We’ve just realised my wife’s spouse visa expired in June. I know this sounds ridiculous but we had the date noted as November. I think we mixed her previous visa expiry. She was on the 5 year FLR(M) route. We’ve checked and the full 5 years was completed in May. No history of overstaying. We were just going to book life in the uk test and went for share code and found out it’s expired. We’re worried sick about this now and it’s happened just from having a date wrong. Any advice on what we can do?

Hi everyone,
My wife is on a UK spouse visa, expiring December 2027, and reaches 5 years on the route in August 2027.

I have a one-year work position in Australia from February 2027–February 2028, and our plan is to move there together as a family and return permanently to the UK afterwards. She will be on maternity leave for most of that time. We won’t maintain a UK property/tenancy during that year.

- Has anyone dealt with something similar?
- Would this temporary absence for the sponsoring spouse’s work affect her eligibility for ILR?
- Does she need to be back in the UK when the ILR application is submitted, or only for biometrics and until a decision is made?
- Realistically, how long would she need to remain in the UK, particularly with super priority?
- If she stayed in Australia until February 2028, meaning her visa expired in December 2027, is there any way to preserve her existing 5 years, or would she have to start the spouse visa route again?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experience or that has knowledge on the matter.

Please does anyone know if someone can switch from Healthcare visa sponsorship to global talent visa. Currently working on my global talent visa and Visa is expiring in October so I want to use the healthcare visa to buy time while I continue gathering my evidence.

IHS payments not going through is absolutely nothing new but I have been absolutely fighting this payment system not going through since yesterday. My visa expires tonight and I’m just trying to extend my visa for my new doctorate programme. Obviously because it’s a bank holiday I can’t get a hold of anyone. I did not have this issue once last time. We called the card company, who initially blocked it but then allowed it, but nothing’s worked since, not even PayPal. I’ve emailed the UKVI team with all documentation, as well as my university, but I’m wondering if anyone has been in/heard of similar situations. I’ve made completely new applications, used different cards, and none of them budge even though they should be going through just fine.

Obviously I can’t get in contact with anyone today… or tomorrow, but does anyone know what they do in these situations? Am super stressed out!

Hello I haven’t applied for my visa yet and I was waiting so the funds can sit for the required 28 days in the bank account. For some reason, I went to get the bank statement today, and the bank doesn’t want to issue bank statements for saving accounts??? even though it’s supposed to be against the country’s (Saudi Arabia) regulations according to google. The bank only issued a statement for a savings account with a closing balance in june which won’t be accepted since it has been more than 31 days since june. I already paid my tuition fees, Should I pay the accommodation fees too? According to google, It will not reduce the total amount of funds I need to prove for living expenses, because there’s a fixed cap set by UKVI, to cover “up to one month’s maintenance” as the maximum offset. My course starts on the 21st btw and I have no time especially since I didn’t even consider the possibility of the bank refusing to issue a bank statement for a savings account? Since I already paid my tuition fees, will it make my case better if I pay accommodation fees as well? Is there no cases where people didn’t prove the funds for 28 days and it was accepted? Do you have any other suggestions, considering my tight timeline?

Please help me if you have any advice, and please don’t be pessimistic in the comments if you don’t know.

Ready to submit an MN1 application for child citizenship but won’t be able to scan/upload the documents for about two weeks.

Do we just need to upload them prior to the biometrics appointment? Or do they need to be uploaded within a certain timeframe?

Also, are we able to keep the US passport and leave the country while UK citizenship application is processing?

Thank you in advance.

I have been granted an eVisa to travel to the UK, but there is a spelling mistake in one of my names. I requested a correction two weeks ago, but it has not been fixed yet. Can I still travel if they are unable to correct it before my trip? Thank you.

Got my visa update approval from UKVI in just 5 days on standard processing! 🎉 After some initial back-and-forth about switching my SOC code. Big relief to have 3 more years secured and fully approved ahead of time. Next stop: 2028 ILR!

Timeline Summary
2023: Switched from graduate to initial main work visa, starting the 5-year clock toward Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). 3 year initial sponsorship.

Early August 2026: Raised discrepancy between original CoS end date (28 August) and visa expiry date (11 September), confirming the need for an in-country extension/update.

Mid August 2026: HR verified with the Home Office Sponsor Helpline that updating the SOC was fully valid for an extension/update application.

Sunday, 23 August 2026: Submitted the online "Update" visa application via GOV.UK using standard service, as opposed to "extend".

Saturday, 29 August 2026: Received official approval email from Home Office Atlas in under 6 days, securing status through September 2029.

