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Hello,

According to the below HO good character guidance document(link below - page 9) if someone has failed to pay taxes for which they were liable will not normally be considered to be of good character. Does it mean that if someone receives a tax penalty for not submitting the self-assessment tax form will not be considered a good character?

Also, are tax penalties one of the penalties that must be disclosed?

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... racter.pdf

The good character requirement is ONLY for nationality applications, i.e. British citizenship applications. The document you shared has NOTHING to do with immigration applications. This is very clear on that document, so I suggest you avoid making assumptions.

For visa or ILR applications, you should look at general grounds for refusal: https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... d-guidance

A penalty from HMRC for late filing of self-assessment has no bearing on the outcome of your ILR

Thanks a lot Zimba, but then what about the nationality applications?

zimba wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 16, 2024 12:10 pm

The good character requirement is ONLY for nationality applications, i.e. British citizenship applications. The document you shared has NOTHING to do with immigration applications. This is very clear on that document, so I suggest you avoid making assumptions.

For visa or ILR applications, you should look at general grounds for refusal: https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... d-guidance

A penalty from HMRC for late filing of self-assessment has no bearing on the outcome of your ILR

Could you please also let me know if it may affect citizenship applications or not? Also, should it be disclosed in citizenship and ILR applications?

These two applications are totally different. For citizenship, everything has to be declared as the grant of citizenship is discretionary. For ILR only convictions must be declared

amkay wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 16, 2024 12:32 pm

zimba wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 16, 2024 12:10 pm

The good character requirement is ONLY for nationality applications, i.e. British citizenship applications. The document you shared has NOTHING to do with immigration applications. This is very clear on that document, so I suggest you avoid making assumptions.

For visa or ILR applications, you should look at general grounds for refusal: https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... d-guidance

A penalty from HMRC for late filing of self-assessment has no bearing on the outcome of your ILR

Could you please also let me know if it may affect citizenship applications or not? Also, should it be disclosed in citizenship and ILR applications?

You can ask questions related to the good character requirement for citizenship in the appropriate subforum - ILR and citizenship are tow separate processes under different pieces of legislation, with different requirements.

Hello,
I am filling the ILR application form(Set(o)) but I need to ask a few things which are not very clear:

1. For the below question:
"When did you first enter the UK?
This is the date you entered the UK when the period of stay you are basing this application on started."

As I switched from Tier-4 to Tier-2 while I was in the UK, should I put the date of my last entry to the UK before my visa issue date? Or the date of my tier-2 visa issue date? Or the date of my first entry to the UK with my Tier-4 visa?

2. For the below questions:
"Country you lived in
Type the name of a country; use the arrow keys to navigate and 'enter' to select one.
Please enter the country you have lived in. You will be able to enter additional countries after you click save and continue. Include all countries no matter how long you lived there."

Shall I also include 10 days or 2 weeks of travel? Also, shall I answer this question for very old times(e.g. 15 years or more)

3. For question: Which countries did you visit or travel through when absent from the UK and Crown Dependencies? When did you leave the UK and Crown Dependencies? When did you return to the UK and Crown Dependencies?


The question asks for the countries that have been travelled through(from my understanding, it is transit) and accepts only the name of one country, but the next two questions ask: "When did you leave the UK and Crown Dependencies? When did you return to the UK and Crown Dependencies? "

Now my question is shall I include the name of the transit countries? If yes, should I put the date of leaving the UK and returning to the UK for them?

Sorry for long questions.

1. That date does not matter at all. Put the first entry to the UK
2. Living somewhere clearly does NOT mean visiting/travelling there briefly. This is commonsensical
3. The details of your travels do NOT matter. UKVI does not care about the details such as transit countries at all

Thank you very much for your response Zimba. Just two other questions:
1. I am not sure about the exact date of my eligibility because if I calculate(5 years -28days) from the date of my first BRP then I should apply on 25 or 26th of December. But if I calculate the period based on the date of the Atlas email(visa approval email), then I will be eligible on the 19th of December. I was wondering if it would be safe for me to book my appointment on the 23rd of December with priority service and assume that they will decide on my application on the last days of the 5 working days if I apply a bit early?
2. I want to apply with my wife at the same time. Shall each of us fill out part 1 of the consent form for ourselves and part 2 of the consent form for each other?

