Dear Bbdivo, The guidance is confusing, but here is my situation. I came over on a WP in 2001 and then replaced it with HSMP in 2003. Due to this change my HSMP extension only expires in December 2007. I did however submit my ILR application exactly 28 days before my four years qualifying period was...

Hi Hafeez, 1. I did not apply after 4 yrs of Entry Clearance as EC did not exist 4 years ago. I did however arrive on a work permit in the UK 4 years ago. In fact I applied exactly 28 days before my four years were over. 2. I was out of the country on average two weeks a year. 3. Yes, I will be able...

Dear All, I thought I would share with you my experience in obtaining ILR via the postal route. Date sent: 5 October Date reply recieved: 25 October Date of visa in passport: 20 October I included the following docs: 4 yrs of p60s last six months payslips mortgage statement one month's bank statemen...

Hi Ozzee, I suspect you could, but I think you will have to be able to show that you have earned the required minimum in each country independently from the other. Thus if you earned £8,000 in country A for six months, £16,000 should be over the required minimum income band for country A, and simila...

I suppose it depends whether you were seconded to your second company from your home company. If this is the case then you can only use your home country's income band for calculating the your earnings. I am not quite sure how you would pro-rate earnings if you really did work for different organisa...

Hi David, I presume you applied via the postal route. How long did they take to process your ILR application? I have sent mine away about two weeks ago, and is still awaiting a response from them. On what basis did you get ILR?

I always included a prepaid envelope and they have always used it.

It would be April 2003 as a Work Permit falls under a category leading to settlement, of which you have to complete 4 years.

I did not submit a bank statement at all for FLR, I only provided a mortgage statement and my payslips. It was approved.

There was an instance of someone who worked as a security guard who got a three year extension on HSMP. Also the guidelines do not state that you have to work in your chosen profession but merely in a job "suited to your skills and experience".

You can get the forms from the following website:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk and seleting the immigration and nationality section. The form you want is SET(O), do note that you can only apply after 3 yrs and 11 months.

At the moment it is four years for both visas. The government is talking about rasing it to five years as part of its five year immigration strategy. No one knows when this will happen though.

If you are a spouse you should be entitled to ILR after two years of being married.

I am afraid the only thing you can do is to get another letter from your university to state the date by which you completed the course work and send it back to the HO with an explanatory letter. It could be an idea to make a certified copy of it too.

Would proof of economic activity also require an employer letter?

Hi All, I just noted that they released new SET (O) forms for ILR on the HO website. The new one is not very different from the old except that an additional point was added about whether you may have any other reasons for not being of sound character other than custodial sentences. This is just a b...

How long did your friend pay for? In the past they only issued visas up to the period where tuition fees were fully paid up for.

I wil be submitting my ILR application in about five weeks from now. I am wondering how long the HO takes these days to process applications through the postal route, anyone with recent experience on this?

On the contrary knowing HO they may not give you any points for experience if you try to claim specialist points. I would say it is a lot safer to really substantiate your graduate level experience so they cannot deny you your visa.

I suppose naturalization means citizenship and not ILR?

Contact the local college for info on this. They will know the details. She may have to pay foreigners fees too.

I obtained a mrtgage from St James's Place Bank after being in UK for about 15 months. I was on a five year work permit at that point.

Your WP is your residency permit, a copy of that should suffice.

The wording does not say "designated profession" in the guidance forms, it says that you should do a job "suited to your qualifications and experience".

It will certainly NOT be counted. The rules are very clear as to which categories the 4 year rule applies to, mainly WPs and HSMPs. It will only be considered under the 10 year rule for ILR applications.