Hi all

Please may you help me clarify in applying for ILR on a Skilled Worker Visa, from which date do I calculate my continuous period. I am aware that I can apply for ILR 28 days before I reach a continuous period of 5 years but the guidance on the starting date from which to count is unclear. There is also mixed advice online.

I applied from outside the UK initially and my dates are:

Date of visa approval from Home Office: 23 November 2021
Date of BRP issue: 14 December 2021
Visa vignette start date: 27 December 2021
Entered the UK: 31 December 2021

The exact wording on the letter from 23 Nov stated: “congratulations, your application for a UK visa has been successful. that means that when you arrive in the UK you will have permission to be in the UK (known as leave to enter) as a Skilled Worker from 27 December 2021 to 17 January 2025”

Hi guys. The background is such that my fee waiver was lodged in time in August 2026. A month later, my employer obtained my Certificate of Sponsorship, however, I have not received a decision on my FW application yet.

Pursuant to 34G(4)(b), I can make the paid FLR application and it will take the date of my original FW. That satisfies the first limb. However, my question is whether after doing that, I can safely vary the paid FLR to a Skilled Worker visa.

Of course, I would attend the biometrics for both applications - but I am only looking for people in similar situations where they did the same thing. Please let me know.

Anything at all....I got to the UK on a dependent visa Feb 2023,my main applicant visa was cancelled April 2024 because he did a no show in school. Meanwhile,i got a new Cos and i put in the application befr the said visa cancellation date.Applied for a fee waiver to enable us stay in the country so we won't overstay. It was approved.
The Cos was refused with claims that I don't meet the requirements because I'm on immigration bail.I did an administrative review but nothing. The lawyer said since ders a pending application, we still have rights to work stay etc until you get a response.
Fast forward to Jan 2025,the lawyer applied for family/private life visa for us and we asked to come for biometrics. I did and we was asked to submit our int passport that it will be emailed back to us....till now,Home Office still holding on to it.
So..September 17th 2026, I got a mail to come fr a HO reporting
I got there and the interviewer asked me why m not living with my main applicant i.e my husband
I explained oh because of his school and my work
He was like No,you're not supposed to be working,you don't have any application ongoing....
I said, no dts not correct
I put in a Cos I haven't gotten any response, d family and private life visa too...
It was there i got to know that my Cos application has been withdrawn since without my knowledge because then I refused to put him(my main applicant)on the Cos when I did the application.
Secondly,d family/private life visa too has been refused so ders no pending application anymore.The interviewer even said oh HO will fine my workplace 20k fine for employing me illegally.
I was like but I have a unique application number for checks since I don't have a brp and it always comes back dt I have a pending application.
I am devastated,I need help
Anything, I was served the letter of refusal on the 15th of October and asked to leave the UK with no right to appeal the decision.
My main applicant has runaway....I have no recourse to him
Anything can help me at this point

Husband came to UK on skilled worker visa and is settled, going to be eligible to apply for citizenship next month. I came along as his dependant and will be eligible to apply for ILR early next year. I just want to clarify please that if my husband is a citizen at the time of me receiving settlement, would I still have to wait for a year before I can apply for citizenship or I could apply immediately?

I am working towards dual citizenship between Britain and the US, as the maternal side of my family is from Britain. I was born in the US in 1999 and am currently a US citizen.

My mother was born in Cumberland in 1967, and from what I understand she never became a US citizen. Her parents were also British. I‘m unable to confirm with her, but I distinctly recall her referring to herself as a British Subject, and from what I understand, most British Subjects cannot pass citizenship onto their children. However, based on what I’ve read, a person born in Cumberland in 1967 should be a British Citizen. Is there a way to verify if she is a British Subject or Citizen?

I have a copy of her birth certificate and would like to move onto next steps but am thrown a bit on how to proceed because of this. Based on what I’ve read, she should be a British Citizen, and if so I should automatically be a British Citizen and be able to just apply for a British passport. I don‘t mind spending the money and risking it getting rejected, but before I do I just thought I would attempt to get answers to my questions and ensure I’m not missing any other crucial information on the process. I would also like to know if there is any reason not to apply for the British passport if I’m not certain, other than the loss of the application fee.

