In summary, six relevant events have occurred (all in the UK)
[2] A Civil Court Case in 2019 - A UK High Court (Chancery Division) Search Order, A Summary Judgement Order, and finally leading to an out of court settlement.
[3] Outstanding Debt - I have credit card debts from 2019, currently worth around £7,500, that I have been paying off on a monthly basis.
[4 & 5] Two Driving PCN offences in 2023 - occurred in July and October 2023. Both cases for using a Bus Lane. I have paid both penalties, no points on my Driving License.
[6] Did not disclose 1, 2, and 3 on my last application in 2019
In Details,
[1] I was arrested when, after an argument, my partner decided to "teach me a lesson" by making false accusations. Was released on the same day with no charges.
Questions for [1]
[1.1] Should I get the records deleted from the PNC and local police systems? I think I may qualify for record deletion.
[1.2] If I do get it deleted, do I then need to mention it on my ILR application?
[1.3] If I do get it deleted, will the Home Office find out that I got them deleted?
[2] This was a complex case under complex circumstances. I worked for a start-up and helped build it into a multi-million pound enterprise. I was going to become a shareholder/partner as per the contract. However, when the owner (100% of shares owned by this person and his family) became more and more worried that I would become a whistleblower for many of the wrongdoings he was engaging in, he summarily dismissed me with the help of a leading law firm in the UK. He had a fair idea that I was going to blow the whistle due to my confrontations with him and he putting private investigators to watch me 24/7 (I did not know at the time; they only disclosed it during the civil case). I was left destitute as I was only paid minimal wages (on the basis of shares I would receive I would receive in future) so had no savings, and he did not pay my salary for last 2-3 months. This is when I started racking up my credit card debts (see point [3]). In the midst of all of this, I ended up disclosing some of the confidential information to one of their customers - however, I now believe I was coerced/deceived into giving away this information and that they two worked together (they had their business and themselves to protect). This is on the basis that the said customer (who was capable of using the information I shared) was not included in the Civil case. My ex-employer only filed the case against the said customer after the High Court Judge pointed this fact out, but they filed it separately and reached a settlement in about 1-2 months - no details were shared with me or in my case due to confidentiality. Of course, my visa was curtailed so I was fighting the case from abroad after the initial 3-month grace period and representing myself as I did not have any money for a legal advice. Whilst, on the other hand, my ex-employer had hired a leading UK law firm (as per The Lawyer ranking) and were instructed by a Kings Counsel (then known as QC).
Anyway, long story short, there was first a Search Order issued in early 2019 (without me being present when the application was made); I then submitted my affidavit and admitted that I had disclosed the information to one client; then a Summary Judgement was issued ordering me to pay around £30k for their legal cost and permanently delete all information from my computer (this is what they wanted so that even if I blew the whistle, it would not be supported by any evidence). Since I did not have any money, they threatened to bankrupt me by entering proceedings in my home country (on the basis of the £30k that I now owe them due to the judgement). This had been dragging too long for me (around a year), and without any money, job (all time spent in going through and preparing paperwork at which I am unexperienced), and taking treatment for clinically diagnosed depression. So, I ended up settling out of court for all the claims I had against my ex-employer - unfair dismissal, breach of contract (for not giving me shares), and discrimination. Overall, they paid me around £20k (after subtracting their £30k) to settle all matters from both sides.
Questions for [2]
[2.1] How much information should I provide on this to present a balanced view - the circumstances of the case were very complex and I struggled to keep it short here too. They essentially used the legal system against me to prevent me from whistleblowing and in doing so, caused utter devastation for me and my family and we are still dealing with the repercussions to a great extent to this date. I had even qualified for Legal Aid due to my side of the claims on the ex-employer but it was not given to me because by that time I was in my home country.
[2.2] Should I submit any documents with this? The settlement agreement itself is confidential.
[3] Debt from two credit cards that I have been paying off regularly. No court judgement or anything, just a default on my credit report.
Question for [3] - Does this need to be mentioned in the application?
[4 & 5] I recently got my driving license and a car. I entered into a bus lane on two separate occasions when I was in cities that I do not live in (London and Manchester) at night. Just need to be more aware next time. No license points and have paid them in full.
Question for [4 & 5] - Would this affect the outcome of the ILR, especially given that this occurred very recently and within 3 months of each other?
[6] I did not mention the arrest or the Civil Case in my entry clearance application in 2019 simply because of the wordings in the form - I was not convicted of any criminal offence; and the civil court judgement option normally mentions things like bankruptcy, anti-social behaviour. I never thought this would be relevant for this option until I started reading about the ILR and the "good character" requirement came up in my research.
Many thanks for reading my post - I know it is unusually long! Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.