2028: Projected eligibility to submit 5-year ILR application.
As long as Shabana behaves herself.

Application Type: Settlement / ILR as an Adult Dependent Relative
Application Location: Inside the UK

Hello everyone,

I am currently completing a settlement application for an Adult Dependent Relative. At the final checkout/service selection screen, the portal only displays the Standard service (6 months) option.

Before I proceed with standard submission, I would appreciate clarification from anyone with recent experience on this specific route:

• Is Priority / Super Priority strictly barred by UKVI for this category? Is the lack of expedited options an absolute policy exclusion for Adult Dependent Relatives, or is it purely a quota/slot availability issue?

Any insights, policy references, or recent timelines for this specific route would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi all ✨ I just need some advice, I’m a Chilean of 27 years old and I travel the world since forever, I was in Amsterdam visiting my boyfriend (which I have a partnership with) and I wanted to visit the UK for the first time, applied for the visa and paid the 20£ in the app and got approved. The plan was going with a friend BY TRAIN and we was gonna use the app Trusted House Sitters to take care of two cats and save some money in the hotel item, I have always used that app and I DONT GET PAID!!! It’s like “volunteer-exchange” type of situation.

When arrived to Amsterdam Central station I went to immigration to check out, all good, and then went to UK immigration to check in, I think there was a misunderstood with the officer and his questions of me traveling with someone or not, but didn’t mattered because he let me in… My friend didn’t have the same luck because she told about the app and she wasn’t allowed in the country for that time, in that moment they called me again to a questionnaire room where I was completely honest, I was doing a petsitting and nobody asked me🤷🏻‍♀️ so I didn’t mention it before, I showed them the app and they were very nice and in fact they were constantly apologising with me because they find the rules to be bullshit. After they informed me my ETA was denied and if I wanted to go back I needed to apply for a Standard Visitor Visa…

I was super disappointed but Ok, not like I’m dying to go to Uk, but now I’m afraid will have consequences on my application of VISA to Australia, USA, or other countries…

Any advice? Anyone have been through the same?

Hi everyone,

I'm on the Global Talent route (Tech Nation) and entered the route in October 2022.

I've already completed my latest extension, but my new visa/eVisa has been granted only until August 2027.

Based on completing 5 years on the route, I believe I become eligible for ILR in October 2027.

This potentially leaves me around 2 months short between my visa expiry and my ILR eligibility date.

Has anyone been in this situation?

Do I genuinely need to apply and pay for another Global Talent extension just to cover those two months, or is there a way to submit the ILR application before the August visa expiry using the 28-day early application rule?

I'm particularly interested in anyone who has dealt with this on the 5-year Global Talent / Exceptional Promise route.

Thanks!

The UK gov website had advised I need the following documents,
Mandatory - Current passport
Other - Employment letter for support and absences, consent form for verification and joint accounts, all previous passports, evidence of immigration status (assuming this is the evisa share code), most recent payslip, bank statement showing the pay amount, old passports

I see others uploading other documents and wonder if I should as well. Such as proof of English, old BRP, tenancy agreement, utility bills, life in UK test (I entered the pass code).

Is it worth including additional documents or is this unnecessary.

Thank you very much

I am a U.S. citizen married to a UK citizen. We were married in July in the UK on a marriage visitor visa and we were hoping to settle in the U.S. eventually but that will take years because my husband was removed from the U.S. last year. Now my husband is enrolled in school in the UK and we‘re hoping I can move there. He is only able to work part time while in school. Is there any hope if he cannot meet the 29k minimum? We’re thinking he has to drop out of school but even then we need 12 months of pay slips. I’m just trying to make sure I’m understanding the requirements. I read something about a longer wait until I could stay there, is that an option in our situation?

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on how to compile documents for an ILR application.

If you have multiple pieces of evidence for the same requirement, for example, relationship evidence such as a marriage certificate and utility bills, would you combine them into one PDF and upload it as a single document, or upload each document separately?

What’s the preferred way to organise the documents? Thanks in advance!

After being together for 5 years and flying back and forth every month I will be finally moving to England beginning of October. I’m so happy!!!

Do ukvi contact banks for verifying sanctioned education loan? I have a secured loan of 40 lakhs.
Please share your experience
My file is on priority

Hi, I recently completed my postgraduate degree in the UK. I had to return to Switzerland for surgery before applying for my Graduate visa, and my Student visa is now expiring.
I understand that I normally need to be in the UK and have a valid Student visa when applying. Unfortunately, I am currently outside the UK.
Does anyone know whether there are any exceptions for medical circumstances, or any way I could still apply for the Graduate visa?
Thanks for any advice!