Hi everyone,

We’ve just submitted our UK spouse visa application and I’m looking for some reassurance regarding a couple of sick pay adjustments on my payslips.

I’m the UK sponsor and have been permanently employed by the same company since February 2026. We’ve submitted six months of payslips and matching bank statements covering April to September 2026, along with my employment contract and employer’s letter.

My basic annual salary during the six-month period was initially £26,624, increasing to £26,728 in August. I also earned £2,779.58 in overtime during those six months.

My understanding of the Category A calculation is:
Lowest annual basic salary: £26,624
Six months’ overtime annualised: £5,559.16
Total annualised income: £32,183.16
This puts me £3,183.16 above the £29,000 requirement, without including any bonuses.

However, I’ve noticed the following sick pay adjustments:

May 2026:

Basic salary: £2,218.67
Retrospective sick leave deduction: −£100.85
Statutory Sick Pay: +£24.65
Occupational Sick Pay adjustment: +£76.20
Total gross earnings: £2,218.67

June 2026:
Basic salary: £2,218.67
Sick leave (1 day): −£100.85
Statutory Sick Pay: +£24.65
Monthly bonus: +£44
Total gross earnings: £2,186.47

Both payslips clearly show my normal basic salary, with the sickness adjustments separately itemised.

I’ve even tried calculating it conservatively by deducting the full £100.85 from my basic monthly salary, ignoring SSP, occupational sick pay and bonuses entirely.

That would leave a lowest monthly salary of £2,117.82, which annualises to £25,413.84. Adding the £5,559.16 annualised overtime gives £30,973, still £1,973 above the requirement.

My question is whether these sick pay adjustments could cause any issues with the Category A calculation, despite the income remaining above £29,000 even under that conservative approach.

I’ve read the sick pay provisions in Appendix FM-SE, but I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has had a similar situation involving one or two sick days on their payslips.

Has anyone successfully applied with something similar, or had UKVI question a small sickness deduction?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in the UK and waiting for my appeal hearing regarding my asylum refusal at the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

I would like to ask whether it is possible to submit an application for Further Leave to Remain (FLR(FP)) on the basis of family or private life while my asylum appeal is still pending.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or successfully applied for FLR(FP) while waiting for an asylum appeal hearing?

I would really appreciate it if anyone could share their experience or explain whether making this application could affect my ongoing asylum appeal or immigration status.

I understand that every case is different, and I will seek professional legal advice before making any decisions. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have been through a similar situation or have relevant knowledge of UK immigration law.

Thank you very much for your help.

My employer letter states “this person has not taken any unauthorised leaves in duration of employment” is that sufficient or they need to add the types of leaves too including annual, sick, study or emergency leave?

Also they’ve written in letter that I work 10 sessions per week and in ILR application it’s more specifically asked about hours and I’ve mentioned 40 (under NHS) is that enough or I ask employer to specify in number hours rather than sessions?

Many thanks.

Hello, thought I’d ask here;

My wife was due for her biometrics last week but had to reschedule because she had to deliver our 2nd baby.

She rescheduled it for 20/10/26 (tomorrow) this was no hassle as we had enough time for rescheduling. However, today (19/10/26) we had our mandatory 5th day check up for the baby and found his jaundice level was high and had to go phototherapy from today until she gets discharged from the hospital. When we found out today that she will be staying for a couple of days we missed the 24hr window of rescheduling.

We dropped an email to UKVI explaining the situation given that there are no numbers to call (for rescheduling less than 24hrs had to go through an email and normally 10 working days before a response).

Given our situation, are we still allowed to get a different dates without the risk of losing all the money we spent for booking it?

Thanks a mil.

Hello everyone,

I switched from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa in the UK. My approval email is dated 10 December 2021, while my BRP issue date is 13 December 2021.
Which date counts towards the 5-year ILR qualifying period?
Thank you!

