3 month rule

Hey everyone,
Every time I think I've gotten all my questions answered, I think of something else! Ack!

Ok so, my intended date of travel isn't until July...however, we are applying in April because you can apply up to 3 months early. My question is how strict are they with the "months". If I put my intended date of travel as July 12th but want to submit my application on April 9th, would that be considered over 3 months in advance? Not sure if they go by actual date or if they count days/weeks.

I'm sure I'm overthinking all of this. Just don't want to make any mistakes.

You can only put a travel date of up to exactly 3 months ahead of the date you apply online.

Therefore if you apply on April 9th, you cannot put a travel date of July 12th because that is more than 3 months ahead.

So you either:
- apply on April 9th and put a travel date of July 9th (or earlier)
Or
- apply on April 12th and put a travel date of July 12th

Basically you want to put the EARLIEST possible date you might wish to enter the UK. You don't want to be in a position where you get your visa back in, say, May, and you have changed your mind and want to travel in May, but your visa is not valid until July, meaning you're stuck in the US.

Also, bear in mind that they don't always honour the intended travel date and sometimes make it earlier than you want. You might ask for July but find it actually starts in May instead. So, if it HAS to be a July start date because of your timings, make it VERY clear on your application that you do not want it to start until July.


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It really does HAVE to be July....I'm putting it in 3 places
1. On the application itself
2. In my intro letter (which will be very short per your specific instructions)
3. On my travel insurance. I'm starting it on my intended travel date.

And I was going to highlight it on the application.
If they give me a slightly earlier one, it's not the end of the world. But a May travel date wouldn't be good. I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist but I'm just finishing up additional schooling, I have to take a certification exam. Was planning on taking it in June and I'm not officially done until the end of May, which is why July is the plan.

I would definitely highlight/bold/underline  your travel date and even explain in your letter why it has to be July.

An alternative option is that you wait a bit longer to apply (i.e. in May) so there isn't such a big gap between your application date and the travel date... but then again, you have to juggle that with the increasing processing times in May and June.


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Thanks ksand24---as always, your advice is invaluable.

We have to apply in April now, because my SO has already sent out the documentation. Plus, we had to do a bit of finagling to get his last payslip to be on his latest bank statement (his company paid him a bit early). I believe the earliest dates on the letter/bank statements/payslips he's sent me are March 27th, so we have a bit of wiggle room of when to apply in April seeing as I should get the documents on Monday. Not really sure if applying April 9th vs applying the last week of April is going to make much a difference though.

From what I'm reading from others, I am sort of in the unusual position of not wanting to travel immediately so in my case the processing times (which seem to have increased just recently) might be beneficial although I still plan on paying for priority processing.

We decided to apply on April 18th instead...that way we're still within the 28 days but it's closer to May and I will keep my travel dates within the second week of July. I can't believe this is all happening after being in an LDR for 4 years. So surreal.

From what I'm reading from others, I am sort of in the unusual position of not wanting to travel immediately so in my case the processing times (which seem to have increased just recently) might be beneficial although I still plan on paying for priority processing.

Your position is not unusual at all - many, many people who apply do not want to travel immediately. It just so happens that the handful of people here applying right now do want to move right away.

Whether you pay priority or not is completely up to you - it's more about your nerves and if you can handle the wait if you don't pay it! Also, if the processing times do stretch really far in the next few weeks at least your application will be processed a bit quicker with priority.

There were people last summer who applied non-priority in June thinking there was plenty of time to be able to move before the end of the summer and they didn't get their visas until October/November!


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Thanks ksand24---

Don't want to be waiting until October---that's when our wedding is! Yikes!

I definitely don't need more to be nervous about as the upcoming move to a different country is starting to cause me some anxiety on its own! So I think priority is likely worth the extra money.

I really appreciate all your advice. Can't thank you enough

It really does HAVE to be July....I'm putting it in 3 places
1. On the application itself
2. In my intro letter (which will be very short per your specific instructions)
3. On my travel insurance. I'm starting it on my intended travel date.

And I was going to highlight it on the application.
If they give me a slightly earlier one, it's not the end of the world. But a May travel date wouldn't be good. I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist but I'm just finishing up additional schooling, I have to take a certification exam. Was planning on taking it in June and I'm not officially done until the end of May, which is why July is the plan.

You know, I would include exactly why you need your travel date to be the date you want. 'Due to a scheduled exam in the week of x'. Or something just to hammer the point home.

You know, I would include exactly why you need your travel date to be the date you want. 'Due to a scheduled exam in the week of x'. Or something just to hammer the point home.

Yup!  And don't be afraid to highlight and underline it!!

Thanks ladies,
I will definitely be bold/highlighting/underlining