Very Nervous About Application

[hikz]

Hi Everybody,

I have been on this website since I started my Asylum case back in 2010. I do not really know when to start but I'll give you a very brief background information. I was granted asylum in 2011, then in 2016 I applied for the my ILR which included a few traffic offences and on one of the offences, the officer put down that I resisted arrest which was not true whatsoever and I was only made aware of that when I saw my CRB check. I went to court on some of these occasions but I do not remember specifically, I mentioned all of that in my ILR application.

In 2016, I received a parking ticket which honestly drives me mad every time I remember the circumstances as it it was 01:00 after midnight at a place where I used to visit all the time and I was not aware that there were some new restrictions in place. Anyway, at the time I had changed my address and also challenged the ticket. A friend advised me to do a mail redirection, which was something I have never heard of at the time. When I did that, I received letters about a CCJ being made against me. I sent a complaint to the court as I thought it was completely unjustified and the process of setting that aside was quite a long process and it was left.

I paid the whole amount a few days ago, and I received a receipt of payment from the debt collectors. I went to a solicitor to apply and he did not find a problem and stated that we could elaborate on the CCJ as I have evidence of appealing for it etc..

I also wanted the advice of my previous solicitor who said that I could not apply for another 5 years which was a bit shocking, she stated that it was due to my CCJ but she suggested I come to her with my paperwork and then she can contact the Home Office to see if I am eligible.

A friend suggested that I go to the local council's check-in service that would make me avoid this whole hassle and save me the cost of paying a solicitor for an application that I could easily fill out myself.
Now the other issue which I do not think most of you might relate to whether you are of my faith (Muslim) or not. I travelled a couple of times to Europe to visit family and friends and also the first time as I was going through a lot emotionally, my travels were only for a few days.

I was "randomly" stopped for a "quick" word by counter-terrorism Police, it was very brief where he asked me about general things and to be honest many of my friends who are not practising Muslims and you would not even know they are Muslims get stopped. He asked me about my Asylum case and I gave him some details and I made it clear that I had military training which the Home Office is fully aware of. The interviewed lasted for 45 mins or an hour and he was actually nice.

A year after, I was stopped on the way back from Holland and held for 7 hours where they asked about so many things about me. The officer again was nice and said to me: "You are a good young person, there is nothing to worry about, we just wanted to know more about you and clarify why you have issues back home". 6 months later, I was visited at my work place by 2 police officers from the Channel Team who are specialised in helping and supporting those whom they think might be victims or targets for radicalisation. When I spoke to them, they were actually amazed by my beliefs which are the complete opposite of extremism and they said we thought you might be targeted but it seems you are not and I did not hear from them and that was in 2015 or beginning of 2016.

Now, just to clarify so some people do not think they are sharing a platform with bloody Bin Laden. I am a Muslim who denounces all acts of violence and denounce also speak up against cults like ISIS, Al Qaeda and all other these terrorist groups. Never in my life have I supported terrorism or glorified and this is not something that I just say, it is my actual belief in my heart. I have never been involved with any people or groups who have extreme or violent of views and I keep myself to myself generally.

I have been reading cases of refusal and I feel extremely nervous and down fearing I will be refused. I am a stateless refugee and it is so difficult for me to obtain a visa to go outside of Europe while I have not seen my mother who is very ill for a very long period of time and I am very nervous now and think that I will most likely be refused.

I would very much appreciate it if you guys can shed light through the law on my concerns, my options, worst case scenarios and if I were to be refused, how quick I could apply for a judicial review.

[hikz]

anyone? I would very much appreciate it if someone could advise me on the situation

[ouflak1]

How and when did you enter the country (month/date please)? In particular, what passport and what kind of visa?

When did you declare asylum (month/date please)?

You say you are stateless (and from your previous posts, that you have a travel document stating such). We get lot's of that here, and in almost every case, the person is not actually stateless, but simply feels that they are 'effectively' stateless. Are you truly stateless? If yes, how did you become stateless?

You said you want to see your mother who is very ill. In what country would you like to meet her? Is it the same country you have claimed asylum from?

I suspect the reason that one of the solicitors said five years (so ten years from your date of acquiring legal status) has to do with your entry into the country. But without more input from you, that is pure speculation.

The CCJ will be noted and considered, but is not in itself a barrier to your application being successful, especially if you've paid the debt and demonstrated that with evidence submitted with your applicatioin.

[hikz]

Sorry for the late response.

I entered the country via student visa and went to university. It was a student visa which was valid for 12 months.I arrived on January 2008.

I had a Travel Document which is issued to Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon.

I sought Asylum in March 2010 and was initially refused but was accepted at a later stage via a court in January 2011.

It clearly states on my Home Office application, my travel document and other documents that I am stateless. Palestinians who live outside of the controlled Palestinian territories as Refugees are given travel document and by International Law (Oslo Accords signed between the PLO and Israel) are not allowed to hold a a Palestinian Passport, let alone that Palestine as a country isn't recognised as an independent state by anybody.

I am planning to visit my country in a different country, I cannot ever go back to the country I sought Asylum from as I will most likely "get hurt" and that word carries a lot of weight. I tried seeing my mother in different countries but Arab countries discriminate quite a lot against Palestinians and they always rejected my visa application after providing the British Travel Document given to me.

The solicitor made it clear that it was due to my CCJ or offences. I have held my indefinite leave for over a year now. I was recognised as a refugee so I do not understand where the 10 years rule come in and I have entered the UK legally.

