ILR Long Residence - Hope against hope

[nickb]

Hi Everyone,

Just want to share my experience with everyone and to offer hope to those who may think they may not be able to get a visa.

I have been in the UK for over 13 years on Student>PSW>Entpreneur>Entrepreneur Ext. I didn't qualify for ILR under Entrepreneur route so had to apply through LR route.

My case was complicated because I have been out of the UK for 800 days in the last 10 years (since 2010) and I was expecting a rejection and then appealing but by God's grace I got my decision within 1 day of biometrics although it was a complex case. Initially, I missed my approval email as it was in the spam folder but it was sent on 24th June and my biometrics was on 23rd June.

So, to all of those who may be in a similar position, please present your case concisely with all your supporting documents. UKVI is able to use discretion but you need to explain your case as clearly as possible to them and secondly, provide them with all the supporting documents. And most importantly, do your own homework - you need to understand all the rules, policy guidance, caseworker guidance and read FTT case studies so that you can use all of these to your advantage in your application.

I am happy to address any genuine queries.

[zimba]

It would be great if you can share the history of absences and the exceptional reasons you argued for them as well as the documents you provided. Discretion is rarely applied under SET(LR) and so your case and circumstances may not be the same as others.