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Hello all,

I am sorry to ask such a basic question, but I wondered if anyone might be able to help me.

I am finalising an application for ILR after five years on Tier-1 General, am unsure what to put under section 6.1--'When did you first enter the UK?'

The reason I am unsure is prior to getting on Tier 1 General, I was previously in the country for a year and a half on a post-study visa. The start date of my Tier-1 General visa did not correlate to my entering the country (I was already living here), or to the expiration of my post-study visa. I know that my first Tier-1 visa expired on 9 June 2013, but I am unable to find anything in any of the correspondence they sent me to indicate what specific date it was valid from.

As it expired on 9 June 2013, would it be all right to assume it was valid from 9 June 2011? Or do the visas tend to run in such a way that it would have been valid from 10 June 2011 to 9 June 2013? I don't know how pedantic they are over something like this, but I want to get it right if I can.

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

Surely you have a visa (in your passport ?) stating when your Tier 1 was issued?

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, though I have my pre-Tier 1 visas in my passport (two study visas and a post-study visa), my first Tier-1 General visa was issued as a separate biometric residence permit in the form of an ID card. I submitted this card with my application to extend my visa three years ago, and they did not return the original to me.

The only Tier 1 General visa I definitively have now is my current one, which expires on 9 June 2016. Looking through a photocopy of my last visa application, I can see I wrote that my last visa expired on 9 June 2013. Unfortunately, there is no notice of when it became valid in the first place.

I still have my original acceptance letter from HMRC from June 2011 containing the Biometric Residence Permit; unfortunately, the letter is undated and does not contain any specific detail as when the visa is valid from.

As I was already in the country when I applied, it is not so simple as looking at my passport to see what date I entered the country, either.

I am sorry for spelling all this out, but I have checked all of the above, and cannot think of any other way to confirm what date the visa was actually valid from. I wondered if there is anyone who has applied for ILR recently or is applying now and might happen to know how the start date of their Tier 1 General corresponded to the expiration date--ie., if it is the same day as the expiration date (9 June in my case) or one day ahead (ie., 10 June start with 9 June expiration).

Apologies for the length of this and many thanks again for any help anyone can offer.