We'll  be submitting my wife's ILR (5 year) application within the next two months. I'm looking for answers to a couple of queries that don't seem to covered on the .gov website. Grateful for any info received. Specifically:

1. Can we submit up to a month prior to the five-years being reached, or does submission have to be on or after five years in the UK?

2. Any information on processing/approval times? It does say 'within six months' on the website but I'm hoping that its less than that in reality.

3. Is the 'super priority' service still running? Is still mentioned on the .gov website but I seem to remember reading somewhere that its been withdrawn.

Yes you can submit up to 28 days before completing 5 years in the UK. Super Priority has just re opened for some visa types but, unfortunately, not for Set (M).As to the timeline, how long is a piece of string. We were lucky when we did it in July as it only took 2 months but now there are 2 problems. Firstly it is quite difficult to get a biometric appointment. It is likely that you would be looking at 28 days after you submit the application and pay. Having said that if you keep checking all hours of the day and night there are some cancellations that appear and you might be able to get something earlier. The second problem is the effect of COVID-19 on the Home Office. Set (M) is for some reason one of the Visa types which is taking the longest and seems to have the lowest priority. Some people do get a result in under the six months but some people are even longer than six months. You really just have to jump in and take it as it comes. Good luck. I have done ILR and citizenship in the last few months so any other questions just ask.

May I please ask 2 questions as we will be in a similar situation to HauptmannUK later this year. My wife arrived in UK 1 December 2016 so by my reckoning she will have completed 5 years on 30 November 2021 which presumably means we could apply for ILR on 2 November.  However, her FLR expires on 14 April 2022, so my question is, will they accept the ILR application on 2 November or should we wait until 17 March 2022 i.e. 28 days before expiry of the FLR? Regarding citizenship, can this be done at the same time, or do we have to await the outcome of the ILR application?  Many thanks.

First question you can apply 2 November 2021. The 5 years is the key element for ILR. Second question you have to wait for the result of the ILR application before you can apply for citizenship. As presumably you are British and this is for your wife you can apply the same day the ILR is successful.