Applying for ILR 5 year path

Hi all,
I'm sure there is already a post for this but all my searches keep returning posts from 2005 and older and I know things have changed since then. Please feel free to send me to an existing post or give me so search tips.

I'm on my 2nd spousal visa. I've been in the UK for 4 years and 5 months. I want to make a plan for when I need to do the next steps and have an understanding of what information I will need so I can start gathering it and be ready when the time is right.

I know that I can't apply for ILR till 28 days prior to something but is it 28 days prior to my 5 year anniversary of settling in the UK or 28 days prior to my current visa's expiration?

When I try to find the info online I'm told I need to fill in form FLR(M). But is that for ILR? I thought that was the same form I filled in for the visa.

Can someone please point me in the right direction?

Many thanks and best regards,
Aimee

I know that I can't apply for ILR till 28 days prior to something but is it 28 days prior to my 5 year anniversary of settling in the UK or 28 days prior to my current visa's expiration?

It's 28 days before you reach 5 years in the UK.

I see from your signature that you arrived in the UK on June 7th 2013... so that means you can apply for ILR 28 days before June 7th 2018 - so that's 10th May 2018.

When I try to find the info online I'm told I need to fill in form FLR(M). But is that for ILR? I thought that was the same form I filled in for the visa.

No, FLR(M) is the visa you already have. You are now applying for ILR not FLR.

This is the page you need to be looking at:
https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/you-re-the-family-member-or-partner-of-a-british-citizen/no/partner/you-re-still-with-your-partner

The form you need is SET(M), which you can find here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-settle-in-the-uk-form-setm

Basically, though, it's pretty much all the same documents as you provided for FLR(M):

- financial requirement documents
- accommodation evidence
- relationship evidence: 6 official documents in both your names spread over the length of your FLR(M) visa, evenly spaced and from at least 3 different sources, showing you have lived together for the whole time.

You also need to take and pass the Life in the UK test before you apply for ILR:
https://www.gov.uk/life-in-the-uk-test

Many thanks!
How far in advance can you take the Life in the UK test?

Best,
Aimee

Many thanks!
How far in advance can you take the Life in the UK test?

Best,
Aimee

You can sit it whenever you like. But make sure you study for it first and take loads of  online practice tests. It's mostly not the kind of information that anybody knows! 

Many thanks!
How far in advance can you take the Life in the UK test?

Best,
Aimee

As larrabee said, you can take it whenever, as long as you pass before you apply for ILR... you could have even taken it back in 2013 if you'd wanted to .

You will also need the Life in the UK test if you apply for UK citizenship after getting ILR... the pass certificate never expires, so just make sure you keep it in a safe place .

. It's mostly not the kind of information that anybody knows! 

Or will ever need to know again (from the questions I've come across in my studies so far! haha)

Or will ever need to know again (from the questions I've come across in my studies so far! haha)

That's true! But it's really cute when my husband in the course of conversation will come out with one of the many useless factoids from the test!