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Dear Admin,

I have applied for my first visa from outside the UK in April 4th 2021 and My Dependant visa was approved on 22nd of April 2021(date on the latter received) and on that letter it states as below,

''Your application for a UK visa has been successful .This means that when you arrive in the UK you will have permission to be in the UK (known as Leave to Enter) as DEPENDANT PARTNER from 16 May 2021 to 14 Jun 2024.''

On my Visa Vignette it says Valid from 16/05/2021 to 14/08/2021.

I entered the UK on 19/05/2021(immigration officer Stamp on my Visa) and colleced my BRP froma post office near to me. On the BRP card the place and date of issue was UK 03/05/2021.

On my Visa application the date I have given for the intended travel is 16/05/2021.

I have renewed my Visa on 10th Mar 2024 for another 2 year. The current Visa expiry is 13 Jun 2026.

As per the UK immigration website an Applicant can submit a settlement application up to 28 days before they would reach the end of the specified period. And also it states that the period between entry clearance being issued and the applicant entering the UK may be counted toward the qualifying period.

From the above details are you able to help on which date I can apply for ILR as we can apply 28 day before completing the 5 year aniversary.

Regards

Sulfi

The date you apply is not that important. You also have misunderstood the concept of the 28-day concession.

READ --> All you need to know about applying early, the application date, 28-day concession and more

Your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 03/05/2021 + 5 years - 28 days.

Hi Zimba,

Thank You for the reply. Could you please help to clarify the below two points.

1.Entry clearance being issued--There were no details in any immigration document regarding which date we need to consider for this.Is this the visa approved date or valid from date on the Vignette?

2.My Dependant visa was approved by the on 22nd of April 2021 and from the letter it states as below

''Your application for a UK visa has been successful .This means that when you arrive in the UK you will have permission to be in the UK (known as Leave to Enter) as DEPENDANT PARTNER from 16 may 2021 to 14 Jun 2024.''

If I have permison to enter the UK from 16th May 2021 then how can we take the date 3rd May 2021 to calculate the continous period as I will not complete my 5 years on 3rd May 2026?

Regards

Sulfi

1. The qualifying period starts from very first visa approval

2. Again, READ the advice given under the link. You are NOT required to complete 5 years. READ THE ADVICE GIVEN

Hi Zimba,

Thank you for your input

In that case my first visa approval date is 22nd April & applied this from outside UK.

Can I use this date +5year-28 day for application? Or use the BRP issue date or the Valid from date on the visa Viginitte?

Also why they put this statement in my approval letter - permission to be in the UK (known as Leave to Enter) as DEPENDANT PARTNER from 16 may 2021 to 14 Jun 2024.''

The above statement is confusing

Thanks

Hi Zimba,

For my first query you have mentioned Your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 03/05/2021 + 5 years - 28 days.

Now you have mentioned the earliest date of ILR eligibility is 16 May 2021 + 5 years - 28 days.

I am on the border line if they put the new rules in April 2026 So trying to apply before the new rule is implemented. Could you please help me .

Regards

Sulfi

sulfi wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 03, 2026 1:42 am

Hi Zimba,

For my first query you have mentioned Your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 03/05/2021 + 5 years - 28 days.

Now you have mentioned the earliest date of ILR eligibility is 16 May 2021 + 5 years - 28 days.

I am on the border line if they put the new rules in April 2026 So trying to apply before the new rule is implemented. Could you please help me .

Regards

Sulfi

Apologies. Your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 03/05/2021 + 5 years - 28 days as per your BRP.
However, as advised you can apply earlier. To avoid any rule changes, apply in late March

Hi Zimba,

Thank You

If using the BRP date then the earliest day I can apply is 5th April 2026. Can I use priority service to do this? My visa approval date is on 22nd April 2021 do we need to take the BRP appointment after this date(22/04/2026) or after 3rd May 2026 to cover my 5 Years?

Regards

Sulfi

The date you apply is irrelevant. I cannot repeat the same advice over and over again.

READ --> All you need to know about applying early, the application date, 28-day concession and more

Please read the link above as many times as you need to understand the process.

Hi Zimba,

Thank you for all the response but I am but confused as those link given in the session all of them are applied with 28 day rule.

We are family of 4 all came together and our visa start and end dates are also same.

My wife the main visa holder want to use the 5 day priority by paying £500 and 3 of us going as standard route.


We applied from outside UK and the main applicant visa approved on 21st April 2021 and 22nd April for 3 of us.

All our approval letter have this "permission to be in the UK (known as Leave to Enter) as Skilled Worker/DEPENDANT PARTNER /DEPENDANT CHILD from 16 May 2021 to 14 Jun 2024.''

All our visa Viginett have the Valid from 16 May 2021Valid until 14 Aug 2021.

We all came together to the UK on 19th May 2021.Collected our BRP from the post office which all have the date of issue as 03 May 2021.

We have renewed our visa in March 2024 and is valid now until 13 June 2026.

If going by the Vignette valid from date we all can apply on 18th April 2026 but if they implement the new ILR rules in start of April then we all fall under the new rule.

If we all apply before the new rule kicks in by 6th April(New tax year) and my wife want to use the 5 day priority service then when we need to schedule the Biometric date? Because we have to meet the 5 years on the day of decision right?

I have put all my date details because it will help some others with the similar situation.

As you have informed earlier the date of application is irrelevant but the other dates are relevant right.

Since a lot of our savings are used for this application could you please help us to get the correct dates for biometric for a 5 day priority as per the above details.

Regards

Sulfi

If your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 03/05/2021 + 5 years - 28 days, then you book your biometrics on or after that date.