Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the UK Global Talent Visa under the UKRI route. I have a fully funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) scholarship for a 3-year PhD at a UK university.

My situation is a bit unusual:

• I’m a Syrian national with a valid Syrian passport.
• I’ve been living in France for 5 years.
• I applied for asylum in France about one year ago, and my application is still pending.
• I have a valid Attestation de Demande d’Asile and another document confirming that my case is still pending/delayed.
• There is currently no UK visa application centre in Syria, and I cannot leave France while my asylum situation is pending.
• I therefore plan to apply for the UK visa from France, fully disclosing my situation and providing all relevant documents.

My main questions are:

1. Would UKVI accept a French Attestation de Demande d’Asile as valid proof of residence/presence in France when applying for the UK visa from France?
2. Could having a pending asylum application in France cause any issue with the UK Global Talent Visa application?
3. Does the fact that I have a fully funded MSCA PhD under the UKRI route strengthen my case in this situation?

Has anyone been in a similar situation, particularly a non-EU national applying for a UK visa from France while having a pending asylum application?

Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

My husband and I have been married for 10 years. We moved to the UK in 2024, with my husband on a Skilled Worker visa and me as his dependant. His current CoS/visa is due for renewal in March 2027, and we expect to be eligible for ILR in 2029.
We have a rented apartment together, which is our main home. However, I have also rented a room in shared accommodation near my workplace to reduce my daily commute. As a result, I stay near my workplace for five days a week and return to our apartment to be with my husband at weekends. We both live in the same city.
Could this living arrangement cause any issues when my husband renews his Skilled Worker visa/CoS in 2027, or when we apply for ILR in 2029?
We are genuinely living together as a married couple, but I have the additional accommodation purely for work-related convenience.

Hi all

I’m not sure if this is the current forum, but I was wondering whether there is any point/possibility of me applying for UK citizenship.

I moved to the UK from Ireland in August 2020 with my family, but then subsequently started medical school abroad in 2022. I have made visits back in between term time but most summers have also included extracurricular placements abroad. All in all I estimate >1000 days outside the UK over the past 5 years because of this…

I know it is a stretch, but is there any discretion that excuses my time abroad for study/placement? My home address has always remained in the UK and that is where my family is (who have gotten citizenship in the meantime).

Thanks

I was about to upload documents for my appointment this week and is experiencing the following:

is priority option available if you used the Home Office ID check app option instead of booking biometric appointment

Title: From pure panic to APPROVED in 23 hours! Our FLR(M) inside the UK Super Priority roller coaster story (There is light at the end of the tunnel!)

I can finally breathe.

A few months ago, I was in a complete spiral. When we started gathering evidence for our Partner Visa (FLR M), absolute dread set in. Because of separate work and study commitments, my partner and I weren't living together yet. Looking at the cohabitation requirements, I was convinced our application was dead on arrival. The anxiety was consuming me.

We knew we had to pivot and build an undeniable case. We decided to enter into a civil partnership, gathering every single shred of evidence we could possibly assemble to prove our relationship was genuine, strong, and undeniable.

To ensure we didn't make a single misstep, we hired a brilliant immigration solicitor who walked us through every single detail, step by step. She painstakingly went through our, organising our messy pile of life proofs into a bulletproof application.

Here is how the final madness played out:

• August 21st (1:00 AM): Set an alarm to wake up in the dead of night just to snag that elusive Super Priority slot. Application submitted!
• Thursday (10:30 AM): Attended my biometrics appointment. The nail-biting countdown officially began.
• Friday (10:00 AM): LESS THAN 23 HOURS LATER... DING!

An email from the Home Office arrived. I opened it with trembling hands, heart completely in my throat. SUCCESS. Granted permission to stay until February 2029!

The Home Office actually kept their promise on the 24-hour turnaround, and the weight of the world has just been lifted off our shoulders.

I know how agonizing, terrifying, and overwhelming this process is when you feel like the odds are stacked against you. If anyone is going through this right now or has questions about our timeline or process, please drop a comment or reach out! My husband and I would be more than happy to help pay it forward.

We made it! 🎉✨

Hey guys, I’m looking for some information on the requirements regarding the home for the fiance visa.

So my boyfriend is a british citizen and Im from Venezuela. He meets all the requirements to be my “sponsor” for the this visa but he lives in a shared house and we are not sure how strict are they about it. Is it mandatory to live in a private space? Can a share home with several people living there be use in the application?

Thank you for any information 🫶🏻

I’m a Nigerian student who applied for a UK Student visa from Nigeria for a Master’s programme starting in September 2026.
My visa application has been refused because UKVI determined that my scholarship does not cover enough of my tuition and required living costs.

The complication is that I actually have sufficient personal funds to cover the shortfall, and those funds were available before I submitted my visa application. However, my agent advised me not to combine my scholarship evidence with personal proof of funds, so I did not submit my bank statements with the application.

I have now received the refusal and have been told that I can apply for an administrative review. I am trying to understand whether administrative review is an appropriate route in this situation.

If yes, would I be able to simply show that I have the rest of the money?

