ILR experience

[lapen123]

Hi all,
I, my wife and my daughter got the ILR on Thursday 15/01/09……….. quite relieved!!!
I just want to share with you my experience at PEO Croydon.
My case was quite straight forward: 5 years with the same employer. No more than 90 days continuous absences from UK in any last five years.

Our appointment was on 10.45. We reached Lunar House 45 minutes before the appointment time. There were not many people queuing up outside the building. We went through airport like security checks at the entrance. After security we stood in a queue waited for our turn to go to the first available counter. There was a lady directing each person to go to the counter relevant to his or her case.

On the counter lady asked me to give her one by one application form, pictures, employment letter, life in the UK test pass notification, last 3 months payslips & last 3 months bank statements. Though I had arranged all my documents in a file very professionally, but I had to hand over each and every document asked one by one. I assume this was fair as they are very busy and don’t have time to go through the whole file. After checking all my documents, she stamped my application as valid and issued me an appointment slip with the token number on it. She also gave me two papers to keep them with the application, which were for the visa officer. We spent around 15 minutes at the counter. Once done, we were asked to go upstairs 1st floor to pay the fee.
I paid the fee and was directed towards the other side of the same floor to wait for my token number to be called. There were around 25 visa officers windows. After a short while my number was called. Visa officer I got was very polite. She asked the same docs as was asked at the first counter. She asked me why my daughter has not got a visa. I explained that I didn’t travel since she was born so we didn’t have to apply for her visa. She asked me if I had her birth certificate. I gave her the birth certificate and she was OK with that.
She asked me If I had any absences more than 90 days continuously in any last 5 years?

Then she went away to the supervisor’s cabin to do some checks on my docs. She came back after around 15 minutes and told me that everything is fine and she is granting me & my family ILR. She congratulated me and told me that it will take 2 hours to process our passports. But I got my passport within an hour.

All sorted!!!

Lastly I would like to thanks everyone on this board for helping & guiding me to organize right paper work for my ILR.

THANKS A LOT

[psychrai]

CONGRATS!

Out of curiosity what are the limitations/advantages of the ILR ?
Can one work in their country of birth and continue to have an ILR?
How long can a person be on an ILR?


Regards

[dnicky]

Please do not double post your questions. You have already posted your queries in the thread below, for which you have received response as well.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=34179

Instead it is better to open a new thread specific to your queries.

[psychrai]

Please do not double post your questions. You have already posted your queries in the thread below, for which you have received response as well.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=34179

Instead it is better to open a new thread specific to your queries.

sorry and thanks for your reply

[rizcom123]

Hi all,
I, my wife and my daughter got the ILR on Thursday 15/01/09……….. quite relieved!!!
I just want to share with you my experience at PEO Croydon.
My case was quite straight forward: 5 years with the same employer. No more than 90 days continuous absences from UK in any last five years.

Our appointment was on 10.45. We reached Lunar House 45 minutes before the appointment time. There were not many people queuing up outside the building. We went through airport like security checks at the entrance. After security we stood in a queue waited for our turn to go to the first available counter. There was a lady directing each person to go to the counter relevant to his or her case.

On the counter lady asked me to give her one by one application form, pictures, employment letter, life in the UK test pass notification, last 3 months payslips & last 3 months bank statements. Though I had arranged all my documents in a file very professionally, but I had to hand over each and every document asked one by one. I assume this was fair as they are very busy and don’t have time to go through the whole file. After checking all my documents, she stamped my application as valid and issued me an appointment slip with the token number on it. She also gave me two papers to keep them with the application, which were for the visa officer. We spent around 15 minutes at the counter. Once done, we were asked to go upstairs 1st floor to pay the fee.
I paid the fee and was directed towards the other side of the same floor to wait for my token number to be called. There were around 25 visa officers windows. After a short while my number was called. Visa officer I got was very polite. She asked the same docs as was asked at the first counter. She asked me why my daughter has not got a visa. I explained that I didn’t travel since she was born so we didn’t have to apply for her visa. She asked me if I had her birth certificate. I gave her the birth certificate and she was OK with that.
She asked me If I had any absences more than 90 days continuously in any last 5 years?

