ILR Application Procedure + Timelines - Reference Doc

Just for information - we applied for my husbands ILR on 21st Dec, uploaded his documents, paid to have them double checked, biometrics done on 16th January, and we have just have an email stating that his application has been approved on 27th January, we didn't pay for expedited and were prepared for a 6 month wait!  Maybe we can have a summer holiday overseas after all except we spent all the money on the Visa!! 

Just for information - we applied for my husbands ILR on 21st Dec, uploaded his documents, paid to have them double checked, biometrics done on 16th January, and we have just have an email stating that his application has been approved on 27th January, we didn't pay for expedited and were prepared for a 6 month wait!  Maybe we can have a summer holiday overseas after all except we spent all the money on the Visa!! 

That's fantastic! Congratulations!!!

Just a processing time update! I did Super Priority.

Submitted/paid: 12:01am on 19th Jan
Booked first available (free) biometrics appt 15 minutes later
Biometrics appt: 8th Feb at 11:00am in Croydon
FES submission confirmation email at 11:20am
Approval email at 5:23pm (almost bang on 6 hours later).

Hope that is useful!


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Just a processing time update! I did Super Priority.

Submitted/paid: 12:01am on 19th Jan
Booked first available (free) biometrics appt 15 minutes later
Biometrics appt: 8th Feb at 11:00am in Croydon
FES submission confirmation email at 11:20am
Approval email at 5:23pm (almost bang on 6 hours later).

Hope that is useful!


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Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!!!

Thanks! Now it’s just one more round for citizenship!


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Just to clarify:
I'm assuming you mean the first visa was granted on 26th March 2018, as I see from your previous posts that you didn't get married until 9th March 2018 and then applied for FLR(M) right after.

You may be able to apply on or within a couple of days of 26th February, as you don't need to wait for the official issue of the next bank statement... instead you should be able to get a partial bank statement printed in-branch as soon as the Feb 24th payslip has been deposited. Though, if the employer letter needs to verify the payslips, then it will also depend on how quickly you can get the letter issued after Feb 24th.

The following documents must all be dated no more than 28 days before the date you submit the online application:
- most recent payslip
- most recent bank statement
- employer letter

So, it will depend on what date the January payslip is issued as to whether you can use the July to January payslips. If the earliest she can apply is 26th February, then the January payslip must be dated on or after 29th January in order to be within the 28 days.

Ah, if they don't have any physical branches that can print a partial statement, then ignore my partial statement advice - you may need to wait for the official bank statement to be issued in order to apply.

PDF statements can be uploaded, BUT they MUST also be accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming their authenticity.

Yes... you need to answer yes, because you would not have qualified to apply for the visa if you weren't married at the time.

If she is not part of any social groups/cultural ties back home, then it is okay to answer No here.

They ask this question in order to find out whether, in the event of the visa being refused, she has any kind of support system back home that could help her on her return to the US. For example, church membership, cultural family, official clubs/circles she has support from (like maybe a sorority or the WI or something).

It should be from the date she first arrived on her fiance visa, as that is the date she started living in the UK, and yes, it will be the same answer for the date you started living together (in your case, it's the same, but the dates could be different if she had been living in the UK on a different visa before you met and then you moved in together at a later date).

The answer to this should be her current, latest salary, as stated on her employer letter, as that is what she will be earning in the future. For the calculation of the last 6 months of income though, they will only use her lowest salary from the last 6 months.

Technically, it should be 'NOT the same amount continuously, above the financial requirement amount', as she has had a pay rise. However, there may still be a glitch in the system, where if you tick this box, it decides you are Category B and need to send 12 months of payslips, so maybe see how it goes... and tick whichever box results in the form asking for only 6 months of payslips.
 
