ILR - residency and visa extension

[faustina0cean]

Dear all experts,

I came to the UK with BNO Visa myself in May 2021, and am going to apply for ILR in 2026 (No spouse/ dependent).

When preparing evidence of 5 years continuous residency, there are a few issues worrying me:

1. When I first entered the UK in 2021, my passport was not stamped by officer (because it was digital visa). I only had flight E-ticket to prove for first entry, but did not keep boarding pass. When submit my passport during my ILR application, will it be an issue? There was only 1 entry stamp to UK after a trip in 2024, but my first entry stamp in 2021 is missing. Is my E-ticket sufficient to prove? Will the caseworker solely rely on my submitted documents to prove my 5 years residency?

2. I was employed by a company during Sep 2021 - Jun 2022, but unfortunately there was no PAYE records of that employer in my HMRC account, I called employer and HMRC but both were unable to fix yet. Truth is I paid all tax and NI which was deducted before paying to my bank account already. I have payslips, P45, P60 and letter of employment from that employer. When submit documents during my ILR application, if caseworker track from HMRC and found no employment records from that employer, will they refuse my ILR because no record in HMRC? Or my P45, P60 and letter of employment are sufficient to prove?

3. Should I contact HMRC to correct the PAYE records? but I'm really worried if the employer didn't pay tax on my behalf, HMRC will hold me accountable and treat as I didn't pay tax and will affect my ILR, as I heard there are ILR refusal cases due to the tax related issues and update, which made Home Office think the applicant is "dishonest".

4. If they really refused my ILR application because no record from HMRC, can I extend my BNO Visa for 1 year and apply for ILR in 2027 again? because I have employment records starting from 2022.

5. I was self employed for a few years, and have filed Tax Return every year, what documents do I need to prove my continuous residency? Are SA100(Tax Return) and SA302(Calculation) that I downloaded from my HMRC account sufficient? There is a watermark "Copy Only, Do not send to HMRC" across the page, can I use that one?

6. Can I use Council tax bills, Tenancy agreements and Bank statements (with daily spending transactions) as evidence of continuous residency? Are these sufficient?

Apologize for long questions. I really appreciate your help. Thank you very much.

[zimba]

1. You do not need to submit or prove anything. You do not need to prove continuous residency at all. UKVI has ALL your records including your flight and digital entry data.

2. This has no relevance to your ILR

3. This has no relevance to your ILR. The very very old Tier 1 general tax-related refusals you probably have read about have nothing to do with what you are describing at all.

4. They will not refuse you. Your HMRC records are irrelevant to ILR

5. You do not need to prove continuous residency at all or send any of that. Where did you get such an idea ??

6. Again, you do not need to prove continuous residency at all or send any of that. That is not how the rules work.

I suggest you read the relevant official guide rather than making up your own assumptions: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... +route.pdf

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it. I'm a bit confused. As we need to meet the 5 years continuous residency, so I took reference from the continuous residency guidance in the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ce__1_.pdf

BNO is included in the guidance, in the section of "Burden and standard of proof", it says "The applicant must show that they meet the continuous residency requirement."

And I saw from EUSS which also required evidence to proof 5 years residency in the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settleme ... -residence

So I assume we also need to prove residency with similar documents, or EUSS is different from BNO route in evidence aspect?

Apologize for confusion as this is new route and no much information can be found. Any advise or information will be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

[zimba]

An applicant who has held a visa for the required qualifying period for ILR as per the rules qualifies. That is all it takes to show that you had continuous residence as per immigration rules. You do not have to send documents to prove continuous residence at all and there are no rules requiring any specific document to do so.

What you quoted literally says that if a caseworker wants to challenge that, then such a burden is on the home office:

The applicant must show that they meet the continuous residence requirement.
if you do not consider that a period in the UK counts as continuous residence or lawful
presence the burden of proof is on the Home Office. The standard of proof is the
balance of probabilities (it is more likely than not).

Appendix EU which governs the EUSS is a totally separate part of the rules and has its own specific requirements which are not relevant to your application at all.

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it.

I had made SAR request to UKVI (with my BNO passport number) last month, and received the document today.

In the document, it also mentioned that “It should also be noted that the Home Office border systems hold records of passenger UK entry and exit data only via scheduled commercial routes. The accuracy of the information provided is dependent on the quality of data submitted by the carriers."

It is actually unexpected, as I expected I would have Entry records which my BNO passport scanned when I entered the UK at the Border Officer counter.

In my SAR file, only outbound flights are shown, because I used BNO passport for flight check-in so carrier has my detail. But unfortunately, my first entry to UK in 2021 and second entry to UK in 2024 are all missing because I used HKSAR Passport for flights check-in. But I used BNO Passport to enter the UK at border counter every time, as it is linked to my BNO Visa.

So I assume our Entry records that passport scanned at border counter are stored in another system? but these records are not shown on the SAR file.

I have a few questions:

1. When the caseworker work on our ILR application, do they check with another system which stored our Entry records that passport scanned at the border counter by the border staff? I am worried as the records are missing in SAR file.

2. I have made another SAR request again with both my BNO passport number and HKSAR passport number. But in my UKVI account, there is only BNO passport as my identity, as it is linked to my BNO Visa. Do I need to add my HKSAR passport as my identity in UKVI account now?

