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Hi all,

Wife is applying for ILR January 2026. She entered Sep 2020 and her visa expires Feb 2026. I think she can apply 28 days before 23 Sep 2025? But January should be good either way.

I earn 37500 before tax. I have a vehicle through work paid for via salary sacrifice, this is just under 7000 a year. I have just took out this vehicle so still waiting for a payslip to reflect this, but a colleague on the same scheme said their gross salary on their payslip still shows full salary before salary sacrifice. How best should I address this during the application? I presume the deducations on my payslip will reference salary sacrifice. It's still above the £29,000 so I believe it will be ok.

However, with this said, the requirement was £18,600 when we applied so we could actually be assessed against this requirement? Is this confirmed by the UK government?

Note: We have a child who is a dual UK and USA.

Other than financial requirement, is everything else the same document-wise? With the exception of the Life in the UK test? Does this have an expiry date?

She has just applied to renew her passport (USA). I heard sometimes all passports are needed however the embassy will likely retain her old passport. Should I address this?

Very anxious as expected but thank you to anybody who responds.

•She is eligible for ILR within 28 days of completing her 5 years in the UK.

•Salary deductions or sacrifice are not relevant, only gross basic pay matters, which should be over £18,600.

This is the official guide: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... nt__1_.pdf

•Life in the UK test has no expiry.

•For proof of adequate accommodation, you need:

The applicant should provide evidence as to the basis on which the accommodation
is or will be owned or occupied (including rented) by the family unit. This may for
example be in the form of a copy of the property deeds, a letter from a bank or
building society as to the mortgage arrangements, a lease agreement and rent book,
or a letter from a family member or friend who is making the accommodation
available to the applicant and their family unit.

•For cohabitation evidence, see: All you need to know about cohabitation evidence

•No physical document is submitted, only digital copies are submitted. Scan her passport pages now and she should be OK.

There is no need to be anxious, this should be a very straightforward application

zimba wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 14, 2025 1:36 am

•She is eligible for ILR within 28 days of completing her 5 years in the UK.

•Salary deductions or sacrifice are not relevant, only gross basic pay matters, which should be over £18,600.

This is the official guide: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... nt__1_.pdf

•Life in the UK test has no expiry.

•For proof of adequate accommodation, you need:

The applicant should provide evidence as to the basis on which the accommodation
is or will be owned or occupied (including rented) by the family unit. This may for
example be in the form of a copy of the property deeds, a letter from a bank or
building society as to the mortgage arrangements, a lease agreement and rent book,
or a letter from a family member or friend who is making the accommodation
available to the applicant and their family unit.

•For cohabitation evidence, see: All you need to know about cohabitation evidence

•No physical document is submitted, only digital copies are submitted. Scan her passport pages now and she should be OK.

There is no need to be anxious, this should be a very straightforward application

Very helpful information thank you. We have already sent her old passport to the embassy unfortunately so I cannot scan anything, but I am hoping this isn't a problem as her e-Visa would show her leave (plus HO records).

Cannot help the anxiety of it despite knowing we meet the requirements. It comes from if our family would ever be at risk of separation as we have a wonderful two year old daughter.

Some other advice please; when applying for ILR, do we need to now submit five years worth of residency documents (council tax, bills etc), or just 2.5 years? As then all the evidence we've submitted for previous visas would cover five years.

My salary was ~37k and went up to ~38k in July - does this also need to be clarified at any point from myself or HR? We will be applying under the 18.6k requirement.

Thanks,

There is no such a thing as residency requirement. I already have given you the advice on cohabitation evidence above !
Your salary increasing has no effect on the ILR

zimba wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 12, 2025 12:07 am

There is no such a thing as residency requirement.

I thought we had to submit proof of five years residency for ILR!

It is cohabitation evidence you need to submit, to prove subsisting relationship. Different thing completely.

There is no minimum residency or absence limit for spouse visa holders.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 12, 2025 8:56 pm

It is cohabitation evidence you need to submit, to prove subsisting relationship. Different thing completely.

There is no minimum residency or absence limit for spouse visa holders.

Ok then, my points stands sir/maam - the cohab evidence we need to submit for ILR - is this five years or 2.5?

I already advised you on this above

Click and Read --> All you need to know about cohabitation evidence

zimba wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 15, 2025 3:44 am

I already advised you on this above

Click and Read --> All you need to know about cohabitation evidence

Thanks, my understanding is that it'll just be the same evidence as the last visa. I was double checking as this is for ILR.

Any ideas about tax-free childcare? We get 30 hours a week free. As far as I know, it's all in my name. We access the account on my gov gateway account, it gets paid into my bank each month however my non-UK spouse is listed as my partner, and we need to confirm our income every 3 months.

My income is 38700 outside of London (pre-tax). Is this a problem? Anxiety is going crazy, I hope we will be ok.

It should not be an issue

zimba wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 21, 2025 2:04 am

It should not be an issue

Thank you. We're at the final stages of preparing documentation.

I have recently noticed, however, something I may need to clarify on the visa application.

My salary is £38,800 per year. I have a vehicle through work, paid for via salary sacrifice (approximately £450 a month).

However, on my payslips, it still says my gross yearly salary is £38,800, and then contains my deductions for each month - tax, car etc. Should I state my salary as £38,800 still or the lower amount (approximately £33,400). Or does it not matter as much? I am waiting for my employer's letter, and I expect they will just list my pre-salary sacrifice amount.

Only the base salary matters. They do not care about deductions like tax, pensions, car, etc

zimba wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 24, 2025 5:13 pm

Only the base salary matters. They do not care about deductions like tax, pensions, car, etc

I mean, should I address it at all? What should I list my salary as in the application? Because I am only taxed as if I was earning £33,000, but my salary on payslip is listed as BEFORE salary sacrifice, worried it can cause issues.

Again, state the base salary.

Thanks for all the information.

We applied on the 5th December, very exciting stuff but feeling very nervous.

Child benefit/tax-free childcare is my biggest worry but shouldn't affect ILR whatsoever as both claims are in my name, partner is just listed on the application.

Only question is: I want to include a short cover letter explaining how we meet the financial requirements, and what other documents we have provided. Should this have been dated prior to the application date? I know payslips, bank statements etc should be no older than 28 days prior to application, but this cover letter is basically just a confirmation of what docs. we have included, so I can't see it being an issue if it's dated after the application.

Cover letter is not required. The date you put on it is also irrelevant as there is no such requirement under the rules

I know it's not required, but good to have like we did for our other visas. Best I calculate my income as well as the immigration man.