Has anyone had a similar situation where they switched from Student to Skilled Worker from within the UK and later applied for ILR?
Thanks so much!

Hi everyone, looking for some insights on our UK Standard Visitor Visa reapplication (applied from Indonesia).

Timeline Status:
- Biometrics / VFS Submission Date: October 7, 2026
- Current Status: Today is October 19, which marks Day 8 of 15 working days (standard 3-week processing window).
- Planned Travel Date: November 7, 2026 (getting closer and the anxiety is kicking in!)

Context of Previous Refusal:
My partner was previously refused a Standard Visitor Visa due to two main grounds:

1. Relationship Legitimacy: The ECO doubted our relationship and whether we had actually met in person. (For context, we have been in a committed relationship for over 5 years).

2. Accommodation Details: Lack of clear arrangement details for the stay.

How We Addressed It in This Reapplication:

- Relationship Proof: Submitted 6 authentic joint photographs showing us together in person across various real-life locations and activities over time.

- Accommodation: Provided clear, confirmed accommodation details and a complete address for his stay in the UK.

- Financials: Included proper bank funds, employment/financial supporting documents, and 6-month stock account statements.

- Explanations: We kept the application form's text boxes straightforward (stating his explicit purpose to visit his girlfriend studying in Leeds, his funds, and his intent to return to Indonesia), but relied on the attached physical documents (photos and accommodation proof) to back up the relationship. We didn't upload a separate cover letter document.

My Questions:

-For those who reapplied after a refusal on relationship/accommodation grounds, does this combination of evidence (joint photos + clear accommodation + funds) typically suffice to overturn a refusal?

- Is relying solely on the application form's text boxes (without a separate cover letter) generally accepted by ECOs for explaining visit intentions?

Would deeply appreciate any constructive thoughts or similar experiences. Thank you!

Hi,

I'm the uk sponsor for an imminent application for a spousal visa for a US citizen. We will get married in November in the USA and then apply for a spousal visa.

I was made redundant last December and didn't start my current job until March. During that "in between" time I claimed Universal Credit and JSA. I've earned over £29k in the last year even excluding the JSA/UC payments, and will be able to provide payslips from Nov and Dec 2025, and from March 2026 onwards.

My new job will start in 1 week, no period of unemployment in between, and significantly above £29k salary.

I'm not sure what evidence they want for the 3 months of unemployment? I don't think I got payslips for that period.

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I've uploaded all my documents for my ILR application. On the TLScontact Summary page, all files show green ticks, filenames, sizes and page counts.

However, I can't preview or download any of them, even BEFORE clicking "Submit Documents". The page literally asks me to review everything first 😂

Has anyone experienced this recently? Is this normal, and did you submit anyway without any issues?

My biometric appointment is tomorrow, so any advice would be really appreciated! Thanks!!

Anyone have any experience getting in to the UK on a ETA visa if they had a state prison (not federal) sentence less then 12 months? I know people will say well why didn’t you say yes when they asked if you were convicted? it’s because it was pardoned later on. Will that still show up at customs in the UK though? Been approved for the ETA for tourism and we’re leaving next week. It took 2 mins to apply and get approved. Any help much appreciated.

I’m applying for a UK Standard Visitor visa for my mother. I accidentally entered the number from her expired passport on the application. She now has a new passport with a different number.

At her biometrics appointment, the visa centre noticed the difference and asked her to sign a form adding her correct passport number. She attended with her new passport, and the centre accepted her biometrics.

Has anyone had a similar experience where the passport number on the application was from an expired passport, but they attended biometrics with their new passport? Did the centre send the explanation to UKVI, and what was the outcome?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice or experiences from anyone who has recently applied for a UK Skilled Worker visa extension.