Then she went away to the supervisor’s cabin to do some checks on my docs. She came back after around 15 minutes and told me that everything is fine and she is granting me & my family ILR. She congratulated me and told me that it will take 2 hours to process our passports. But I got my passport within an hour.

All sorted!!!

Lastly I would like to thanks everyone on this board for helping & guiding me to organize right paper work for my ILR.

THANKS A LOT

Did they took your biometric details such as IRIS fingerprints??????

[surdy77]

Hi lapen123 ,
Thanks for sharing your info with all of us. I am also applying for ILR in Croydon in feb 2009 and have been on a WP since the last 5 yrs without any gaps etc.

On seeing the form set(O) yesterday it says under documents needed that you need to furnish documents to prove your continous stay in the UK for 5 yrs...what docs did u took with you ?
The only problem in my case is that i have lost my payslip for dec08, but have the bank statements etc with me for tha period..do u reckon that could be a prob as it falls inside the last 3 months period ?

[lapen123]

rizcom123,
No biometric details were taken as it was the ILR application. I assume that only applies to students and dependants on a marriage visa when they go for extension of stay. Seniors please correct me if I am wrong.

Surdy77,
1. In my case, I was with the same employer for the entire 5 years – no employment change. And I asked my employer to confirm the same on the employment letter. It was sufficient proof, of 5 years stay in UK as a WP holder, for the visa officer. I didn’t provide anything else apart from employment letter.

2. They do ask last 3 months payslips and cross check with the bank statements. I actually took 6 month payslips and 6 months bank statements, though I gave only 3 months payslips & bank statements to visa officer. You can either do the same or provide last 3 months pay slips excluding Dec08.

You can also ask your employer to get you the payslip again. I can’t see any problem in printing the payslip again unless your employer doesn’t want to help you.

Lastly somebody told me that payslips are not compulsory. I suggest putting a question on the board if you want to check if payslips are compulsory.

[peter786]

Hi all

I just want to share my experience at PEO croydon.
I had an appointment for ILR 5 years as HSMP. 1+3+3 on 22nd jan at 3-15.

I had my documents as follows
1- Passport
2-Life in Uk
3-Salary slips from Aug 2007 till now.
4-Employer letter
5-Bank statements from 2007-2009

After crossing security when I reached the initial checking window the gentleman there first asked for passport. After that asked for life in UK.
After this he asked from me to give him bankstatements from 2006 till now. Here I was stuck as I had bank statements from 2007 till now but he said he need to see the economic activity from 2006 till now I tried to show him my employers letter that I am woring since 2004 till now but he refused to see that and asked me to reschedule the appointment and bring bank statements fromm 2006 till now.
Later he saw on the system and gave me appointment in the mid feb.
So i came back with nothing and new appointment.

[yhdyhd]

Hi all

I just want to share my experience at PEO croydon.
I had an appointment for ILR 5 years as HSMP. 1+3+3 on 22nd jan at 3-15.

I had my documents as follows
1- Passport
2-Life in Uk
3-Salary slips from Aug 2007 till now.
4-Employer letter
5-Bank statements from 2007-2009

After crossing security when I reached the initial checking window the gentleman there first asked for passport. After that asked for life in UK.
After this he asked from me to give him bankstatements from 2006 till now. Here I was stuck as I had bank statements from 2007 till now but he said he need to see the economic activity from 2006 till now I tried to show him my employers letter that I am woring since 2004 till now but he refused to see that and asked me to reschedule the appointment and bring bank statements fromm 2006 till now.
Later he saw on the system and gave me appointment in the mid feb.
So i came back with nothing and new appointment.

Thanks for shareing. Interestingly, has they say why do the request the document form this specific period?

[peter786]

hi

Yes the IO told me that as my visa was extended in 2006 so he wants to see my financial activity from 2006 till now.

[yhdyhd]

....

[yhdyhd]

hi

Yes the IO told me that as my visa was extended in 2006 so he wants to see my financial activity from 2006 till now.