I am hoping you could respond to my post and if others have any input it would really help.

[ouflak1]

That clears things up.

I entered the country via student visa and went to university. It was a student visa which was valid for 12 months.I arrived on January 2008.

So what was your visa status between January 2009 and March 2010? Did you get an extension of your student visa?

I sought Asylum in March 2010 and was initially refused but was accepted at a later stage via a court in January 2011.

This might complicate things depending on the answer to the question above.

The solicitor made it clear that it was due to my CCJ or offences. I have held my indefinite leave for over a year now. I was recognised as a refugee so I do not understand where the 10 years rule come in and I have entered the UK legally.

The 10 years rule applies to all those seeking naturalization.

As far as your offences are concerned, a pattern of legal offences, even minor ones, can and will be held against an applicant. That has played out on this forum atleast a couple of times, and that was only around 3 offences in total in each case (that I have vague recollection of). But the consistency of offences over the years means that discretion weighs against the applicant integrating into society as one would expect of a prospective citizen. Keep in mind that the rules for ILR are completely separate from the rules for citizenship and the applications are handled by different organizations. If the legality of your stay can be effectively ignored (an assumption only), a pattern of legal offences very probably won't be. But it is still discretionary and you may just have to wait an see.

[ouflak1]

I do not understand where the 10 years rule come in and I have entered the UK legally.

I couldn't edit my post, so I will elaborate on this point a bit more here. The 10 year rule applies not only to entry into the UK, it also applies to the retention of legal stay while resident in the country. Periods of illegal stay as small as a single day (between applications and forgiveness periods) have caused citizenship applications to fail. There is no discretion on that. This however may not apply to you because of the Asylum system, and if your stay was legal the entire time anyway.

[hikz]

Thanks for the reply. Both solicitors did not speak about the 10 years rule and did not seem bothered about it rather more concerned about my offence of the ccj. The traffic offences are 5 years old and I was between the age of 20 and 22 when I committed them.

I overstayed my visa from 2009 to 2010, so I do not also see how would that affect in my situation as I have gone through the Asylum system. I am aware of people who entered the UK illegally or overstayed but were naturalised after they received their ILR, just a year after and they were here for less than 10 years. its really confusing.

Is it worth a try? I am planning to use the checking service provided by local authorities, would they be able to decide whether I am eligible or do they just look if the application is filled out properly?

[ouflak1]

Thanks for the reply. Both solicitors did not speak about the 10 years rule and did not seem bothered about it rather more concerned about my offence of the ccj. The traffic offences are 5 years old and I was between the age of 20 and 22 when I committed them.

Yeah if the CCJ had been for an unpaid credit card or a missed closing payment of an electric bill or something completely unrelated to traffic anything, it would look better. As it is, it has the appearance of yet another traffic 'offence' and a recent one at that. Really unfortunate there. I'm afraid I can't give much advice on this. It will require the discretion of a case worker, and I can even imagine them passing this around the office to get opinions.

I overstayed my visa from 2009 to 2010, so I do not also see how would that affect in my situation as I have gone through the Asylum system. I am aware of people who entered the UK illegally or overstayed but were naturalised after they received their ILR, just a year after and they were here for less than 10 years. its really confusing.

It's still a bit of a mix, but in the last few years, the UK government has really cracked down on this. This is why you may very well know people who've managed some questionable situations succesfully into citizenship, and maybe even know a few people who failed to do this with siimilar circumstances. In general, periods of illegal stay of about 3 months have been forgiven by 'default' upon gaining asylum (but this is very reliant on context and nowhere written in stone that I'm aware of). Also, judges may rule that entire periods of overstay are forgiven upon successful aquirement of asylum. This seems to happen rather often from what I gather, though I admit this is outside of my field of detailed knowledge. I suspect you're situation is the latter and therefore not a concern.

Is it worth a try? I am planning to use the checking service provided by local authorities, would they be able to decide whether I am eligible or do they just look if the application is filled out properly?

I really don't know. Assuming the illegal stay is forgiven, I don't see anything strictly barring you from eligibility. Your case isn't all that complicated, but these offences along with the recent traffic-related CCJ stand out like a sore thumb. The timespan between the last traffic offense and the present is in your favor, no doubt. But the nature of that CCJ really raises some eyebrows. Maybe somebody else can offer some quidance or experience that is useful.

[hikz]

Thanks a lot Ouflak. The latest CCJ was for a parking ticket by a private company. I challenged the ticket and also the CCJ as it was sent to my previous address unfortunately. I paid it in full a few weeks ago and it was for an amount of 250 pounds and I have proof of my challenges and complaint against court in addition to the payment receipt.

I really hope that others would contribute to the post also if someone can assist me of how to obtain an Employment history and how to find out about all offences and cautions.

[ouflak1]

You can pay to get a standard DBS check. It will have all of the cautions and offences.

HMRC keeps an employment history, but it can be a bit dicey to get stuff from very far back. Were you working during your period of illegal stay? Aslum status may forgive the time period. I don't think it will forgive the work though.

[hikz]

Once I was accepted as a refugee I started working immediately. There was a very small periods of time where I went on benefits back in 2012 for a few months until I found a decent job. When I was not yet accepted I did not take work as I was not allowed. I applied for public access file as the DBS would not show except basic things.

I would really appreciate it if others could contribute to the post especially those with similar experiences.

[hikz]

any input? anyone who's been in a similar situation?

[hikz]

Guys I would really appreciate any input, please share ur story if you have come across a similar case before