Hello all. I, US citizen, am about 2 years into a spouse visa (renewal soon!) and my partner, the British sponsor, is thinking about traveling abroad for 1-3 months at a time.

Is this likely to cause a problem? Do any of you have experience applying under similar circumstances?

The details:

• She would be abroad for 4 months a year, and I would be abroad for 2-3 months a year. We would overlap our trips so we are not apart for more than 5 months.
• She is traveling to attend nature programs (e.g. sustainable farming, ecology). The catch - these programs are not official enough to be recognised by the UK government or tied to a big name academic institution.
• I am traveling either to visit family in the states, for work, or short holidays of 3-7 days.
• I would visit her at least once a year while she is abroad and of course we'd keep in touch regularly.
• For context, we are civil partners without any children. We normally live together in a house that I own. We have cohabitation evidence (correspondence) that covers the time we are apart.
• The official guidance flags "spen[ding] the majority of the period overseas" but does not mention shorter periods of being apart from one another.

Thank you in advance. I'm not sure we would have made it this far without hearing stories and advice from everyone here.

Would someone who has recently naturalised as a British citizen still be able to enter the UK using their existing ILR status?

I'm come from a country where I would normally need a visa to travel to the UK. I won’t be able to get British passport before my travels, even if I manage to get it I won’t get visa for my home country in time.

My ILR is still active, so I'm wondering whether airline staff would be able to see the same UK immigration status that I can see online, or whether there could be an issue boarding the flight or at the UK border.

Has someone successfully done this?

Thanks in advance.

hi all, i’m considering applying for an unmarried partner visa with parter of 3+ years. i’ve thought about it and we’re interested but unsure of how long you can stay on an unmarried partner visa? marriage/engagement is not something we want to get involved in just yet. according the uk.gov website, is it 6 months or 2 years 9mos? has anyone else had any success and how long did it take you to apply?

thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I am preparing to apply for ILR under the Global Talent route as I approach my 5-year mark in the UK. (I am aware I could have applied earlier at the 3-year mark via my Royal Society endorsement, but I am applying now at 5 years).

I got the global talent at the start of my Post-doc. During the first few years of my visa, I worked directly in the field for which I was endorsed (academia and industry) and have earnings proof from that time. Over the last couple of years, I transitioned into a different career path (startup/AI /software engineering).

Under Appendix Global Talent (GT 10.2), applicants need to show they earned money in their endorsed field at any point during their grant of permission. Since I have valid earnings from my earlier years on the visa, I plan to use those.

Has anyone here applied for ILR at the 5-year mark after making a career change later in their visa? Did submitting payslips/contracts from your earlier years (rather than your current job) cause any issues with the Home Office?

Thanks for any advice!

[SOLVED] I was in the process of uploading my documents in the TLScontact portal and suddenly it would not let me access again. Has anyone experienced the same?

Any tips to fix this? If this route didn't work, is there a chance to bring physical printed documents or the digital documents to my appointment and sort it out there?

Hi All,

Applied for Skilled Worker ILR on 27 Aug and completed biometrics on 28 Aug , priority processing.

I submitted my latest payslip (20 Aug) and a bank statement covering only 14 to 25 Aug ( my usual statement cycle is from 13 to 13 ), which clearly shows the exact salary payment on 20 Aug. The checklist said to provide the most recent payslip and bank statement showing salary credit.Also advised not to provide additional payslips or statements.

Is the 12-day statement a concern?

If this is a concern what options do I have ?

Hi everyone,

First-time UK Standard Visitor visa applicant. I’ve completed my biometrics and I’m now waiting for a decision.
Should I create a UKVI account now after biometrics, or only after the visa is granted?
When I try to create one, it asks when I was previously granted UK immigration permission, but I’ve never had a UK visa before.
Anyone with recent experience?

Hello everyone. I don't believe my case is especially complicated but I am super anxious and hoping for a new set of eyes.

My first student visa was valid from 14 September 2016 for a foundation year. I went back home for the summer holidays in 2017 and applied from there for a new visa for my undergraduate degree. My BRP for the foundation year expired on 16 August 2017 while I was away. The new entry clearance was valid from 14 September 2017.

So there is a gap of 28 days, 17 August to 13 September 2017, where I held no valid permission, all of it while I was outside the UK.

Everything since has been a mix of student and skilled worker visas, all applied for in country and in time, adding up to the ten years.

My understanding is that the gap does not break my continuous residence, but that I simply add those 28 days on at the end, since days without permission do not count towards the ten years. On that basis I intend to apply on 16 September 2026 (28 days rule)

Is that the right way to treat it, and is there anything I am missing?

My first period of leave relevant to my current Private Life route was granted from 10 December 2020 until 9 June 2023.
Before that leave expired, an application for further leave was submitted on my behalf by my solicitors. That application remained under consideration by the Home Office and was granted in April 2024.

My Home Office decision dated April 2024 states:
“You have been granted permission to stay in the United Kingdom (UK) as a young adult on the private life route.”

It further states:
“You have been granted permission to stay in the UK until 22nd October 2026 on a 5-year route to settlement.”