Our situation:

Country of residence: United Kingdom
Visa type: Skilled Worker visa extension (in-country application)
Applicant: My wife, who is the main Skilled Worker visa holder
Application submitted: 20 July 2026 under urgent category.
Previous visa expiry: 14 September 2026
Employer: Existing UK sponsor
Additional payment: UKVI subsequently requested an extra £315, explaining that the application required an additional fee because the occupation was not on the Immigration Salary List. We paid the requested amount.
Current status: Still awaiting a decision as of 18 October 2026.

My wife has been working in the UK under the Skilled Worker route, and this is an extension rather than a first-time application.

It has now been almost three months since we submitted the application. We haven’t received a final decision, even after making the additional payment requested by UKVI.
I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have experienced something similar.
Has anyone recently waited this long for a Skilled Worker extension?

Has anyone received an additional payment request from UKVI, and did it affect their processing time?

Could the processing time effectively restart after the additional payment was made?

Is there anything we can do to request an update or escalate the delay?

We understand that processing times can vary, but the lack of clarity is becoming frustrating, especially as the previous visa has now expired while the extension remains pending.
I’d appreciate any advice or recent experiences.
Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for advice on whether to apply for another 6-month UK Standard Visitor visa or go directly for a 2-year visa.

Personal context: I'm a Pakistani national who completed my education in the US and visited UK for the first time while exiting and am now based in Pakistan.

I previously held a 6-month UK visitor visa and spent around 5 months in the UK visiting my brother and his family and meeting my nephew and his wife for the first time, so it was an extended reunion of sorts and meeting old friends fron school. I also spent some time visiting a friend in Europe during that period. I don't intend to live in the UK, and I expect my future visits to be shorter.

1. Visa advice

Would you recommend another 6-month visa or applying directly for a 2-year multiple-entry visa?

While cost wise four six month visas and a two year are comparable, a 2-year visa would give me greater flexibility to visit family when needed without repeatedly applying.

2. Application advice

Could my previous lengthy stay raise concerns if I apply for a 2-year visa?

How should I explain my circumstances and future travel intentions clearly and honestly?

What supporting documents would help demonstrate that my visits are temporary and that I intend to return to Pakistan after each trip?

I'd appreciate insights from anyone with similar experience or knowledge of UK visitor visa applications.

I'm interested in hearing from South Africans who pursued postgraduate studies in the UK and then tried to build a career there. Was studying in the UK a worthwhile way to access employment opportunities, or would you recommend applying for jobs directly from South Africa? I'd particularly like to understand how difficult it was to secure a job with visa sponsorship after graduating, whether the university's reputation and career network helped, and whether the financial investment was worth it. If you completed an MBA, I'd also be interested in hearing whether it significantly improved your career prospects. Looking back, would you recommend this route to someone hoping to gain international work experience without taking on substantial debt? I'd appreciate honest accounts of both the advantages and the challenges.

Hi I am employed under the health and care visa at my current job as a band 5 nurse. I have a year remaining on my 3 year visa but I have found another job and I am planning to make the switch. My new employer issued my CoS before my references were sent over. They have told me that I need to switch visas before they give me my unconditional offer letter. In my conditional offer letter I see one of the prerequisites is 'proving my right to work' and they said that means getting my visa with them. They have also advised me to not hand in my notice at my current employment till they have given me my unconditional offer letter.

I'm thinking how it would work since I am liable to work the 8 weeks of my notice period at my current trust. And as far as I'm aware I cannot work for my old trust while having my visa with my new trust. My new trust has also given the start date of my job in my CoS as 19 October which they said they usually give a random date.

Has anyone had any similar experience. I do not want to apply for a new visa with this trust when they have not given any contract to prove I'll have a job once I've done that. Any advice would be much appreciated. Regards

Hello everyone. I have a question regarding the translation of bank statements required for an Application for tourist visa. There are 22 pages in total—do you think I need to have all of them translated? Paying over €500 for a translation seems a bit excessive to me, especially since they likely only need to look at the figures. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, I'll try to sum it up quickly:

My partner is from the states and visits frequently as a visitor, we're dating long distance and we're looking at getting her a visa sorted to live here, we've looked at working visas and spousal, she has an employer here who has promised to sort a visa out for her... for the past 6 years, it's unlikely it'll happen still she has hope.