1. Just use the BRP issue date. Applying early is possible: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

2. Yes. Two sets of consent forms.

Many thanks. Just another question. In case all of my absences were during my employment with my previous sponsor, and I have not had any absences since I started working for my current employer, shall I provide any evidence or document for my absences during my previous employment(with previous sponsor)?

No

All you need to know about the sponsor letter for Skilled Worker route

Thanks a lot. I think I misunderstood the 28 days rule.
My first T2 visa was issued on 22/1/2020, and I thought I could submit my application a long time before 5 years(e.g. 40 days earlier), but I just need to book my appointment within 28 days. That's why I have already submitted my online application but want to book my biometric appointment within 5yrs-28days. But after reading the rules, I feel it might be a mistake, and I should probably cancel my application and submit the application again after 5years-28 days. Could you please help me for this? Shall I cancel and resubmit my application later? Or do I only need to book my appointment within the 5 yeas-28 days and do not need to submit a new one?

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 1:12 pm

1. Just use the BRP issue date. Applying early is possible: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

2. Yes. Two sets of consent forms.

No need to cancel anything. Which rules you are talking about ? Did you read the link ??

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 5:05 pm

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 1:12 pm

1. Just use the BRP issue date. Applying early is possible: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

2. Yes. Two sets of consent forms.

No need to cancel anything. Which rules you are talking about ? Did you read the link ??

Yes, I read the link and the immigration rules on this link. However, my understanding was that the date of the online application also needs to be within 5 years-28 days. But what I understand from you now is that the date of online application(payment) can be even 2 months before completing 5 years, and only the date of appointment/decision needs to be within the 5yrs-28 days. Which one is correct?

Yes. There is no rule that says the date of application should be a specific date

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 5:23 pm

Yes. There is no rule that says the date of application should be a specific date

My understanding from the below is that either the date of decision should be within 5 years, or the date of application should be within 5 years to 28 days. As I have applied through priority service, I am worried that I can't benefit from both the date of decision and -28days. My understanding is that the -28 days applies to the date of application(second bullet point), not the to the date of decision; so if the date of application is more than 28 days before completing 5 years, then the date of decision needs to be necessarily after completing full 5 years(not 5 years-28days). I think this is a problem that may happen only for those who apply too early through priority service or super priority service.

You must count backwards from whichever of the following is most beneficial to the
applicant to see whether they meet the qualifying period:
• the date of application
• any date up to 28 days after the date of application
• the date of decision
• for a person seeking settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last
grant of permission

Sorry for taking your time. I do not want to argue; I just want to make sure that I am not making a mistake or misunderstood.

amkay wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 5:59 pm

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 5:23 pm

Yes. There is no rule that says the date of application should be a specific date

My understanding from the below is that either the date of decision should be within 5 years, or the date of application should be within 5 years to 28 days. As I have applied through priority service, I am worried that I can't benefit from both the date of decision and -28days. My understanding is that the -28 days applies to the date of application(second bullet point), not the to the date of decision; so if the date of application is more than 28 days before completing 5 years, then the date of decision needs to be necessarily after completing full 5 years(not 5 years-28days). I think this is a problem that may happen only for those who apply too early through priority service or super priority service.

You must count backwards from whichever of the following is most beneficial to the
applicant to see whether they meet the qualifying period:
• the date of application
• any date up to 28 days after the date of application
• the date of decision
• for a person seeking settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last
grant of permission

Sorry for taking your time. I do not want to argue; I just want to make sure that I am not making a mistake or misunderstood.

The below link has also stated the same:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible


Applicants can submit a settlement application up to 28 days before they would reach the end of the specified period.

You must calculate the relevant qualifying period by counting backward from whichever of the following is most beneficial to the applicant:

the date of application

the date of decision

any date up to 28 days after the date of application

These paragraphs are being incorrectly interpreted by applicants all the time as they do not know the context at all. The earliest date of ILR eligibility is within 28 days of completing your 5 years in the UK (known as 28-day concession) That is the earliest that you can be granted ILR.

