ILR application SET(AF) questions

Hello

I've been lurking for awhile as it is soon time for me to apply for settlement as I've been here 5 years with a spouse visa. I've been reading through this wonderful forum and all the helpful postings but there's still a few things I'm unsure of, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

My biggest and most urgent question is exactly when can I submit my application? Just found out my husband is being sent away for most of September so that could make getting his employer/military confirmation letter within the correct date range a bit tricky :/

My situation:
US citizen married to a British citizen who is in the British Army so I originally applied for my spouse visa (from outside the UK) with the AF (Armed Forces) version of the application (there are a few things slightly different than the normal spouse visa rules). It was supposed to be valid for 5 years for family of military but they gave me a 'normal' visa with 2.5 year expiry by mistake (which apparently is a common problem), so I still have 2 visas over the 5 years as they sent me a second 'correction' visa with my correct expiry date. However I have never had a BRP because that was implemented after I entered with my 1st visa, and I did not have to apply to FLR (which is when many people then got their BRP) because I only had my 1st visa corrected (for free, took about a month to get it).

1st visa valid from 26/09/14
1st visa valid until 07/01/17
Entry into UK on 22/10/14 (date stamp on 1st visa)
Correction visa issued on 07/01/17
Correction visa valid until 26/09/19

I'm afraid I've read every post I can find on this and I still don't feel confident - maybe I'm being a numpty haha.
Am I able apply for ILR on 26/09/19 (or within 28 days prior) as that is when my 5 year visa expires?
Or am I supposed to apply on 22/10/19 (or within 28 days prior) as that is when I've been in the UK a full 5 years?

I've been going through the application online and a few other questions have come up which I'll post later, along with some details about my experience with the AF version of the rules and applications, in case that is helpful to anyone else

Many thanks in advance for any guidance provided!

Your five years starts on the day you entered.  You can apply from 28 days before five years since you entered, or until your currently valid visa expires.

You entered on 22 October, 2014.  Five years later is 22 October, 2019.  28 days before that is 24 September, 2019.  Your currently valid visa expires 26 September, 2019.  So by my count, you have a two-day window to apply in.  How did that even happen?

Thanks for the quick reply jfkimberly! Sorry it's taken me so long to reply myself, we went camping near Snowdonia.

Now that you explain it that way, yes it totally makes sense, thanks

It is a tight window, but in order to successfully 'apply' in that 2-day window (24-26 Sep) all I have to do is hit submit on the online application (with payment and booking of biometrics), right?? 
I think that should be simple enough to achieve. I will have all my paperwork gathered and scanned at that point, and will make the appointment for as soon as possible and I'm forking out the £800 for super priority anyway.

If I submit application on 25 Sep then certain key documents need to be dated within 28 days, or starting 28 Aug, correct?

'How did that even happen?' Good question. I went digging through to find a few dates and here is what I know: you have 1 month from receiving your first spouse visa to enter the UK (and get the stamp, at least back then); in 2014 I received my first visa on 02 Oct and it was valid as of 26 Sep so that feels like a few days lost there already; I booked my flights on 06 Oct and departed LAX on 21 Oct and since that was with 2 cats in cargo that was the fastest I was able to make those arrangements and get here. I arrived in UK 20 days after receiving the visa.

Funnily enough my closest British friend has a foreign (Egyptian) husband in almost the exact same situation as me except he first entered the UK May 2014, did the standard FLR at 2.5 years, his current visa didn't expire until Sep 2019, so he met the 5 year requirement in May and had a window of 4 months before his visa expired in which to apply? And I'm thinking, how did that happen and how are we so different with our dates??  Btw he did just receive his ILR - applied via a lawyer (as they had some difficulties in their application so they felt that was safer) and 4 days later the biometrics appointment in Exeter on Wed 14 Sep, received it in the mail on Mon 19 Sep (the lawyer got the notification of approval on Fri 16 Sep but was on annual leave so didn't pass it on).

I'm working on the documents now - please someone shout if my plan above is flawed   

Many thanks again for the help

Yes, your date of application is the date you click "submit" on the online application and pay the fee.  Your most recent payslip and bank statement, as well as your employer letter need to be dated within 28 days before you apply (click "submit" and pay).  Assuming an application date of September 25, that 28-day window is from August 28.

I think UKVI shortchanged you when they 'corrected' your visa.  Fortunately, you're on top of things and you do have a (very narrow) window to apply in, but they didn't leave much breathing room.  But you've got this. 

