.
Feel free to scan docs and make a file on ur computer.
Start a dummy application now to get a feel of it.
You can edit it as many times as you wish.
Just hit submit when ur ready

Do I do a single file for each document or are you saying all should be in one big scan?

It’s better to do each document separately and ensure they don’t exceed 6mb otherwise they won’t be allowed for upload on the sopera soteria system.

Cool, thanks.