Proving ILR for long-term polish applicant

[MPF]

Hello experts,

We are hoping to naturalise under the 3 year British spouse rule to cut down on paperwork. My wife is polish, has had ILR since Feb 2000. She replaced her expired passport in 2010 but can't find the expired one with the stamp in it. We also can't find the original ILR grant letter. We have a photocopy of the relevant page in the passport. It is a green stamp with three number on it (two at the top, one handwritten and one at the bottom, also handwritten) Will this photocopy - or the numbers on it - be sufficient to establish her ILR, even though she hasn't entered on this visa since Poland joined the EU? Or do we need to get the stamp re-evidenced? From what I understand, you can' t get ILR in your passport anymore, anyway.

Also, I just want to confirm the a pass at C in both Cambridge First Certificate and Cambridge Advanced Certificate from 1997 and 1999 would satisfy the language requirement? If not, does a full-time HND taught entirely in english at a UK institution count? She passed the Life in the UK test last year

Thank you in advance for your help

MPF

[SouthWest1]

Is the date u mentioned is correct "Feb 2000". i take it she been holding ILR for over 14 years now and you are British?

[SouthWest1]

check this out https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 0.0EXT.pdf
Page 20 onwards

[MPF]

Hello Southwest1

Thanks for your replies. I have read the information you linked to

Yes, my wife has held ILR since 2000. The confusion comes from the fact that, since Poland became a full member of the EU, she hasn't had to enter the country on that visa so it was pretty much "forgotten." When we travel it is through the EU channel - she shows her polish passport, the children I an I show of UK passports

We have lived overseas in the intervening period - due to my work commitments - but always returned to the UK at least once a year and kept banks accounts etc open as the posting was a temporary. Each time she entered via the EU channel so no stamp was placed in her passport. So we don't think she has spent more than 2 years continuously outside the UK.

Now we can't find the expired passport and her current passport has no visa in it. All we have is the photocopy. So it is not clear how we can establish that she still has ILR

If so, does this mean the option of applying as the spouse of a british citizen with ILR (3 year) is no longer open to us?

Thanks for your opinions

MPF

[SouthWest1]

well, the HO office would expect to see a proof of " no immigration Restrictions" with your wife's application. i would rather try to get it confirmed back by home office before you embark on the naturalization process.
i was going to suggest to apply for PR( EU route) but i gather your wife has been out of UK most of the time and has not been exercising treaty rights in UK to secure a PR.

try to concentrate on getting her ILR stamp sorted out first .
hopefully a moderator can add some inputs to the post in the meantime.

[MPF]

Thanks again for your continued input SouthWest,

Timescale was... ILR granted in Feb 2000, travelled overseas from Oct 2005, returning to the UK at least once every year until early 2010. We have been settled here since then with house (Over four years) so obviously we always intended to return and remain here. Is there discretion in the rules?

I was reading elsewhere in the forums that the only way ILR can be officially revoked is by a border official placing a stamp that confirms the person has entered in a different immigration class at point of entry. If this has never happened, can it still happen retrospectively as part of a naturalisation application?

Apologies if this discussion is drifting off-topic for the forum. I don't want to start another thread in ILR but if mods think it would be better off there, please move.

Thanks again for your considered opinion

[SouthWest1]

Thanks again for your continued input SouthWest,

Timescale was... ILR granted in Feb 2000, travelled overseas from Oct 2005, returning to the UK at least once every year until early 2010. We have been settled here since then with house (Over four years) so obviously we always intended to return and remain here. Is there discretion in the rules? you wife may not satisfy residence requirement in this case. the five years counted back from the date HO receives the application. might ask for discretion if over 450 days. check residence requirement on the forum.

I was reading elsewhere in the forums that the only way ILR can be officially revoked is by a border official placing a stamp that confirms the person has entered in a different immigration class at point of entry. If this has never happened, can it still happen retrospectively as part of a naturalisation application? i think there are some sort of transition laws for EEA national who were in UK before their respective countries joined the EU and obviously your wife was using her Polish passport/ID to enter UK since 2004, so ILR stamp is out of question here. I am not an expert on this so can't really add a constructive comment.

Apologies if this discussion is drifting off-topic for the forum. I don't want to start another thread in ILR but if mods think it would be better off there, please move.

Thanks again for your considered opinion

i think you need to concentrate on getting the ILR stamp first on the passport orsort of confirmation from HO before any thing else.
A cover letter with the application \ request explaining the situation might help.