My wife will be applying for a UK settlement visa in preparation for our return to the UK in January and we need to be sure the visa is granted ahaed of our travel date. I have a couple of questions re the application process

1) Is it possible/acceptable to apply for the settlement visa more that three months in advance, and if so, how should this be handled through the on line application process

2) Can the visa validity date be post dated and if so how is this best handled

Thanks in advance

A visa can only be post dated up to three months, haven't completed the new form but I believe you can indicate the proposed date of travel.

Also make it very clear in the covering letter.

Also, the initial visa will be valid for 33 months, but she will only need to have lived in the UK for 30 months to apply for the next stage; FLR.

This gives 3 months from the start date of the visa in which to first enter the UK.

Thanks for the response...........

If I understand correctly I could apply on line bringing forward my intended travel date by say four weeks to allow the application to be submitted early and provide some contingency against delayed processing timeframe

• EG:
• Apply 1st April for stated travel date of 1st July (Actual Planned Travel date - 1st August)
• If visa were issued in six weeks & valid from 15th May my wife would still be within the three month window to avoid any complication with her 30month first stay in UK

If I have this correctly understood then the only risk would be if the visa application was processed in a very short timeframe (< four weeks) my wife would have to extend her visa application in the UK with additional costs

If you have asked for the visa to start from a specific date then it should start from that date or the day of issue; whichever is the later.

Don't just put the intended travel date on the form, make sure you also ask for the specific start date in your sponsor's letter.

Then you wife must check that they have put the right date as soon as she receives her passport and visa back; mistakes cannot be rectified later.

If asking for a specific start date, note that she cannot use the visa until that date.

If her first entry to the UK is delayed beyond three months from the start of the visa then, yes, she would have to apply for an extension (Further Leave to Remain) in the UK when it expired to make up the missing time. Then another FLR application when that expired and then Indefinite Leave to Remain after she had been living in the UK for 5 years.

Which would mean three in UK applications instead of the usual two.

For more details on the whole procedure, see UK settlement visa basics.

Many thanks ..................all clear now