After stressing over every trip abroad and rule change conversations last I dunno how many months... I got that big email this morning. Approved!! Sharing my details in case it helps anyone else in the queue.
- Route: Skilled Worker
- Applied: 24 April 2026
- Service: Priority
- Biometrics: 01 May 2026
- UKVI Confirmation: 01 May 2026
- Decision received: 07 May 2026
I worked with a solicitor and I provided them with these documents:
- Passport(s)
- Entry clearance temporary vignette
- BRPs
- Life in the UK test result
- Full list of absences
- Authorised Absences Letter from the company (categorized them into work-related travel, paid annual leave, and remote working abroad)
- UK NARIC certificate + degree in an English-speaking country (not UK), transcript
- Bank statement of last 5 years (only main account where salary comes in)
- Council Tax bills of last 5 years
- Employment contract, CV, assigned CoS, ILR Employment letter
- P60s of last 5 years
- Payslips of last 5 years
- Tenancy agreements of last 5 years
- Utility bills of last 5 years (minimum 2 bills from each year) - electricity, gas, internet, water didn't matter
Another note is that I have a tool called ilrtracker.com - built it for myself initially because I travel a lot and tracking absences manually was painful, then it turned into a project when people on reddit found it useful. The reason I'm mentioning this is that I used it throughout my own application: absence tracking, Life in the UK test prep, organising the documents for my firm, and watching processing times for the same route. There's a bunch of free tools on there too. Genuinely think it might save you some stress if you give it a try.
Lastly, I wish best of luck to everyone who is going through the same process as me. You'll get it!
