Immigrationboards.com

Firstly, I would like to thank all the members of this forum for their continued support.

This query is on behalf of a colleague at work. She recently obtained British citizenship through naturalisation, having completed 5 years under the Tier 2 Skilled Worker visa route and one year on ILR. Her husband and child are now planning to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Their immigration history is as follows:

Her husband arrived in the UK in June 2018 on a Tier 4 Student visa. He switched to a Tier 2 Dependant visa in 2020. The application date was 11/07/2020, but due to COVID-related delays, they received their application successful confirmation on 21/11/2020.

The child followed a similar path but has always been on the mothers visa route.

Question 1:
They believe they are eligible to apply for ILR from 14/06/2025, considering the five-year route and applying 28 days before the anniversary of their initial application date (11/07/2020). However, I believe eligibility should be based on when they physically received application successful confirmation, making the correct earliest date 24/10/2025 (i.e., 28 days before 21/11/2025).
Could someone please confirm which interpretation is correct?

Question 2:
They also believe they can submit their ILR application online now and simply delay providing their biometrics until after 14/06/2025, assuming the application won’t be assessed until biometrics and documents are submitted.
My understanding is that UKVI uses the application submission date (when the online application is submitted and fee paid) to determine eligibility, not the date biometrics are provided.
Could someone clarify which of us is correct on this?

Question 3:
They also believe they can apply for naturalization right after when they receive ILR confirmation! I thought they should do one year on ILR before apply for naturalization!

Many thanks in advance for your guidance and support!

Question 3:
They also believe they can apply for naturalization right after when they receive ILR confirmation! I thought they should do one year on ILR before apply for naturalization!

- Spouse of a British citizen can apply for naturalisation as soon as ILR has been granted, no waiting period.
- Child can apply at the same time, no waiting period. Note children are "registered as British".

Please ask citizenship questions here > https://www.immigrationboards.com/viewforum.php?f=42

Await answers for Q1 & Q2.

Q1. Dependants cannot benefit from the COVID concession, so their qualifying period starts only from the date their visa was approved. Hence, the earliest date of eligibility is 28 days before 21/11/2025

Q2. They can apply and delay the biometrics to benefit from the date of decision, however they only get 45 working days to enrol the biometrics.

See: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu May 08, 2025 11:11 am

Q1. Dependants cannot benefit from the COVID concession, so their qualifying period starts only from the date their visa was approved. Hence, the earliest date of eligibility is 28 days before 21/11/2025

Q2. They can apply and delay the biometrics to benefit from the date of decision, however they only get 45 working days to enrol the biometrics.

See: Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

Thanks zimba.

For Q1. I see where you're coming from, but I believe they not even looking at the COVID concession thing. As far as I remember they exactly shown this same text below but pointed out that the most beneficial to them in this scenario will be (a) the date of application! since they submitted their application on the 11/07/2020. What do you think?

"CR 6.1. The continuous residence periods in CR 2.1., CR 2.2. and CR 2.2A. will be calculated by counting back from whichever of the following dates is the most beneficial to the applicant:
(a) the date of application; or
(b) any date up to 28 days after the date of application; or
(c) the date of decision; or
(d) for a person applying for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last grant of permission."

For Q2. I thought they consider the date of when the application is submitted which is online!

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Thu May 08, 2025 10:31 am

Question 3:
They also believe they can apply for naturalization right after when they receive ILR confirmation! I thought they should do one year on ILR before apply for naturalization!

- Spouse of a British citizen can apply for naturalisation as soon as ILR has been granted, no waiting period.
- Child can apply at the same time, no waiting period. Note children are "registered as British".

Please ask citizenship questions here > https://www.immigrationboards.com/viewforum.php?f=42

Await answers for Q1 & Q2.

Thanks alterhase58 !

Do apologise for sending it here.

'date of application' mentioned under CR 6.1 refers to the date of ILR application, NOT the date of initial visa application !!! If you pay close attention, you can see it tells you about counting 'BACK' from any of those date mentioned. The most important date therefore is the 'date of ILR decision' under CR 6.1 which would be even more beneficial than the date of the ILR application (i.e. online submission).

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu May 08, 2025 11:57 am

'date of application' mentioned under CR 6.1 refers to the date of ILR application, NOT the date of initial visa application !!! If you pay close attention, you can see it tells you about counting 'BACK' from any of those date mentioned. The most important date therefore is the 'date of ILR decision' under CR 6.1 which would be even more beneficial than the date of the ILR application (i.e. online submission).

Valid point there Zimba. I showed it to most of my colleagues here at work and including myself we all applied and had our ILR considering it was the date of application for our initial visa! We had a lucky escape I guess
Also how can the date of ILR decision be calculated like I mean how the person would know when the case worker is going to make a decision on their ILR application?

There is no such a thing as 'getting lucky'. The immigration system is a rule based system, so if you do not qualify for ILR you cannot get ILR. Main skilled worker applicants are allowed to use the date of application as their beginning of their qualifying period, due to a specific COVID concession in place. I have discussed this many times before on the forum.

Also, I already shared the link regarding the date of ILR decision above and how it works. I suggest you go and read it

zimba wrote: ↑

Thu May 08, 2025 2:15 pm

There is no such a thing as 'getting lucky'. The immigration system is a rule based system, so if you do not qualify for ILR you cannot get ILR. Main skilled worker applicants are allowed to use the date of application as their beginning of their qualifying period, due to a specific COVID concession in place. I have discussed this many times before on the forum.

Also, I already shared the link regarding the date of ILR decision above and how it works. I suggest you go and read it

After reading the following document shared by my colleague I guess they are right on this one AS WELL.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

Nothing to do with the Covid here and applicable on both Tier 2 Main and Dependants.

Calculating the specified continuous period
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

She said she applied calculating from her date of application, and same rule applies to the dependants as well.

Tier 2 route does not exist and has not existed for several years now. It was replaced by the skilled worker route and its rules. The document you shared also does NOT even apply to the skilled worker route at all and this is VERY clear in the document you shared. It seems you guys do not even read the documents you reference. This is a fairly old document that applies only to a very few remaining old PBS routes and hence it has not been updated since 2022 as it was replaced mostly by the Appendix Continuous Residence
Even in the document and text you shared, the 'date of application' still refers to the date of ILR application That text says nothing about the date of initial application at all.

Your qualifying period for ILR ONLY starts from the date when your visa was first approved. The ONLY exception is a very specific COVID concession in place for the main applicants. You can read this in the relevant guide:

Due to major disruption to UKVI services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tier 2
(General) and Skilled Worker applicants in the UK were permitted to start work for
their sponsors while waiting for decisions on their applications. This time while they
were waiting, but able to work, also counts towards the continuous 5-year period.
The applicant must have been in the UK with permission (including as a visitor or
with Exceptional Assurance), and the application must have been:

• for permission to stay
• made between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2021 (inclusive)
• supported by a CoS on the date of application
• granted

Guide: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... worker.pdf

If you have very little experience with the guides and the immigration rules, I suggest refraining from interpreting them