In the past, applicants could apply for a same-day decision (in the old UKVI premium visa centres), so the date of application and the date of the decision was effectively the same. In those circumstances, if such a person applied earlier than 28 days of their application, they would not be eligible for ILR on that date, hence their application could be refused. If the 28-day concession did not exist, NONE of those people could get ILR when applying in-person for a same-day decision.

This is no longer an issue as you are required to apply online now and your application is NOT decided until after your biometrics is enrolled. So the date of application and the date of the decision are no longer on the same day. Given that your lawful residence is calculated on the date of ILR decision, the date of application is no longer that critical anymore and most applicants could continue to accumulate lawful residence until the day UKVI is about to make a decision on their ILR. The date of the ILR decision is therefore the most important date and this date almost always will be AFTER the date of application and the biometrics.

This is the missing context on why those two items appear separately above and under the rules. The advice given above has been given for years without any issues to hundreds of applicants. You are not the first one

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 6:24 pm

These paragraphs are being incorrectly interpreted by applicants all the time as they do not know the context at all. The earliest date of ILR eligibility is within 28 days of completing your 5 years in the UK (known as 28-day concession) That is the earliest that you can be granted ILR.

In the past, applicants could apply for a same-day decision (in the old UKVI premium visa centres), so the date of application and the date of the decision was effectively the same. In those circumstances, if such a person applied earlier than 28 days of their application, they would not be eligible for ILR on that date, hence their application could be refused. If the 28-day concession did not exist, NONE of those people could get ILR when applying in-person for a same-day decision.

This is no longer an issue as you are required to apply online now and your application is NOT decided until after your biometrics is enrolled. So the date of application and the date of the decision are no longer on the same day. Given that your lawful residence is calculated on the date of ILR decision, the date of application is no longer that critical anymore and most applicants could continue to accumulate lawful residence until the day UKVI is about to make a decision on their ILR. The date of the ILR decision is therefore the most important date and this date almost always will be AFTER the date of application and the biometrics.

This is the missing context on why those two items appear separately above and under the rules. The advice given above has been given for years without any issues to hundreds of applicants. You are not the first one

Hi Zimba,

If we imagine a case where the applicant submits the online application 28 days before his eligibility and is able to find an appointment for biometrics right after this. What happens if the caseworker decides to complete this application in a week or 10 days, where the applicant will still not be eligible on the day of the decision? Will the caseworker wait 2-3 weeks until the applicant completes his 5-year lawful period or can he grant an ILR at that moment, assuming that he won't be able to reject it anymore according to the guidance?

Thanks

You should only book an appointment from the date that you are eligible for ILR. The earliest eligibility date is 28 days from completing your 5 years. Before that, you risk being refused. Again, the date you apply online is not that important as long as on the date of the decision you are eligible for ILR

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 05, 2024 6:24 pm

These paragraphs are being incorrectly interpreted by applicants all the time as they do not know the context at all. The earliest date of ILR eligibility is within 28 days of completing your 5 years in the UK (known as 28-day concession) That is the earliest that you can be granted ILR.

In the past, applicants could apply for a same-day decision (in the old UKVI premium visa centres), so the date of application and the date of the decision was effectively the same. In those circumstances, if such a person applied earlier than 28 days of their application, they would not be eligible for ILR on that date, hence their application could be refused. If the 28-day concession did not exist, NONE of those people could get ILR when applying in-person for a same-day decision.

This is no longer an issue as you are required to apply online now and your application is NOT decided until after your biometrics is enrolled. So the date of application and the date of the decision are no longer on the same day. Given that your lawful residence is calculated on the date of ILR decision, the date of application is no longer that critical anymore and most applicants could continue to accumulate lawful residence until the day UKVI is about to make a decision on their ILR. The date of the ILR decision is therefore the most important date and this date almost always will be AFTER the date of application and the biometrics.

This is the missing context on why those two items appear separately above and under the rules. The advice given above has been given for years without any issues to hundreds of applicants. You are not the first one

Thank you very much for your clarifications, Zimba. I found some similar examples in this forum. I am very grateful for your good advice.