ILR....how to get started?

Hello wonderful people.
I am starting to prep for my ILR application and was hoping to get some advice from you wonderful people.
I am making my way through recent threads and they are helping, but I have some additional questions they dont answer.
First is.....is it possible to see the entire application before doing it? I know the guidance is available, but I used to print out and do at least two drafts of my visa applications over months before I was happy with them.

Second, can I get second opinions on my booking date? I arrived in the UK on Jan 30th 2015. My visa was extended July 18th 2017 and expires Feb 15th 2020. I believe things have stayed the same in that I can apply no earlier than 28 days before I reach 60 months? So I believe the earliest date I can book for is Jan 3rd 2020....am I right?
Due to being right after the holidays, I am aiming for the third week of July to make sure I have all the updated documents. Is it still the case that you cannot book your appointment until 42 days before your intended date?

Awhile ago, someone on here mentioned that the end of the application requested a P60 even though they were applying category A. Responses to that person said that they hadnt had that, but since I have read others saying that this has happened to people on a random basis. I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them? My husband's income meets our requirement, but for awhile in 2018 we met it with our combined income, so his 2018/2019 P60 does not total the 18600. His new job has met the MIR by himself since Feb 2019. So, Im just trying to prep if I will have to apply under Category B because of the P60.

I will have more questions as I go on, but dont want to have my posts be too scatter-brained. Ive honestly been so nervous about starting this but I need to crack down on it. Thank you all in advance.

First is.....is it possible to see the entire application before doing it? I know the guidance is available, but I used to print out and do at least two drafts of my visa applications over months before I was happy with them.

I don't believe so anymore - the entire application is online now, so you won't see the questions until you fill it out. However, I believe you can start it and save it to come back to later.

Second, can I get second opinions on my booking date? I arrived in the UK on Jan 30th 2015. My visa was extended July 18th 2017 and expires Feb 15th 2020. I believe things have stayed the same in that I can apply no earlier than 28 days before I reach 30 months? So I believe the earliest date I can book for is Jan 3rd 2020....am I right?

By my calculation, the earliest you can submit your online application is January 2nd 2020 (28 days before Jan 30th).

Due to being right after the holidays, I am aiming for the third week of July to make sure I have all the updated documents. Is it still the case that you cannot book your appointment until 42 days before your intended date?

No, this no longer applies, because the entire system has changed and there's no such thing as booking an appointment 42 days out anymore. You also now upload all your documents to the online system instead of taking them to the appointment.

Everyone has to make an appointment now, and attend a Sopra Steria appointment to give biometrics. However, if you want, you can pay extra for various services, like for them to scan your documents for you (about £100), or for the super priority service (£800). So, when you submit your online application, you book your biometrics appointment, and hope you don't have to wait too long to get one.

There is no same-day service anymore, but there is a 24-hour service, which costs £800, and is supposed to give you a decision within 24 hours (doesn't always work though and some people have waited 2-3 weeks, but have later gotten a refund of the service).

Awhile ago, someone on here mentioned that the end of the application requested a P60 even though they were applying category A. Responses to that person said that they hadnt had that, but since I have read others saying that this has happened to people on a random basis. I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them? My husband's income meets our requirement, but for awhile in 2018 we met it with our combined income, so his 2018/2019 P60 does not total the 18600. His new job has met the MIR by himself since Feb 2019. So, Im just trying to prep if I will have to apply under Category B because of the P60.

The latest P60 has always been a recommended document for both Category A and B, for the spousal visa, FLR(M) and ILR, but it is not a requirement at all and the amount listed on it is not relevant, because it may not even cover the same period as Category A anyway.

For Category A, the only thing that matters is that his income has met the requirement in the last 6 months before applying (i.e. since June/July 2019). If it has, then the amount on the P60 won't matter, because it was issued before June 2019 and therefore will not be considered towards the requirement.

Thanks so much as always! Sorry it took awhile for my reply....I have been studying for my Life in the UK test. Took ans passed it on Thursday

I don't believe so anymore - the entire application is online now, so you won't see the questions until you fill it out. However, I believe you can start it and save it to come back to later.