I wanted to ask here; her grandfather on her dads side (her dads dad) was born in Manchester as a UK citizen and was in the army, however we don't have many documents from him apart from an old photo and a name, is there any chance we can get her to apply for citizenship through that, and if so, how would we go about it, what information would we need?

I'm also open to any other information or suggestions to this, as we're nearing 30 and would really like to move in and get going on starting a proper life together.

Thanks for your time

Hi everyone,
I’m trying to work out whether I have any route to British citizenship through my maternal grandmother, and I’d appreciate advice from anyone familiar with historical British nationality law, particularly the rules before 1983.
Here are my family details:
● My grandmother: Born in London, England, in 1905. She moved to Canada in 1910 and lived here continuously until her death in 1980.
● Her nationality: I have her original British passport, issued in 1977 and expired in 1987. It describes her status as “British subject: citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies.” I have her birth certificate too, including a certified true copy issued in 1945.
● My grandfather: Born in Canada and was a Canadian citizen. He married my grandmother before my mother was born.
● My mother: Born in Canada on 1936. She has a Canadian passport, and I don’t know whether she ever held British nationality or registered as a British citizen.
● Me: Born in Canada on 1966. I am a Canadian citizen.
I don’t know whether my grandmother ever became a naturalized Canadian citizen. I suspect she may not have, but I haven’t confirmed this.
My questions are:

1. Could I qualify for British citizenship through my grandmother under Section 4C or another registration provision for people born before 1983 to British mothers?
2. What is the best way to establish my mother’s historical nationality status? Should I contact UK Visas and Immigration, HM Passport Office, or the UK National Archives first?
3. Has anyone successfully navigated a similar case involving a British-born grandmother, a Canadian-born mother, and a Canadian-born grandchild?
4. I understand that being descended from someone born in the UK does not automatically confer British citizenship, especially given the historical restrictions on transmission through women.
5. I’m hoping to identify the correct legal route and the documents I should obtain before making an application.
6. Thanks in advance for any advice or similar experiences!

My boyfriend applied from Indonesia to visit me in Leeds on 7–16 November. He had biometrics on 7 October, and today is 19 October with no decision yet.

His first application was refused on 30 September (letter attached) because of insufficient relationship/accommodation evidence and a £1,500 trip budget considered disproportionate to his £3,000 savings.

For the second application, we provided the agent with:
- Our photos together
- Passport and six months of bank statements.
- Stock Investment transaction history explaining transfers.
- My invitation/accommodation letter and UK status/accommodation documents.
- His father’s signed consent letter.
- Return flight reservation and itinerary.

The new form states £3,471 savings and a £1,054 trip budget. It also explains parental support, stock-account transfers and the previous refusal.

However, the agent confirmed no cover letter was submitted, only the father’s consent letter. The explanations are in the application form.

Could the lack of a cover letter be an issue? Anyone with a similar refusal/reapplication experience, or still waiting after 7 October biometrics?

Ok I am very frustrated. I work in a local authority as a children’s social worker. This is job code 2461. I am seeing conflicting advice about whether or not this is part of the Health and Social Care visa. Does anyone have experience applying for the HSC visa as a children’s services social worker??

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the UK on a Graduate visa and want to switch to a Skilled Worker visa.

My employer is considering sponsoring me under SOC 3549 (Business Associate Professionals not Elsewhere Classified), with a salary of £33,400 per year. I'm under 26 and would be applying as a new entrant.

I understand SOC 3549 is on the Temporary Shortage List for certain job types, including business support officers and contract administrators.

My questions are:

Can someone switch from a Graduate visa under SOC 3549 as a new applicant?

Can the new-entrant salary rules allow a salary of £33,400?

Does the actual job description have to match one of the specific occupations listed under SOC 3549?

Has anyone successfully received a visa under this code in 2026?

I'd appreciate advice based on the current Immigration Rules or recent experience. Thank you!