Hello again wonderfully helpful forum 

I’m very close to my application date (25th Sep) and since I have such a tight window (2 days!) I’m getting more nervous and would really appreciate some more advice and sanity checks – pretty pretty please : )

As I am using the Armed Forces version of the application SET(AF) as there are a few things slightly different – eg I’ve only had one 5-year spouse visa. Some of the things I’ve listed below don’t quite make sense to me, I’m not sure if they’ve perhaps smoothed it out in the ‘normal’ version of the application and not this one? Or am I making any mistakes? 

These are listed somewhat in order of how concerned I am about them haha, and my apologies this such a long post! 

1.   How far can I click through before I officially submit this on the 25th? Right now I’m up to Declaration and I’m afraid to click ‘I accept the above’ because the next section at the top is Payment. I need to submit and pay on the application date which is 25th. I’d like to make sure I get as far as I can to avoid any potential problems on the 25th, but I don’t want to accidentally submit early!
-(for reference, the heading sections are 1. Start 2. Application 3. Finance 4. Documents 5. Declaration 6. Pay 7. Further actions)

2.   Proof of Address Documents for 2 years? I swear I’ve seen other talk on here about the ILR application requiring documents spread over 2.5 years? But it quite clearly states 2 years.
- If I apply 25 Sep 2019, would that 2 years cover Sep 2017 – Sep 2019? I will already have the most recent bank statements (30 Aug for him, 04 Sep for me, so within 28 days) so I assume I shouldn’t count this Sep 19 as one of the 6?
- What months should I try to include?
     - Sep 2017, Jan 2018, May 2018, Sep 2018, Jan 2019, May 2019 (that’s 6 over 2 years)?? Should I include March 2017 (goes back 2.5 years) as a bonus 7th just to be safe?
     - If I can get clarification on the above first then I’ll share the list of the documents I’ve been able to find, as some advice there would be appreciated.
- In the documents list, it states: ‘’ Items of correspondence addressed to Me and Husband at the same address as evidence you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together, covering the last 2 years’’
     - ‘since your last grant of leave in this category’ would that mean my first/only visa 5 years ago?!
     - ‘or from the date your first started living together’ that would be 5 years ago when I entered the UK??
     - ‘covering the last 2 years’ so it is just 2 years they are looking for??

3.   Do you have a degree that was taught in English? Yes is the truthful answer – then it makes me provide proof of degree & NARIC letter, which I have but I don’t want to mess with this since it’s unnecessary as I’m a US citizen. Should I just answer No I don’t have a degree to get around this?

4.   Convictions, penalty for diving offence? I’ve listed a CA speeding ticket from Oct 13 as I challenged that one in court (and included on my original visa application). I had a couple other CA speeding tickets going back to 2003, these would have cleared from my license record already and I have no idea of the dates and details. Is the 1 enough?

5.   Do you currently live together? Yes / When did you start living together? Oct 2014 / Where have you lived together? There is only room for 1 address including Town & Postcode so I listed our last address which is the house we own and rent (plus our current address is in the upper section with my contact details). Should I do it any differently?

6.   Have you lived with your partner permanently in the UK since being granted temporary leave as a partner? (500 characters to explain) Should I explain the time we were part-time apart due to his posting? My husband was posted to Hereford starting April 2018, however I had to remain in Plymouth for a while longer due to my job and the house we own not ready to rent, so he lived in a single room on camp. I got permission from my job to work remotely expressly to go to Hereford to see him (I have a letter from my boss Apr 2018). Either he would come down Friday and return Monday morning (3 nights together) or I would go up Thursday, work remote, and come back Monday morning (4 nights together) and we did this each week between April 2018 – Jan 2019 (plus holiday’s together at home). Then we got military family housing in Hereford and officially moved in Jan 2019 (which I have proof of accommodation and costs). I have a letter from my job stating permission to work remotely (Jan 2019). The house we own in Plymouth we rent out starting March 2019, I have monthly debit of Barclays mortgage and monthly deposit of rent from property management company which can be see on all my bank statements provided.

7.   Have you lived anywhere other than your current address during the past 2 years that you have not already entered on this application? I answered No because our current address listed with contact details, previous listed with ‘currently living together since when’ section

8.   Documents list – all previous passports that you have used to travel to or remain in the UK ? I no longer have maiden name passport for visits before married, they don’t expect those do they?

9.   Partner’s net pay – it;s hard to calculate because his also includes military accommodation deducted and other extra payments can vary, so I just estimated an average. Is this okay?