I think I'd probably put whatever is your official minimum monthly repayment amount, as is stated on your latest mortgage statement, as that is the amount you are legally required to pay in order not to default on the mortgage... whereas the mortgage overpayments are optional, and you can decide to stop paying them at any time. If you wanted, you could add in a note (in a cover letter, for example), explaining that you are currently making overpayments of X on the mortgage but that the actual agreed monthly repayment amount is Y.

Hello - us again with another question about timing...

I noticed this from the helpful list in this thread:

5) If Super Priority (+£800) is available (see PRIORITY SLOT AVAILABILITY below for availability times) and you choose it you will not be offered use of the app. You will instead receive an email with a registration code for the UKVCAS website, then you:
- Book Biometric Appointment on the UKVCAS website immediately.
- Upload documents to the UKVCAS website before the Biometrics appointment.
- Attend Biometrics Appointment.
- Receive Visa Approval email if criteria is met - currently within 4-5 hours of the appointment.

If I'm reading correctly, this means there is nothing stopping us from submitting the application without my wife's most recent bank statement - on the basis it will arrive before our biometrics appointment?

I'm checking this we can apply from 26 Feb, but my wife's Monzo bank statement for February likely won't arrive with us (it's coming by post) until a week or so later.

Thanks!

If I'm reading correctly, this means there is nothing stopping us from submitting the application without my wife's most recent bank statement - on the basis it will arrive before our biometrics appointment?

Every document you are using must be dated BEFORE the date you submit the online application, because that is your official application date, and you have to show that every visa requirement was met on that date.

We always recommend that you DO NOT submit the online application until you have every single document in your hands and ready to upload.

If the latest bank statement is dated after you apply online, the visa could be refused.

Every document you are using must be dated BEFORE the date you submit the online application, because that is your official application date, and you have to show that every visa requirement was met on that date.

We always recommend that you DO NOT submit the online application until you have every single document in your hands and ready to upload.

If the latest bank statement is dated after you apply online, the visa could be refused.

Understood - thank you! 

On a separate point, we've been working through our mail and hoping a selection of those below will do the job.  Could I please ask for any feedback / tips on if this looks okay? It's not perfect but have tried to provide a range of sources and worked with what we have.

We likely will end up applying in very late Feb / early-mid March (once we have February's payslip and depending on how long it takes Monzo to send the bank statements).

NB the joint items are all we have - thought it may be wise to include as it shows variety of sources.

February 2023: Barclays (applicant), Santander (sponsor)
October 2022: NatWest (joint)   
September 2022: Barclays (applicant), Barclays (sponsor)
April 2022: Barclays (applicant), Barclays (sponsor)
March 202: Acorn estate agent (joint)
November 2021: Barclays (applicant), Barclays (sponsor)
June 2021: AmEx (sponsor)
May 2021: Barclays (applicant)
March 2021: Greenwich council (joint)
January 2021: Barclays (applicant), Barclays (sponsor)
September 2020: Barclays   (applicant), Tower Hamlets council (sponsor)
August 2020: Barclays (applicant), Barclays (sponsor)

On a separate point, we've been working through our mail and hoping a selection of those below will do the job.  Could I please ask for any feedback / tips on if this looks okay? It's not perfect but have tried to provide a range of sources and worked with what we have.

Okay, so you ideally want mail from the following months. I've added in the closest documents you could use for each of them in order to meet the requirements:

August 2020
1. Applicant: Barclays (Source 1) (Sept 2020 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for August)
1. Sponsor: Tower Hamlets council (Source 2) (Sept 2020 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for August)

January 2021
2. Applicant: Barclays
2. Sponsor: Barclays

June 2021
3. Applicant: Barclays (May 2021 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for June)
3. Sponsor: AmEx (is this a credit card? If so, it can be used as Source 3. If it's a bank account, you will need a different Source 3)
 
November 2021
4. Applicant: Barclays
4. Sponsor: Barclays

April 2022
5. Applicant: Barclays
5. Sponsor: Barclays
OR
5. Joint:  Acorn estate agent (Source 4 (or Source 3 if the AmEx is a bank account)) (March 2022 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for April)

September 2022
6. Applicant: Barclays
6. Sponsor: Barclays

February 2023
7. Applicant: Barclays
7. Sponsor: Santander

So, you could use all the above and then just include a letter of explanation detailing why you are using slightly different months.