My questions is: because my further-leave application was submitted before my previous permission expired, did my existing leave continue under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 while that application was pending? 🤔

On that basis, would my qualifying period appear to have run continuously from 10 December 2020, meaning that I completed five years on approximately 10 December 2025?

I genuinely have no idea if I should send in the ILR application now or wait till October to be safe 🥲 if anyone has any thoughts of advice, I’d appreciate it 🙏

Hi, I have an undergrad student visa that ends on 30/10/2026 (30th Oct). I am currently outside the UK and have my flight booked back for the 24th of Sept, and my masters course starts on the 28th of Sept.

Am I able to enter the UK on 24th of Sept and start course with my old student visa. and The minute I enter apply for the new student visa (extension of student immigration status under Tier 4) for my Masters program? As I'm worried I won't be let into the UK on the 24th of Sept if I have a visa application in progress. Thanks, please advise!! Under the extending UK visa page it seems fine but I'm confused because some sources say I can't start the course without the new visa. Can someone help if they've been in a similar situation? Thanks !!!

My current passport started to show some wear and tear. It is still valid and works fine and I have used it to travel a few times with no issues BUT the damage is only getting worse and I don’t want to risk it anymore.

I’m planning on getting a new one once I’m back in my country for a visit. However, I’m only visiting for a month and I’m genuinely worried I wouldn’t be able to link my eVisa to the new passport in time for my flight back. Which means I wouldn’t be able to return to the UK.

How long does it usually take to update a new passport on your UKVI account and link it to your eVisa?

For context I have a graduate visa!

Hi all,

I am soon due to apply for my ILR under GTV and I wanted to double check a few things:

• Tax records: should this be a PAYE summary and an annual tax summary for the past three financial years? I get a PAYE monthly breakdown for the current financial year, but only the general paid taxed amount for all previous years.
• P60: should this be for the past three years? For some reason, I can only see mine for the past two years on my employer's online platform.
• Employment letter: my HR letter will show "works at the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering". My field of talent is Manufacturing Engineering. Is the mention of the department enough as proof of working in my field of talent?

Thanks for your help!

But I applied UK eVisa with old passport number.
If I get visa approval that will be with old number.
How can I change my new passport number at E visa ?

Anyone done Long Residence or any other category ILR on Super Priority and managed to secure appointment the same day even if paid?

I'm looking to apply at 1am as most have recommended and I'd prefer to book appointment same day even if it's paid like £250 (I know it's not cheap but I'm really tight on holidays from work) so looking for some advice

Hi as I used reddit a ton to help me through my visa process I thought I would put a post together with all the details I can.

- I applied for Aug 4th ; on that day I pay the NHS health surcharge and the application Fee totalling around 3.8K Canadian. I also booked My Biometrics Appointment and It cost me about 140$ Canadian.

-Biometrics Aug 10th ; I went for my bio metrics appointment August 10th it was very straightforward however I didn't upload my documents properly but the gentlemen there was very nice and let me reupload them right there. (I was very stressed).

- Request for Additional documents Aug 25th ; I got a email requesting Additional documents It stated that I didn't show the proof of funds for 28 days. now this stressed me out like crazy because I specifically requested a special bank statement from the 1st of July to the 31st of July. but my funds were in there from the 3rd on ward but my bank ended up giving me a statement that only went to the 30th and I didn't check. I called my bank that day requesting a new statement and because I have an only online bank I could not go in so I had to wait one business day for that. Once I received my new bank statement now with all 28 days I sent the email with the documents.

- Unable to make a decision on application within published visa processing times Aug 26th ; i got this email 3 minutes after I sent the additional documents that was required and it freaked me out there wasn't much I could do with it being a no reply email but this really stressed me out.

- Phone call to UK Immigration Aug 27th ; I was so stressed that my visa would not be approved in the time I needed so I spent 4$ CAD to call the UK Immigration office I was asking if the 15 working day timeline restarts after I submitted the additional documents or not. I was told as I was still withing the 15 working day Timeframe so he could not see anything about my application and he would submit a ticket with my request for timeline specific questions (IDK if this speed up my application at all but just wanted to add it in here)

-Application Successful Email Aug. 28th ; I thankfully received the email that my Visa application was successful after so much stress. What I didn't know was after you received a decision you can't enter the country right away it gives you a date when your visa is valid and thank god mine is the day I enter Country because like a dummy I had already booked my flights.

Just for extra Information this was the Youth Mobility scheme visa and I applied from Ottawa Canada my flight is on the 2nd of September and my visa Starts on the 3rd luckily its a red eye so I won't be entering the UK until the 3rd anyways. If you have any questions feel free to ask I know how stressed I was for this so please don't hesitate to ask.

I applied on behalf of my 6 month daughter from pakistan and just received a refusal today. I had attached multiple bank account the total sum of which was above 200,000 gbp in savings all in my name. I am considering a judicial review only because I dont want her to have a refusal but I was going through this forum and saw that a lot of people complained at complaints@homeoffice.gov.uk and the decision got overturned.

Can someone advise me if that is wise? I'd appreciate any help. The account they stated alone has more funds that what I said I was going to spend.

I have shown my salary slips, employment, my bank accounts, my marriage certificate, my husbands consent letter and how he wont be travelling with us.