10.   One time when I logged back in later - it forced me to populate the Immigration Adviser email (but I’ve not used one) so I put my own email (again). I can’t get around this otherwise.

11.   Is there any other regular income that a close family member receives? Yes –  I listed the income from rental (into my account as seen on bank statements) but it doesn’t look to ask for any further documents to prove this. I do have some landlord payment statements from property management that I thought to include as 1 of my 6 proof of living together.

12.   Consent Forms – I see 3 total and 2 apply to us. Are there any other forms or things to sign by me or the Sponsor (husband) as part of the application?
- Part 1 consent from me the application for Home Office to verify application info, Part 2 Consent to verify third party information with name and signature of joint owner (husband) (and Part 3 doesn’t apply as that is for third party financial sponsor which we don’t have)

13.   Just FYI, in the section for Your sponsor’s military service, it doesn’t ask for when he started at this location, which was April 2018, I moved up Jan 2019, so we ‘commuted’ for 9 months)
- it asked for Rank, Country of current posting, Length of current posting, Where is member currently located, Expected duration of enlistment or commission

If anyone has wisdom to share, especially for 1-6, I will be forever grateful and you deserve something like a community service award!

Many thanks
Kookycat

oh dear no replies yet, perhaps I jumped in with too much, sorry 
Is anyone able to advise on the interval of the 6 (to 12) documents that I need to include?

Proof of Address Documents for 2 years? I swear I’ve seen other talk on here about the ILR application requiring documents spread over 2.5 years? But it quite clearly states 2 years.
- If I apply 25 Sep 2019, would that 2 years cover Sep 2017 – Sep 2019? I will already have the most recent bank statements (30 Aug for him, 04 Sep for me, so within 28 days) so I assume I shouldn’t count this Sep 19 as one of the 6?
- I think that works out to be:
     - Sep 2017, Jan 2018, May 2018, Sep 2018, Jan 2019, May 2019 (that’s 6 over 2 years), plus Aug/Sep 2019 is shown with our bank statements already. Should I include March 2017 (goes back 2.5 years) as a bonus 7th just to be safe?
- In the documents list, it states: ‘’ Items of correspondence addressed to Me and Husband at the same address as evidence you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together, covering the last 2 years’’

thank you very much

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but I would definitely play it safe - provide the extra document to cover the added period. It surely won't affect the application negatively having a couple of extra proofs in there

I'm afraid I don't know anything about the online application as our ILR won't be until summer 2020 but I'll be checking back on the answers for sure!

oh dear no replies yet, perhaps I jumped in with too much, sorry 
Is anyone able to advise on the interval of the 6 (to 12) documents that I need to include?

Proof of Address Documents for 2 years? I swear I’ve seen other talk on here about the ILR application requiring documents spread over 2.5 years? But it quite clearly states 2 years.
- If I apply 25 Sep 2019, would that 2 years cover Sep 2017 – Sep 2019? I will already have the most recent bank statements (30 Aug for him, 04 Sep for me, so within 28 days) so I assume I shouldn’t count this Sep 19 as one of the 6?
- I think that works out to be:
     - Sep 2017, Jan 2018, May 2018, Sep 2018, Jan 2019, May 2019 (that’s 6 over 2 years), plus Aug/Sep 2019 is shown with our bank statements already. Should I include March 2017 (goes back 2.5 years) as a bonus 7th just to be safe?
- In the documents list, it states: ‘’ Items of correspondence addressed to Me and Husband at the same address as evidence you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together, covering the last 2 years’’

thank you very much

It used to be that the FLR application asked for 2 years and ILR asked for 2.5 years but you are applying using the AF version rather than M, it's likely that there is just a discrepancy between the versions.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably provide 2.5 years of evidence even though it says 2 years. It doesn't hurt to do that and it'll keep you from worrying about it!

oh dear no replies yet, perhaps I jumped in with too much, sorry 

Oh, sorry!  I saw your post at the weekend, but I was on my phone when I looked at it, and I couldn't respond in-depth at the time, and then it was no longer marked as unread.  Sorry!

3.  If it doesn't ask if you're exempt from proving knowledge of English because you're from the US, I'd be inclined to put "no" to the degree question to avoid this path.  I really hate the structure of the online applications and their question flows... they make assumptions rather than asking.