3. If I don’t add HKSAR passport as my identity in UKVI account, will they still be able to get my records with my HKSAR Passport number from flight carrier for my SAR request?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[zimba]

When you apply, you scan and send the details of all your passports and nationalities. UKVI will do the rest. Do NOT overthink this

[faustina0cean]

Dear all,

I arrived in the UK in 2021 on a BNO Visa (5 years). I will be applying for ILR under BNO route after a few months. I have a couple of questions:

1. For the evidence of 5 years continuous residency, do I need to provide 3 different sources for each year? Are Utilities bills and Bank statements still acceptable as proof? If these aren't acceptable, would it be acceptable to submit only 2 types of documents for certain years (Council tax bills and Tenancy agreements)? Are these enough?

2. Should I apply for a 2.5-year BNO visa extension before applying for ILR? I’m worried that if my ILR is refused, I won’t have valid leave to stay and need to leave the UK immediately. Would an ILR refusal automatically turn into a Visa-extension application, or should I secure the extension first to avoid having to leave the UK immediately?

Thank you very much.

[zimba]

1. You were given advice on this back in March when you asked this as you see above. In fact, you have asked this several times now.
I repeat once again, there is no requirement to prove residency

2. Why would you be refused ILR ??

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for your reply. I have another question:

As I understand that there are new immigration rules under “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement”, and there has been a consultation on whether the new mandatory requirements will apply to BNO visa holders. If a decision is made to apply these requirements (new rules) to BNOs, with an effective date of 1 April 2026, I would like to seek clarification :

If I submit my ILR application before 1 April 2026 (for example, on 25 March 2026), but my case is not opened or assessed by a caseworker until after 1 April 2026, will my application be considered under the Old rules or the New rules?

Thank you very much.

[zimba]

The rules when you submitted your application applies !

Also, there has been no new changes to ILR rules such as 'earned settlement'. What you have heard are merely a set of proposals that are yet to be discussed and none have been implemented as rules at all.

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you very much for your reply. I have another question and would greatly appreciate your guidance:

I am a Permanent Resident of both HK and Macau. I currently hold a BNO Passport, HKSAR Passport, HK ID card, and Macau ID card. However, my Macau ID card has recently passed invalid date last month (Expired), but I am still a permanent resident of Macau.

In the ILR application form (Set O), BNO is my main Nationality. There is a question: “Do you currently hold, or have you ever held, any other nationality or citizenship?”

For my HK residency, I will fill in "China" as the Country of other nationality.

However, then for my Macau residency:

1) In the Country of other nationality, Should I fill in "Macau"? (I'm confused because Macau is not a Country, and I have filled in "China" for my HK residency, and I don’t want to appear as Hiding or unwilling to disclose my Macau status)

2) In the question “Do you have a valid national identity card?”, as my Macau ID card is invalid/expired, should I answer "No" ?

3) Do I need to upload a photo of my invalid/expired Macau ID card?

Thank you very much for your assistance.

[zimba]

HK or Macau residency is not a nationality (I believe those are considered China's territories)
If you have/had Chinese nationality, then you declare that; otherwise do not need to enter anything regarding your residence permits in other countries. Ignore the question on the national identity card.

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for your reply. I would like to clarify my understanding.

I am a Chinese national.

For the additional nationality, I only need to add "China" as the "Country of other nationality", and provide details of my HKSAR Passport and HK ID card.

I don't need to include "Macau" at all.

Is my understanding correct ? Thank you.

[zimba]

Yes. Only provide the details of any other PASSPORT you hold.

[zxyzhgp]

When I filled my ILR form 2 years ago, I used Hong Kong as my nationality and it was fine.

I did not select "China" in the nationality dropdown box list as there was "Hong Kong, China" for me

I think just "China" is for people from Chinese mainland

Maybe HO changed it again to remove "HK"? Idk, usually BNOers can have 3 different nationalities in the system, namely BNO, HKG or CHN

[zimba]

Choose the one that is available. You are really overthinking this

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for your reply, you have been very helpful.

I am going to submit my ILR application, and I would appreciate if you could clarify my understanding:


My BNO Visa approved date : 20 Apr 2021

UK Entry date: 29 May 2021

BNO Visa Expiry date : 20 Apr 2026


Recently after reading the posts about ILR eligibility, I learn that the correct earliest Date of ILR eligibility = Date of ILR decision OR the Date of Biometrics.

(the earliest Date of ILR eligibility is NOT the Date of ILR application. And the ILR application date does not matter?)


So it means that - I can start submitting my ILR Application earlier than 23 Mar 2026 (Visa Expiry date - 28 days), and I can even submit from today, as long as my Biometric Date is on/after 23 Mar 2026 ?

Could you please confirm if my understanding is correct?

Thank you very much!!

[zimba]

Visa expiry is irrelevant.

Read --> All you need to know about applying early, the application date, 28-day concession and more

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

Thank you for your reply. I have read the post before, and I was still confused.

I mean suppose that my "Visa expiry date" is the day that I have "completed my 5 years lawful continuous residence".

Is it correct that I can start submitting my ILR Application earlier than 23 Mar 2026 (Visa Expiry date - 28 days), as long as my Biometric Date is on/after 23 Mar 2026 ?

Thank you!!

[zimba]

What part of the advice was confusing ??

You claim to have read my post but your questions suggest you ignored almost all the information in that post, which is in plain English.

So what part of the advice was confusing ??

[faustina0cean]

Dear Zimba,

I have re-read the post in your link a few times again. I assume my understanding is correct.

My earliest date of ILR eligibility is 23 Mar 2026. So I can apply ILR before 23 Mar, and book my biometrics on/after 23 Mar.

Is it correct?

Please correct me if anything is incorrect.

Thank you for your advice.

[zimba]

Yes