Ok. I will start having a look. I am a bit confused as to where to go to start though. I took the "check if you are eligible to apply to settle" quiz thing on the gov website, expecting there to be a link to the application but there wasnt. There were links to guidance documents on the right, but The language of things seems to be more vague than usual. I am meant to apply for SET(M), correct? But the guidance linked said set(m)  was for partners of people who were settled in the UK. My husband didnt settle here, he is a citizen by birth.
Speaking of guidance....is there no single guidance doc for ILR? There are all these links to all these different "chapters", the titles on some read like gibberish. FLM had one giant document, and then annexes for financial requirement and accommodation, I think. Can anywhere steer me to the correct guidance docs for me?

By my calculation, the earliest you can submit your online application is January 2nd 2020 (28 days before Jan 30th).

No, this no longer applies, because the entire system has changed and there's no such thing as booking an appointment 42 days out anymore. You also now upload all your documents to the online system instead of taking them to the appointment.

Everyone has to make an appointment now, and attend a Sopra Steria appointment to give biometrics. However, if you want, you can pay extra for various services, like for them to scan your documents for you (about £100), or for the super priority service (£800). So, when you submit your online application, you book your biometrics appointment, and hope you don't have to wait too long to get one.

Ok, just to clarify when from what you said and what I have gleaned from otherr posts - when I do the online application, I can scan and upload my documents myself. So when I submit my application online, all my docs will be saved to my application....waiting for formal submission when I attend my biometrics appointment? I know it can be pretty hard to get appointments. I cant actually submit until we get our December bank statements, which wont be till after the new year. So I probably wont be able to submit till second week of January, which will hopefully leave me a month to get the appt. Does anyone know if you receive some sort of confirmation letter from the appt that you attended and everything was submitted?

The latest P60 has always been a recommended document for both Category A and B, for the spousal visa, FLR(M) and ILR, but it is not a requirement at all and the amount listed on it is not relevant, because it may not even cover the same period as Category A anyway.

For Category A, the only thing that matters is that his income has met the requirement in the last 6 months before applying (i.e. since June/July 2019). If it has, then the amount on the P60 won't matter, because it was issued before June 2019 and therefore will not be considered towards the requirement.

Ok. Thank you. Should his employer letter then discuss his original salary? We were planning on having it say when my husband began his job, and then say that in January 2019, his hours were expanded and that this was accompanied by a pay rise resulting in his new annual salary. His updated contract only discusses the new salary. By the time we apply, he will have held that salary for 11 months.
Would it help to include anything about my employment in a separate supporting statement?

Everything seems more confusing than ever. But at least I am not freaking out trying to find letters this time. Bit nervous because our energy supplier just prints out the pdfs on our account and sends them, so they dont have barcodes or anything like normal and it looks like we printed them off ourselves. Although I suppose if we are scanning them all back onto the computer, they wont be able to tell that they were printed off with crappy paper and whatnot.

Thanks again!

Thanks so much as always! Sorry it took awhile for my reply....I have been studying for my Life in the UK test. Took ans passed it on Thursday

Ok. I will start having a look. I am a bit confused as to where to go to start though. I took the "check if you are eligible to apply to settle" quiz thing on the gov website, expecting there to be a link to the application but there wasnt. There were links to guidance documents on the right, but The language of things seems to be more vague than usual. I am meant to apply for SET(M), correct? But the guidance linked said set(m)  was for partners of people who were settled in the UK. My husband didnt settle here, he is a citizen by birth.
Speaking of guidance....is there no single guidance doc for ILR? There are all these links to all these different "chapters", the titles on some read like gibberish. FLM had one giant document, and then annexes for financial requirement and accommodation, I think. Can anywhere steer me to the correct guidance docs for me?

Congratulations on successfully passing your Life in the UK test.  That's a big hurdle cleared.

I just applied a month ago.  I had actually filled out the forms a few weeks in advance but did not submit until 3rd October. 

You want to apply via this site, click the 'apply now' button to begin.

https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/set-m?_ga=2.196319148.1059288472.1572885496-1174168736.1494238579

The link should be on the final page of the 'Find out if you can apply to settle in the UK' questionnaire you went though; the link is hidden in the text under the 'How to Apply' section.

As far as the form is concerned, your husband is a settled person by virtue of holding British citizenship.  The terminology is a bit confusing but they are just making sure that he can sponsor you.

Thanks so much for the clarification!

The online application is actually relatively straight forward. Beware however. The application gives you a list of required documents near to the end but this is NOT everything you need. For instance, when my wife applied it did not ask for our marriage certificate which is obviously crucial to the application.