I have heard that they want to see the economic activity from last extension. it looks that's true. But since your are 1+3+3 of HSMP, you should get hsmp approval around beginning of 2004, why did you get extension in 2006? isn't it 2005 and 2008?

[peter786]

yes your idea is correct actually my visa was expiring in 2008 but due to birth of my baby in 2006 I sent my passports along with my babys and requested them to stamp my babys visa and extend ours as in 2006 they had changed the rules from 4-5 and so they extended our visas along with my baby.

Now I have ordered bank statements from 2006-07 from my back and will take them there in feb.

Lets see what happens then.

[global gypsy]

She asked me If I had any absences more than 90 days continuously in any last 5 years?

You haven't mentioned how you proved the above.
Did you show them a spreadsheet showing absences. and did they cross-check this against passport stamps?

Would appreciate your clarification.

[lapen123]

I did create a spreadsheet of my absences with my passport page numbers references so that visa officer can easily refer to them. But I didn't give it to her as I didn't want to valunteer information.

She looked at my absences in the applicatioin form and asked me if I had any more than 90 days absences. I replied no. And she didn't attempt to cross check the dates with the passport stamps.

If she had attempted to cross check then I would have given her the spreadsheet at that point.

[GoodFun]

Does anyone know how critical economic activity during the HSMP visa is for the ILR?

[global gypsy]

lapen123, thanks for clarifying that.
One more question: do you know if the 90 days is counted including weekends/holidays, or do they exclude them in calculating the 90 days?
I read elsewhere on this forum that holidays/weekends are not counted towards determining days outside the UK.

[republique]

lapen123, thanks for clarifying that.
One more question: do you know if the 90 days is counted including weekends/holidays, or do they exclude them in calculating the 90 days?
I read elsewhere on this forum that holidays/weekends are not counted towards determining days outside the UK.

I dont know where that one came from but an absence is an absence even if it is on the weekend or on a holiday

[peter786]

hi all

Funds to maintain yourself
You should provide evidence that you have the funds to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without the use of public funds. You should send formal documents such as:

bank statements; or
a building society passbook; or
wage slips.
You should not send us cheques, traveller's cheques or credit cards.

If a relative or friend is supporting you, you should send a letter from them confirming this together with formal documents showing their financial situation.

The documents you provide in this section should cover at least the last three months

Its clearly written here that Bank statements should cover atleast last three months then how can they say to bring from when your visa was extended.

Any suggestions.

[indianuk]

I have a question - i am in this country for last 4.5 years now and my current contract ends March end. I am not sure if the contract will get extended or not. I will becomne elligible for ILR in Aug 09. Looking at the market conditions, io am not sure if i will be having a job after march or not. If i dont have a job after March, can i still apply for ILR?
Please suggest. I have sufficient funds in my bank account, but no job...any comments.

[GoodFun]

I have a question - i am in this country for last 4.5 years now and my current contract ends March end. I am not sure if the contract will get extended or not. I will becomne elligible for ILR in Aug 09. Looking at the market conditions, io am not sure if i will be having a job after march or not. If i dont have a job after March, can i still apply for ILR?
Please suggest. I have sufficient funds in my bank account, but no job...any comments.

What type of UK visa are you currently on?

[ethan]

COngratulation! I will apply in May as a HSM (1+3+3). HOpe it can be smoothly.

[indianuk]

I was on WP earlier and now i have got a HSMP...valid for next 3 years.

[global gypsy]

lapen123, thanks for clarifying that.
One more question: do you know if the 90 days is counted including weekends/holidays, or do they exclude them in calculating the 90 days?
I read elsewhere on this forum that holidays/weekends are not counted towards determining days outside the UK.

I dont know where that one came from but an absence is an absence even if it is on the weekend or on a holiday

I couldn't locate the relevant post earlier, but a recent post does mention the point about weekends:
http://immigrationboards.com/viewtopic. ... 105#226105

"I finally got my ILR yesterday and I thought I’d ask the lady to explain how she calculated my days. According to her the rule changes in July 2008 allows for 225 days absent from the UK over a 5 year period. This now EXCLUDES weekends and bankholidays! This ALSO excludes days you worked abroad, providing you have proof that these days were for work purposes."