Hello everyone, I would really appreciate some guidance on the earliest date my wife can apply for ILR under the Global Talent – Exceptional Promise route.
Case Details:
Endorsement Approval Date: 9 July 2020 (decision letter received) Stage 2 UKVI Visa Fee Payment Date: 14 July 2020 Biometric Appointment Date: 1 September 2020 BRP Issue Date: 7 September 2020 (printed on BRP)(Date of entry was in 2018 as a student dependent, and in-country switch was allowed due to COVID)
Question:
As per the Home Office guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible), applicants may apply up to 28 days before completing the qualifying period.
If we count 5 years from the BRP issue date (7 September 2020), the earliest application date appears to be 10 August 2025.
However, since the visa fee payment was successfully made on 14 July 2020, is it possible to count the qualifying period from this date, making mid-June 2025 a valid earliest application window (28 days before 14 July 2025)?
Or is it safer to rely on the BRP issue date as the official start of the qualifying period?
Additionally, I’m increasingly worried by recent media reports suggesting that the government is planning to extend the ILR qualifying period to 10 years, even for those already in the UK and in the pipeline.
Has anyone heard credible updates on this, or how it may affect people already eligible to apply soon?
Has anyone here successfully used the visa fee payment date for calculating the continuous period? Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all in advance for your support and guidance!
