5 Year Consecutive Clarity

[Teish393]

Hiya

I arrived in the UK 17 Sept 2020 and my Ancestry Visa expires 23 June 2025.
My Visa start date is 23 June 2020.

Has anyone dealt with this gap successfully? How did you fill out the application?

Can I apply for my ILR pre my Visa expiry or do I need to somehow bridge the 2 month gap?
I spent less than 180 days outside of the UK for that first year, including the days between my visa issue and my arrival in the UK.

Thanks in advance

[zimba]

The 5 year qualifying period is counted from the first visa issue date and you will be eligible for ILR within 28 days of completing the 5 years. The initial gap is counted towards the 180-day limit but you do not even need to enter that period on the form.

Applicants can benefit from the date of the ILR decision

[Teish393]

ok thank you that is fantastic news.
Just to really spell it out for me, as this process makes me very nervous, are you saying I can put my actual arrival date as the date I entered the UK, but they will use my visa start date, or should I use my visa Start date as the arrival date?

[zimba]

ok thank you that is fantastic news.
Just to really spell it out for me, as this process makes me very nervous, are you saying I can put my actual arrival date as the date I entered the UK, but they will use my visa start date, or should I use my visa Start date as the arrival date?

The first entry date you put on the form is irrelevant. The rules do not care about that. The rules say that the 5 years starts from the date of the first visa issue. Your ILR eligibility is determined as per the rules