Need information on applying for ILR / PR

[ms_ora]

Hello

My PR is due in May 2009. I wish to apply for PR in person at PEO in Croydon. I arrived in UK on 5th June 2004. I have got following four queries:

1) What will be the earliest date by which I can apply for PR ? Considering that I entered into UK on 5th June and the rule of Home Office says that 'You must not send us your application more than 28 days before the end of your qualifying period.', is the 7th May or 8th May the right date for me to apply for my PR ?

2) How many days in advance can we book an appointment with PEO offices for ILR/PR ? Can I call PEO Offifce today (26th March) ?

3) My wife joined me a month later (she arrived on 4th July 2004). Are dependents also eligible to apply for PR with the main applicant ? i.e. Can I apply for PR for myself, my wife & my daughter on the same day (7th May or 8th May) ? Or does the dependents also need to complete 4 years and 11 months to become eligible to apply for PR ?

4) The telephone number of PEO Office in Croydon is 0870 606 7766. Since 0870 number cost 10p a minute, does anyone has geographic phone no. (01 or 02) ? What is your experience of getting through to the right person after connecting to 0870 606 7766 ?

Your inputs/guidance/advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Mayur

[gg234]

Check my comments

1) What will be the earliest date by which I can apply for PR ? Considering that I entered into UK on 5th June and the rule of Home Office says that 'You must not send us your application more than 28 days before the end of your qualifying period.', is the 7th May or 8th May the right date for me to apply for my PR ?

A) 7th May or 8th May

2) How many days in advance can we book an appointment with PEO offices for ILR/PR ? Can I call PEO Offifce today (26th March) ?

B) Yes you can call and book now

3) My wife joined me a month later (she arrived on 4th July 2004). Are dependents also eligible to apply for PR with the main applicant ? i.e. Can I apply for PR for myself, my wife & my daughter on the same day (7th May or 8th May) ? Or does the dependents also need to complete 4 years and 11 months to become eligible to apply for PR ?

A) You can apply them as your dependents and your wife need to pass life in the uK test,if your daughter is below 18 no need to pass the exam

4) The telephone number of PEO Office in Croydon is 0870 606 7766. Since 0870 number cost 10p a minute, does anyone has geographic phone no. (01 or 02) ? What is your experience of getting through to the right person after connecting to 0870 606 7766 ?

A) You have to call that number

[ms_ora]

Hi gg234

Many thanks for your prompt response.

In response to my query no. 1, you have said 7th May or 8th May. Will 8th May be OK ?

Cheers
M

[gg234]

sorry i may be doing wrong caluculation i would suggest you to look for May 11 that is safe option

[ms_ora]

Yeah, you are right. May 11th will be the safe option.
TA

[ms_ora]

Ok. So I called in Home Office on 0870 606 7766 this morning (27th March) at about 11 AM. Was made to hold the phone for 15 minutes and then a gentleman answered my phone.

He began asking me a few details. I told him that I had entered UK on 5th June 2004 so he said that I was eligible to apply on 8th May. I said I would like to book an appointment for 8th May to which he said all the available booking slots for that day was already taken up. He advised me that to get an appointment for 11th May I should call on Monday 30th March at 9 AM sharp because booking slots gets filled very fast. I asked him that could he give me an appointment for 11th May on today (27th March) ? He said he can't.

So I guess that Home Office (UKBA) gives appointment for 'in person' PEO Offices in 6 weeks advance only.

I will further update on what happens on Monday 29th March.

[munisa]

Ok. So I called in Home Office on 0870 606 7766 this morning (27th March) at about 11 AM. Was made to hold the phone for 15 minutes and then a gentleman answered my phone.

He began asking me a few details. I told him that I had entered UK on 5th June 2004 so he said that I was eligible to apply on 8th May. I said I would like to book an appointment for 8th May to which he said all the available booking slots for that day was already taken up. He advised me that to get an appointment for 11th May I should call on Monday 30th March at 9 AM sharp because booking slots gets filled very fast. I asked him that could he give me an appointment for 11th May on today (27th March) ? He said he can't.

So I guess that Home Office (UKBA) gives appointment for 'in person' PEO Offices in 6 weeks advance only.

I will further update on what happens on Monday 29th March.

What if somebody books an appointment and then cancells it later? They (UKBA) should be able to offer the cancelled slot to somebody else who phones them within a shorter period. But then what happens to the person cancelling an appointment? Is he blacklisted?

[pcb_in]

Just one question. Is your dependent children aged over 18 can apply and get ILR? When they have enterd in UK first time as dependent they were under 18.
Thanks
pc

[ms_ora]

munisa

I agree with you. If somebody cancels an appointment, they should be able to offer it to others.

pcb_in

I don't know about the dependent children rules. Since my daughter is under 18, I can apply for all of us together. You will need to check UKBA's website.

[paulp]

Just one question. Is your dependent children aged over 18 can apply and get ILR? When they have enterd in UK first time as dependent they were under 18.
Thanks
pc

As long as they're not living an independent life, e.g. moved out and working.

[Swan]

the HO computer system does not allow them to book any appointments further to 6 weeks, it happened to me too.
yes they have cancellations sometimes, which means you have to keep calling everyday and holding for 15 mins to check for any cancellations, I tried that but then gave up..cost me too much money and time!

apparently this is the busiest time of the year for appointments ..

