11 days short of 10 year residence for ILR application

[f2000]

Hi there,

My friend is currently 11 days short of having 10 years of continuous residence in the UK. Her current visa expires on the 11th of October 2021. Her continuous residence is therefore 9 years, 11 months and two weeks.

Does the 28 day rule allow her to apply 28 days before her 10 years are complete, and thus gain ILR despite not completing a full 10 years?

Thanks in advance

[CULLINAN]

You can apply when you complete 10 years lawful residence minus 28 days. Best to book biometrics appointment only when you complete 10 years. These days biometrics appointments are running at a 28 day lag.

[MYA]

the rules says that you can apply 28 days before you eligible or your leave is expiring, therefore you can apply 28 days before your completion of ten years, its nothing to do with your finger prints.
its the date of application not the date of finger prints for any decision making process

[CULLINAN]

the rules says that you can apply 28 days before you eligible or your leave is expiring, therefore you can apply 28 days before your completion of ten years, its nothing to do with your finger prints.
its the date of application not the date of finger prints for any decision making process

Applications being considered 28 days or less before the required qualifying period is completed

You can grant an application if it is considered 28 days or less before the applicant completes the required qualifying period, provided they meet all the other rules for long residence.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 6.0ext.pdf

Page 14: Early applications

Note guidance says “can” not must. It is safest that application is considered and decision is made when one completes full 10 years lawful residence. So it is best biometrics are booked only when one completes 10 years. These days biometrics appointment are running at a 28 day lag anyways.

[MYA]

The guidance for case worker on page 14 about applications made 28 days or less says following;

Applications being considered 28 days or less before the required qualifying period is completed

“You can grant an application if it is considered 28 days or less before the applicant completes the required qualifying period, provided they meet all the other rules for long residence”

It says you “can grant”, if other conditions are met
But “you can’t “ if other conditions are “not met”

Therefore it’s not related to any date of biometric given.

Biometric date is not included in “ other conditions”

Other conditions 1) Lawful Residence 2) No break in lawful residence.

So as long as your application is submitted in 28 days or less and you meet the “other conditions “ you are safe.

There is no involvement of date of biometric enrolment.

Hope this explains all

[f2000]

Hi both,

Thank you for your prompt replies. I realised I made a slight mistake and my friend is actually 18 days short of 10 years rather than 11 days - however since you both mention 28 days I do not think this will make much of a difference - please let me know if I am mistaken.

I am a bit confused by the discussion of biometrics - should this be booked after an application is sent or before?

To make use of the 28 days before the 10 years are complete, the earliest she can send her application is the 1st of October. If she sends her application on the 1st of October, and then completes the biometric appointment on/after the 29th of October (i.e on/after the day 10 years is complete), will this not cause any issues due to overstaying?

Thank you for your reassurances so far.

[MYA]

As long as your application is submitted 28 days or less, u are completely fine.
Fingerprint appointments can’t be booked before your submission of application.

There is no impact of fingerprints appointment if you get appointment either you get it one day after submission of application or a month after.

Be relaxed

[CULLINAN]

The date of application is the date you pay and submit online. She must apply before current visa expiry. She is eligible to apply 28 days before completing 10 years. She will be protected by Section 3C as long she makes an in time application i.e. applied before visa expiry.
See my following message for the steps to follow after making an online application.
Best is to book biometrics only when she completes 10 years lawful residence. These days biometrics appointments are running at a 28 day lag anyways so she will get one for 28th day after online application unless there are any earlier cancellations.

[CULLINAN]

Steps to follow after completing the form online:

Step 1: Pay and submit application via UKVI.

Tip: Date of application is the date you pay and submit online, biometrics date is irrelevant.

Step 2: After payment, you will reach “further actions page.” If you click on “book an appointment,” system will reroute you to create an account on UKVCAS where you can upload your documents and book an appointment.

Tip: You are sent an access code to set up an account on UKVCAS which usually lands up in Junk folder.

Step 3: Booking an appointment

You must book an appointment now. IDV is the past except T4. You get 45 working days after submission.

Tip: You are given a deadline to submit your biometrics on the further actions page. Since the backlog for biometrics has subsided, you should meet the deadline.

Step 4: Now you can submit your documents to UKVI via UKVCAS portal even before your biometrics. The option usually appears when you have uploaded all your documents, sign out and sign in again. The option can be found on the “document upload page” right at the bottom.

Note: Self-submission is OPTIONAL. If you want to benefit from the new feature, you must upload and self-submit up to 48hrs before the appointment. If you do NOT want to self-submit, you can upload ANYTIME before the appointment date and submit at the appointment itself. Self-submission is recommended as you may save some processing time - your documents are sent to UKVI even before biometrics in this case. You can self-submit only ONCE. But if you forget to upload any documents, you can always upload later on (after self-submission) and submit at the appointment then (you will not be able to self-submit again but can submit at appointment).

Read “self-submit” “submit” “upload”

Tip: The best approach would be to benefit from the new self-submit feature.

Step 5: Once the process as stated above is completed, you should wait for a decision.

Step 6: If you applied using Super priority it will be counted after the date of biometrics. Super priority is not a guarantee though.

https://www.gov.uk/faster-decision-visa-settlement

Tip: Keep a check on your email/junk folder.

Note: Super priority is NOT open for SET(LR) so you will have to use standard service.

[f2000]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for your advice, it has been fantastic! One last question, apologies for dragging this on.

She is signing up for a Masters degree starting September, this will grant her another T4 visa and so with this, she will certainly fulfil 10 years.

Alternatively, if she chooses not to pursue a Masters, she will apply for the newly announced student work visa, offering up to 2 years of residence in the UK following graduation. In this case, she will also fulfil 10 years.

So my question is - if she has one of these visas, how difficult/easy is it to switch to a 10 year ILR visa? Would it be better not to apply for the 2 year student work visa and instead just apply for a 10 year ILR in October? Or play it safe and apply for the 2 year student work visa and then switch to a 10 year ILR?

[CULLINAN]

She can apply when she completes 10 years lawful residence minus 28 days. Best to book biometrics appointment only when you complete 10 years. These days biometrics appointments are running at a 28 day lag.

She will already be eligible to apply for SET(LR). Why do you want to waste your money on any other visa?

[f2000]

Hi,

The only reason she is considering spending money on two visa applications (the graduate route + the 10 year settlement at a later date) is because she wants to play it safe just in case the 10 year settlement route application is unsuccessful. So I guess she is just a bit worried and would rather spend more to make sure she is well past the 10 year requirement before applying for the ILR.

[zeeshi1122]

You are just overthinking, rules allow you to apply 28 days before the completion of 10 years, see the guidance.

So advise has been given to you accordingly now its upto you.