Why it's important, you might ask; Some people applied for HSMP approval letter and they were 27 years old, resulting in scoring 20 points but by the time they applied for Entry Clearance or Further Leave to remain they became 28 which created a little doubt about the points they would score in ILR application.
Some of my earlier correspondence with UKBA on this can be found here: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... c&start=20
Below is their reply
I hope it helps other in the same situation as me, who were 27 years old when they applied for HSMP letter but became 28 years old by the time they applied for Entry Clearance / FLR.Thank you for your letter dated 5 March 2012, regarding your UKBA policy on the calculation of points for the Age attribute for Tier 1 (General), having been initially granted entry clearance on the basis of an HSMP approval letter.
I am sorry that you have found it difficult to obtain clear and specific information on this.
May I refer you to the Immigration Directorate Instructions (December 2011) – Chapter 6A, Section 1 – Settlement – Tier 1, Pg 7, which states:
If the applicant was first granted leave in the categories of Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist, Self-employed lawyer or Tier 1 (General) Migrant, and has not been granted leave in any category other than those listed here since the first grant of leave, points will be awarded based on the applicant’s age at the date of the application for that first grant of leave.
This means that as you were first granted leave as a Highly Skilled Migrant, and were granted further leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant, the age for which you will be awarded points is the age you were when you made your application to join the HSMP scheme, in your case this was February 2008.
You have stated that you were 27 years old as of that date, and this age scored you 20 points. I can confirm that 2 years later when you applied to extend your stay in the UK as a Tier 1 migrant, your age attribute was correctly assessed as of the date of your HSMP approval letter, and you were awarded 20 points.
Additionally, the Tier 1 (General) - settlement page on the UKBA website states:
Points will be awarded in the same way as for as your previous extension of stay under Tier 1 (General). If your circumstances have not changed, you will be awarded the same number of points for these attributes.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... nt/points/
Therefore, at the settlement stage you will be awarded the same 20 points for your age as you were in 2010 and 2008.
With reference to the points based calculator, you will have progressed through the questions to Page 8 where you are asked to:
Enter your age at the date of your application for your first permission to stay as a Tier 1 (General) migrant, Highly Skilled Migrant, Writer, Composer or Artist or Self-Employed Lawyer
(This refers to your application to join the HSMP scheme, and not your entry clearance application.)
At which point you would enter your age as 27, and you will be informed that your current points total is - 20
I trust that this answers you questions, but if you need any further information, please contact the settlement operations policy team mailbox.