A planner built from one real route
The ILR and UK citizenship planner
Your settlement and citizenship dates, your days abroad against the 180, 450 and 90 day limits, the fees for every stage, and which file proves what. Plus the checklists and the cover letter template from my own applications, from a sponsored visa in 2021 to a British passport in 2026.
Get the planner One payment. Lifetime access. Every update included.Access is instant, so digital purchases are final once opened. Full terms at checkout.
What it helps you keep a record of
Plan the journey, record everything, apply with nothing missing
Your travel
One row per trip, the day it happens, checked against your passport stamps. Running totals against the 180, 450 and 90 day limits, amber before you reach one.
Your costs
The gov.uk fee for every stage, from the visa and the health surcharge to settlement, citizenship and the first passport, with a column for what you actually paid.
Your timeline
Your first entry date in, the earliest days you can apply for settlement and citizenship out, and the one day you must have been in the UK.
Your dependants
Rows for a partner's and children's fees in the budget, and one copy of the workbook per person, so each family member has their own clock and travel log.
Your documents
Which file proves what at each stage, with a tick, a file name and the date you saved it.
The rules, dated
The gov.uk page behind each rule and fee, and the day it was read, so you know what to check again on the day you apply.
What is inside
Five pieces, all from my own applications
The planner, Excel and Google Sheets
Six tabs: Start here, Clock, Travel log, Fees budget, Document vault, Rules and sources. White cells are yours; cream cells work themselves out and are protected with no password.
Stage checklists
Skilled Worker extension, Global Talent stage 1 and 2, settlement and what to do before it, citizenship, first passport. Built from the UKVI checklists I was given and the files I uploaded, with the personal details removed.
Settlement cover letter template
The headings and tables of a real, accepted SET(O) letter: the qualifying period table, money earned in my field, every absence in a table, English, and the Life in the UK test number. Every detail a placeholder.
Referees, the ceremony and the passport
Who can be a referee under Guide AN, the message I sent mine, how long it took, choosing a council that holds ceremonies often, and the passport steps after the ceremony with my timeline.
Open me first
The Google Sheets button, the three things to do first, and what is in the download.
Rules and sources
Every rule and fee with its gov.uk page and the day it was read, so you know exactly what to re-check when you apply.
The travel log is the heart of it
- Laid out like form AN. Country, purpose, the day you left, the day you returned, and a tick when you have checked it against your passport stamps.
- Counts like the Home Office. Whole days only; the day you leave and the day you return are not absences. One switch shows the worst case.
- Every 12 month window, not just the total. Settlement is 180 days in any 12 months, so the log checks the 12 months ending on every return date. Amber at 144, red over 180.
- 450 and 90 for citizenship. The last 5 years and the last 12 months to any date you choose, with the 3 year and 270 day rules if you are married to a British citizen.
- The physical presence trap. You must have been in the UK on the day exactly 5 years before your application is received. The clock names that day and checks your log for it.
Where it comes from
One route, five and a half years, about £13,000 in fees
I arrived on a sponsored Skilled Worker visa in March 2021. Global Talent in 2022. Settlement in December 2023, after three years, combining both visas. Citizenship on 14 October 2026. Every date, fee and document in this planner is one I lived through, then checked against gov.uk before it went in.
Want the whole story first?
If you want to know about my journey, what each step cost, and how the dates and the days abroad work, the video walks through it with the real documents on screen. Watch it here, then come back to the planner when you are ready.
Who it is for
- Skilled Worker, Global Talent and other 5 year work routes, and dependant partners, planning settlement.
- Anyone with settlement who is counting down to citizenship and wants the days abroad right before paying £1,839.
- People who have just arrived and want the five day-one habits in place: the travel log, the proofs of address, the payslips, the Home Office emails, the entry letter.
Who it is not for
- Anyone who needs to know whether they qualify, or what to do about a refusal, a gap in permission or an absence over the limit. That is advice, regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority: speak to a regulated adviser or a solicitor.
- Family applications: partners and children have their own applications and costs. The fees tab lists them; the checklists do not cover them.
- Routes with their own rules, such as the EU Settlement Scheme or long residence.
Questions
Before you buy
What happens right after I pay?
The five files appear in your library on this site straight away: the workbook, the two PDFs of checklists, the cover letter template in Word, and the Open me first page with the Google Sheets button.
Is this a subscription?
No. One payment, lifetime access, and every update to the files is included.
Is this immigration advice?
No. It is general information and organising tools built from my own applications and checked on gov.uk. Whether you qualify, and what to do about your own case, is a question for a regulated adviser.
Do I need Microsoft Excel?
No. It comes with a Google Sheets version, free with a Google account, and the Excel file opens in the free web version of Excel too.
What if the rules or fees change?
The fee cells are white so you can update them, and the Rules and sources tab names the gov.uk page for each rule, with the date it was read. Check gov.uk on the day you apply.
Get your dates, your days and your documents in order
The planner, the checklists, the cover letter template and the referee pages, in your library in a minute.
Get the planner One payment. Lifetime access. Every update included.Access is instant, so digital purchases are final once opened. Full terms at checkout.