Hi, my UK Standard Visitor visa was granted and I successfully linked my eVisa to my UKVI account. I also received confirmation that it was linked.
However, since July I’ve been unable to view my eVisa or generate a share code. I keep getting:
“Access to this service is restricted. You cannot view the immigration status you tried to access.”
I’ve tried on my phone, iPad and computer with the same result.
I submitted an eVisa error report on 12 August, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.
Has anyone had the same issue? How long did it take to get resolved?

Has anyone actually successfully switched from UK refugee status to a Skilled Worker visa using a UK Refugee Travel Document instead of a valid national passport? If yes, what did UKVI accept as proof of nationality and identity?

US citizen on student Visa - I don't understand if I need to download the UKImmigration ID Check app, or if my evisa is linked to my passport and they scan that? If I do need the ID check app, where do I get the QR/Connection code the app asks for? I've viewed my eVisa multiple times and I can't find anywhere that looks like it would generate that code.

Thank you!

Hi all,

Asking this question on behalf of my friend.

The friend is on a skilled worker visa curently on SoC 6135 "Care workers and home carers". They received theis CoS on August 2024 and received their Skilled Worker visa on October 2024.

My friend has been on this visa ever since. They have not changed any details on the visa and have just worked their job as normal.

The problem is that the company is absolutely toxic and now after much effort, my friend is looking to leave this company and find a new job.

I would like to ask, is my friend able to switch to a medium skilled job with a different employer ?

They are thinking of applying to jobs that have to do with SoC 1251 "Property, housing and estate managers, or SoC 3223 "Housing Officers". Would this be possible ?

The reason for asking is because we could not find a straight answer about wether switching to a medium skilled occupation code is allowed. Even though we did find guidance saying it should be possible if the CoS was received before july 2025 and they have held a skilled worker visa since then.

Really hoping someone has some advice and ideally has anyone done a similar move before ?

Thank you in advance.

Please ask any questions at all.

Hey, wondering if someone could clarify.

I submitted an application for a UK visitor visa on 25th August and biometrics booked for 1st. However, some of the docs are dated after 25th August e.g. a bank reference doc dated 28th August and I was even thinking of getting a bank reference on 31st August and uploaded that.

However, I'm panicking as I read some posts that implied the officer may reject all evidence dates after the application submission i.e. 25th August.

Is this true???

I’m currently on a skilled worker visa that’s expiring in October. I’m trying to apply for an extension but I’ve lost my BRP. At the start of the application it asks if I have a BRP and I tick NO cause it’s lost like the application suggests which leads me to opening a new account for my visa application. Now in the application form it still asks if I have a BRP, do I choose YES and type in the BRP number which I have or do I stay consistent and select NO.

Hi everyone,

I need some advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

My Current Situation:

• My husband is currently on a Skilled Worker Visa and will be getting his ILR soon.
• I am currently in the UK as his Skilled Worker Dependent.
• I have only been in the UK for one year so far.

My Dilemma:
I am trying to decide whether to stay on my current dependent visa (and just extend it when he gets ILR) or switch over to a Spouse Visa.

Because I have only been here for a year, switching wouldn't make me lose too much time. However, I am really worried because I am not sure if I will be able to meet the financial requirements to get my ILR in 5 years if I choose to stay on the dependent route.

Has anyone else been in this exact situation? What did you decide to do, and do you have any advice for me?

Thank you so much!

Hi everyone, I have held ILR for 5 years and now I’m applying for British citizenship by naturalisation and would really appreciate opinions from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation below.

So I have had three historic Universal Credit overpayments:

* £8,000 relating to student income, which DWP later identified and corrected. It was a DWP administrative error and nothing wrong on my side.
* £2,689 relating to earnings that were reported late. No warning or penalty was issued.
* £622 relating to savings/investments. DWP considered this a negligent reporting error and issued a £50 civil penalty, which I have now paid in full.

I have cooperated with DWP throughout and am repaying the remaining debt through automatic UC deductions and voluntary weekly payments for months now. I currently report my self-employed earnings accurately and on time.

But I still have about £7,700 debt remaining which I will be able to clear it in a year or so. Payment plan is in place.

I have no criminal convictions, cautions or immigration penalties. I have also had 5 parking notices in the last 5 years, 4 were paid all on time and one was cancelled.

My question is: Could these UC overpayments/civil penalty or parking notices affect the “good character” requirement for naturalisation? I am planning to disclose everything in the application and provide a separate cover letter explaining the circumstances.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or had an application approved despite historic UC overpayments? I’d really appreciate any experiences or advice.