4.  I had a few speeding tickets over the 20-ish years that I was driving in the US, but I couldn't remember the details of the earlier ones.  I contacted the state that issued my driving license and had an email exchange with a person from the relevant department in their central office, and she explained that unless it was a serious offense, the state used to delete records beyond 10 years.  They stopped dropping off at some point, but my earliest offenses were dropped, and she only had one on record for me from 2005.  So I included that email exchange, and said in the "any other information" box that I was aware of a speeding fine in the summer of 1991 (my first speeding ticket... I remember getting that one  ), and another one that I wasn't sure of the date of, plus the one in 2005 that I had the details of in the email.

5.  If you put your current address and the date you moved there (which would be more recent than the date you have lived together), does it then ask for previous addresses?  Regardless, I'd be inclined to put my current address.

6.  When I applied for ILR, my husband had just started a new job close to our new home, but for the 18 months prior to our application date, he was working in Salisbury, which was a 3-hour commute away.  He'd drive to Salisbury on Monday morning, work all week, then drive home on Friday night.  His address was our home, and he received his post at our home, so we didn't make it any more complicated than that.  The 6-12 items of correspondence evidenced that we lived together.

7.  Since I said you should put your current address in the spot for your question #3, I'd put yes here and list the previous address.

8.  Did the old passports have visits to the UK in them?  At any rate, if you don't have them, you don't have them.  I really think UKVI only want the passport(s) since you got your visa and moved to the UK, though.

9.  Net pay?  Really?  Not gross pay?  Do what you can.  The ECO will make their own calculation according to the guidance, anyway.  I assume his pay is such that there's no worry about meeting the threshold, no matter how they calculate it?

10.  Did you accidentally tick the box that you're using an immigration advisor?

11.  If you're not relying on this income to meet the threshold, it would be less paperwork to omit it.

12.  Just those two consent forms apply.  I submitted every page, anyway, even if it didn't apply to me, but if you don't have a third-party who needs to give consent, then nobody signs that one.

13.  This is not a question...?

Phew.  I think this is all sound advice.  I wouldn't mind someone else confirming or correcting me.

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but I would definitely play it safe - provide the extra document to cover the added period. It surely won't affect the application negatively having a couple of extra proofs in there

thanks biscuits, that's what I thought but helps to hear someone else say it too,  : )

It used to be that the FLR application asked for 2 years and ILR asked for 2.5 years but you are applying using the AF version rather than M, it's likely that there is just a discrepancy between the versions.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably provide 2.5 years of evidence even though it says 2 years. It doesn't hurt to do that and it'll keep you from worrying about it!

thanks larrabee! That's good to know and I guess makes sense,  so I will just cover the 2.5 years with an extra piece. Yup I'm worrying haha but this helps so much to run things by someone else

Oh, sorry!  I saw your post at the weekend, but I was on my phone when I looked at it, and I couldn't respond in-depth at the time, and then it was no longer marked as unread.  Sorry!

wow jfkimberly, thank you! No need to apologize, you're so kind to take the time to answer all of them

Yes, the question structure is really difficult on some of them! In reply to some of your points -

4. I'll have another look for the 'any other information box' and put the best I can remember. Yes haha the first speeding ticket does feel a bit more poignant!

6. Great to hear you had similar situation and not a problem, I'm sure it's common. It's just hard not to obsess and start second (third/fourth) guessing yourself. Our correspondence will show we lived together.

9. Yeah military pay is kind of a mess, and they make a lot of admin mistakes. But yes we are fortunate that we can both clear the minimum with a little breathing room with each of our incomes, so I guess they can still do their calculations.

10. lol no I swear I didn't! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So yeah, I'll stick to the simplest answer for some of these - I meet the requirements, no need to get over complicated beyond that, and it's partly just a stinker of an online format and I'll try not to psych myself out haha.

Thank you again, it helps so much to talk to other people about this!

HELP! I applied online tonight (past midnight, officially on the 24th) and I don't see the option to pick Super Premium service! The only thing that was available Standard at £2408.20 (including biometrics) when I submitted and paid for the application. Now that is on the PDF of my application that I could download - it says Service Option: Standard. And now I'm logged in to Sopra Steria site and there is NOWHERE to pick Super Premium. They list the premium lounge for £200, document checking, VIP and mobile popup, etc.

I really need the Super Premium! I want to pay the £800! I have tickets to fly back to see my family in California for Xmas and if I get stuck in standard processing I will loose out on that 

Am I missing something? Or do I really have no option to get Super Premium? Should I call them?

I feel kinda sick