When to apply for SET M? (and what bills/mail can be used to prove address)

I've been reading through many posts and I am beginning to become a little confused about when I should apply for my ILR (SET M). I entered the UK on June 13, 2015. My BRP expires on July 20, 2020. I was planning on making a super priority in person appointment for my ILR sometime in May (28 days before my entrance date). Am I allowed to do this? I am due with a baby on June 3rd, so I wanted to get this out of the way before having a newborn! I am a little stressed by the timing, etc.

I also have a question about letters to prove my husband and I live together (I will post in another thread if necessary, so please let me know). This is what we have:

December 2018: Amex (me), Barclays (him)
March 2018: Amex (me), Sky (him)
June 2018: M&S Bank (joint)
September 2018: Personal HSBC (me), Sky (him)
December 2018: Joint Account HSBC (joint)
March 2019: Council bill (joint)
June 2019: NHS (me), Nationwide (him)
September 2019: M&S Bank (joint)
December 2019: NHS (me), Barclays (him)
March 2020: Council Bill (joint)

Me: Amex, HSBC, NHS
Him: Barclays, Sky, Nationwide
Joint: HSBC, M&S Bank, Council Bill

Does the above satisfy the requirements? We have three joint bills together and then three individual bills each.

Thanks very much for your help on this!!

The earliest date you can apply is 28 days before June 13th, so you are fine to apply online any time from May 16th, up until July 20th.

Do bear in mind though that there can be a wait of several weeks for biometrics appointments, so you might find that the earliest biometrics you can get is in June, right after giving birth (congratulations, btw). So, bearing that in mind, it could be an idea to wait until mid-July to apply online and book your biometrics in August, when your new baby is a couple of months old.

In regards to your letters, don’t post in a new thread - it’s much easier for us to help you if you keep all your questions in the same thread.

If you are  applying in May, you’ll want an item in each name from each of the following months:
November 2017
April 2018
September 2018
February 2019
July 2019
December 2019
Optional extra: May 2020

Or if you apply in July, you’ll want mail from the following months:
January 2017
June 2018
November 2018
April 2019
September 2019
February 2020
Optional extra: July 2020

So, they need to be spread every 5 months, and you need at least 3 different sources (from your list you have 6 sources).

So you’ll need to go through your mail and find something from each of the required months.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for this. I thought I could book an appointment for May in the upcoming months, but I guess not. Hmmm a lot to consider. We already have most of the paperwork in order, so waiting until July is not ideal but might be the best bet because otherwise it might cut too close to my due date.

Thanks for this. I thought I could book an appointment for May in the upcoming months, but I guess not. Hmmm a lot to consider. We already have most of the paperwork in order, so waiting until July is not ideal but might be the best bet because otherwise it might cut too close to my due date.

Unfortunately the whole application process has changed in the last few months.

The order of doing things now is:

- apply online no more than 28 days before you qualify... this is your official application date
- once you have applied online and paid for the visa, you go to the UKVCAS/Sopra Steria website to book your biometrics appointment. Free appointments can have a wait of several weeks, or you can pay £110 for an earlier out of hours appointment, or you can pay for an enhanced appointment, or add on services like document checking and scanning. Also only certain centres have certain appointment types so you may need to travel to a centre that offers the appointment type you want
- you then have until your appointment date to scan and upload all your supporting documents... or if you have paid for document scanning, you take the documents to be scanned at the appointment
- you can pay £800 for the 24-hour super-priority service when you apply online, but you still may need to wait to get a biometrics appointment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unfortunately the whole application process has changed in the last few months.

The order of doing things now is:

- apply online no more than 28 days before you qualify... this is your official application date
- once you have applied online and paid for the visa, you go to the UKVCAS/Sopra Steria website to book your biometrics appointment. Free appointments can have a wait of several weeks, or you can pay £110 for an earlier out of hours appointment, or you can pay for an enhanced appointment, or add on services like document checking and scanning. Also only certain centres have certain appointment types so you may need to travel to a centre that offers the appointment type you want
- you then have until your appointment date to scan and upload all your supporting documents... or if you have paid for document scanning, you take the documents to be scanned at the appointment
- you can pay £800 for the 24-hour super-priority service when you apply online, but you still may need to wait to get a biometrics appointment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is really helpful! Thanks very much.

Last question - letter from employer - can that be 28 days before application date or does it need to be 28 days before you scan your documents?

The employer letter must be within 28 days before the application date.

The letter needs to be within 28 days of the application day, as Larabee said.

Are you using your income and concerned about maternity leave?  As the guidance does address this and tell you what to do.  No need for us to point you to it if you are using your partner's income though.