For those who completed their stage 2, I am yet to apply as I want to land a job before i move there physically… so a few questions
When i submit stage 2, can i put arrival date say Feb 2022? And from there i presume the visa will be valid for 3 months?
When does the 3 year clock start on the visa? When u first land in the UK or your visa start date?
Assuming I don’t get a job, before the visa kicks in and i get it in to the 1st year of the 3 year visa. Can i still apply for ILR at the end of that 3 year although i would have technically been working for 2.5 years or even 2 years in the country and paying taxes?
Would really appreciate any clarification so I can apply for the Stage 2 and date of arrival accordingly.
You need to complete your stage 2 submission within the time given in your endorsement (I forgot how long that was). However, when submitting your stage 2 application, you can set a future date (within limit) - I think Feb 2022 is doable. You can also get some further time delay by booking your biometric submission a little late in the window given, after the stage 2 submission is complete. So pushing your arrival date to Feb is definitely possible.
Visa validity is from the date the visa is issued, which is a generally a few days after your biometric submission happens. If you are targeting Feb 22, then you will likely book your biometric around Dec-Jan (approximately) and that would mean your visa is valid from them. You can choose the length of your visa, up to 3 years.
3 years for ILR eligibility is from the day you enter the UK. However you can apply it 30 days before your 3 year anniversary. In some sense, you can time all of this perfectly. Your vignette is issued with 30 days validity - you enter within those 30 days and you can then apply for your ILR just before your visa expires. So long as you apply for ILR, then you can stay in the country till the decision on your ILR application is finalised, even if your visa has expired. (Obviously, traveling during the time your ILR application is pending is not advised).
(1) @Katie just as @Shreeniwas_Iyer pointed out the visa is valid for 90 days just to allow you to enter the UK to collect your BRP.
(2) I am not very sure about when it is supposed to start. My wife and I filled 15th of July but our BRP had an issued date of July 1 and we entered the UK 25th of July. I am not also sure when it is supposed to start counting.
(3) On the GOV.UK website, they said show that you have earned money in your field and paid tax for the number of years you are showing to get your ILR. I also don’t know if it is a very rigid rule that you have to earn money for a specific amount of time you were given (3 or 5 years for promise).
In @sojo case the ILR residence would start from July 25. I just applied for ILR and they only count the day you started the residence in the U.K., not when the visa was issued.
@Katie
I guess Shreeniwas and Sojo have covered everything. I am yet to enter UK. when i applied in July for stage 2, i entered 31st Aug as entry date. We plan to come on 10th. Lets see what our BRP Card says.
I am also learning new things here from Sojo’s and Shreeniwas’s experience.
Shreeniwas another query is do you have to be earning from Day 1 of entering the UK. or if I move there and search for a job and in say only 2.5 years out of the 3 years I’m earning will i still be eligible for ILR or will have to complete the additional 0.5 years ?
Wondering because accordingly ill apply for 3 or 4 years. as I got endorsed in exceptional talent so after 3 years I’m eligible for ILR. And this is not clear on the Gov UK website for ILR…
I don’t think you have to be working each day of the 3 years. At the time of application of ILR, you must be able to exhibit evidence of an ability to earn income from the line of work in which you were endorsed. This means if you have employment (or other means of income related to Digital Technology Sector) close to the ILR application, you should be okay.
I have a related question to entering the UK. I would like to enter the UK in December. I don’t know is have to wait until 3 months before the day I want to enter the UK to make my stage 2 application?
Or can I apply for stage 2 right away now even though December is more than 3 months away?
@Temi you can put your stage 2 application 3 months before your tentative travel date. For example, if you want to reach uk on December 1, you can put your application somewhere in the first week of September.
@Shreeniwas_Iyer On your point 3) If the ILR eligibility starts from the day you enter the UK then one can never complete 3 years exactly as per the BRP dates. For eg.
BRP Date of Issue: 09 June 2021
BRP Valid Until: 20 June 2024
Now, I arrived in the UK on 13 Sep 2021 which is 3 months past the start date of the BRP so in actual by 20 June 2024, I would be completing 2 years and 9 months of stay in the UK. Am I still eligible to apply for ILR then? or I will have to go for another year’s of visa extension?
If you set your the date of entry forward, the date on your BRP will be the date that you entered the UK and not the date the visa was issued.
This means your 3 years start counting from the moment you enter the UK. For example:
Got my endorsement in April 2022,
Applied for my Stage II in June 2022 but set my entry date to Feb 2023.
Got my visa in August 2022.
Entered the UK in Feb 2023 and that was the date my BRP.
@geet_umber Might be worth checking with the home office or with an immigration lawyer, but from what I understand, you might need a visa extension to cover the 35 months that’s needed before you can apply under the 3-years (Global Talent) arrangement.
I am sure and certain. The time starts counting from the date that is stated on the vignette (the entry date you filled as your entry date). Checked my immigration status on the home office website and my visa expires the 3 years from that date.