Okay, so you ideally want mail from the following months. I've added in the closest documents you could use for each of them in order to meet the requirements:

August 2020
1. Applicant: Barclays (Source 1) (Sept 2020 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for August)
1. Sponsor: Tower Hamlets council (Source 2) (Sept 2020 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for August)

January 2021
2. Applicant: Barclays
2. Sponsor: Barclays

June 2021
3. Applicant: Barclays (May 2021 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for June)
3. Sponsor: AmEx (is this a credit card? If so, it can be used as Source 3. If it's a bank account, you will need a different Source 3)
 
November 2021
4. Applicant: Barclays
4. Sponsor: Barclays

April 2022
5. Applicant: Barclays
5. Sponsor: Barclays
OR
5. Joint:  Acorn estate agent (Source 4 (or Source 3 if the AmEx is a bank account)) (March 2022 - will need an explanation for why you don't have something for April)

September 2022
6. Applicant: Barclays
6. Sponsor: Barclays

February 2023
7. Applicant: Barclays
7. Sponsor: Santander

So, you could use all the above and then just include a letter of explanation detailing why you are using slightly different months.

Great, thank you!  Would it not be advisable to include all of those listed above to be safe?

Great, thank you!  Would it not be advisable to include all of those listed above to be safe?

No, you should only provide the actual number of documents they have asked for (7 in each name). Any more may confuse the person making the decision.

You just need to include
- only 7 documents in each name, as per the list above
- a short letter of explanation for why the documents are not quite evenly-spaced (i.e. 'we did not receive any suitable official mail in both our names in August 2020, June 2021 and April 2022, so we are providing mail from Sept 2020, May 2021 and March 2022 instead')

As long as an explanation is included, there won't be an issue.

No, you should only provide the actual number of documents they have asked for (7 in each name). Any more may confuse the person making the decision.

You just need to include
- only 7 documents in each name, as per the list above
- a short letter of explanation for why the documents are not quite evenly-spaced (i.e. 'we did not receive any suitable official mail in both our names in August 2020, June 2021 and April 2022, so we are providing mail from Sept 2020, May 2021 and March 2022 instead')

As long as an explanation is included, there won't be an issue.

Thanks very much ksand24!

Can I check on dates of documents - which ones need to be within 28 days of the application?  I know payslips and bank statements do, but what about the most recent piece of mail?  And the employer letter?

Also, are there any rules on when should the declaration for souses form should be signed and dated?

And sorry, one final question - once we have booked a super priority slot, is there any way to change the date or are we committed to it?

Can I check on dates of documents - which ones need to be within 28 days of the application?  I know payslips and bank statements do, but what about the most recent piece of mail?  And the employer letter?

The documents that must be dated within the 28 days before submitting the online application are:
- most recent payslip
- most recent bank statement
- employer letter
- any other letters relating to the financial requirement

No other documents have to be within 28 days, though ideally you want other letters etc. to be dated as close to the application date as possible.

Also, are there any rules on when should the declaration for souses form should be signed and dated?

As it is part of the financial requirement, it must be dated within the 28-day period before the application date.

And sorry, one final question - once we have booked a super priority slot, is there any way to change the date or are we committed to it?

The Super Priority processing that you purchase when you submit the application does not have a time or date associated with it. It is simply applied to your application/account when you attend the biometrics appointment.

In regards to whether you can change the date of your biometrics appointment, you can have a look at the UKVCAS FAQ for their policies on appointment changes, cancellations and refunds:

https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/faq


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Hi - for the employer letter, is it okay to use docusign the signature?

Hi - for the employer letter, is it okay to use docusign the signature?

We did for the previous visa, it wasn't an issue.

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