[pcb_in]

Thanks PaulP for your comment
PC

[ms_ora]

Hurray !! Finally some good news from me. Well, not about getting the ILR done but about getting the appointment date with PEO Office in Croydon for the date I was looking for.

Ok. So here is the second part of the story.

Since I wanted to get the appointment today itself without losing one more day, I called up PEO Office in Croydon this morning (Monday 30th March) at about 8.45. Got the message that "Sorry our lines are closed. Our office times are Monday - Thursday from 9 AM to 4.45 PM and on Friday from 9.30 AM to 4.45 PM" and the line got disconnected.

Tried my luck second time by calling at 4 minutes to 9. Got the same message. Hanged up the phone.

Tried again at 8.59 AM. Phew !! Third time lucky
The lines had opened. After listening to initial standard informative tapes, got connected straight away to the gentleman at the other end.
He asked me the same standard questions like "What visa are you on, When it is expiring, When did you enter into UK, Did you and your spouse take the Life In the UK Test etc.".

After giving him all the satisfactory answers, he told me that the appointment was available for 11th May. I asked him to book it for me.

Then he took my name and mobile number and gave me a reference number and asked me to arrive at the PEO Office 30 minutes before the appointment time.

But there was a bad news for me and for all others aspiring to apply for ILR after 6th April.

He told me that with effect from 6th April, the fees for applying in person for ILR is changing. The new fees will be £1020 (an increase of £70 from the previous fee of £950). In addition to increase in this fees, they are also introducing new fees for our dependents. There will be a fees of £50 for each dependent. So in my case it would be £100 (£50 + £50).

Lastly, the application form for applying for ILR is also changing from 6th April and it will become available to download from Home Office's website from 6th April.

So all those who will be applying for their ILR from 6th April, please remember to use the new application form.

I will post my experience of what happens on 11th May.

Cheers

[ms_ora]

Sorry. Forgot to add one more thing.

When I was speaking to that gentleman, I asked him that whether I would get any confirmation of appointment by post, he said no. He said that I would get a reminder as a Text message before the appointment date.

Cheers

[munisa]

Sorry. Forgot to add one more thing.

When I was speaking to that gentleman, I asked him that whether I would get any confirmation of appointment by post, he said no. He said that I would get a reminder as a Text message before the appointment date.

Cheers

CONGRATULATIONS. Quite informative post and new insights to the up coming changes. I am due for appointment on 27th May so should I ring them on 9th or 14th April? As both 10th and 13th are bank holidays?

[munisa]

Sorry. Forgot to add one more thing.

When I was speaking to that gentleman, I asked him that whether I would get any confirmation of appointment by post, he said no. He said that I would get a reminder as a Text message before the appointment date.

Cheers

ms_ora,
CONGRATULATIONS. Quite informative post and new insights to the up coming changes. I am due for appointment on 27th May so should I ring them on 9th or 14th April? As both 10th and 13th are bank holidays?

[ms_ora]

munisa

If you are due for appointment on 27th May, then 9th April will be too early. Even 14th April may also be early because 27th May falls on Wednesday and as per 6 weeks rule, 14th April comes on Tuesday. So may be 15th April will be appropriate.

But there is no harm in calling up 9th April. If you tell them your date of entry, they will be able to tell you the exact date when you can call them.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[munisa]

munisa

If you are due for appointment on 27th May, then 9th April will be too early. Even 14th April may also be early because 27th May falls on Wednesday and as per 6 weeks rule, 14th April comes on Tuesday. So may be 15th April will be appropriate.

But there is no harm in calling up 9th April. If you tell them your date of entry, they will be able to tell you the exact date when you can call them.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

ms_ora,
Many Thanks. Remember to tell us how it goes when you finally attend to the PEO.

[duckykin]

Hi,
I wish to make an enquiry whether I need to extend my visa to make up for the two-year qualifying period before I apply for the indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
The visa on my passport is valid from 25/07/2007 to 25/07/2009 but I came in to the UK on 16/08/2007.
Do I need to extend my qualifying period based on the fact that I arrived UK on 16/08/2007 or I should complete the application form SET(M)? Or since I came to the UK on 16/08/2007, can I start counting my 28 days backward from 16/08/2009 so that I can book my appointment with the PEO before the expiry of my visa.

Thank you for the prompt reply.

[f2k]

Hi,
I wish to make an enquiry whether I need to extend my visa to make up for the two-year qualifying period before I apply for the indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
The visa on my passport is valid from 25/07/2007 to 25/07/2009 but I came in to the UK on 16/08/2007.
Do I need to extend my qualifying period based on the fact that I arrived UK on 16/08/2007 or I should complete the application form SET(M)? Or since I came to the UK on 16/08/2007, can I start counting my 28 days backward from 16/08/2009 so that I can book my appointment with the PEO before the expiry of my visa.

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I believe the earliest you can apply is 19/07/2009, so u basically have about 5 working days in which you can apply without for ILr or for extension. 6weeks before that 7/6/2009, so if you want to do it via PEO then you have to be on the phone first thing Monday morning (8 June) pressing that redial button. Have done your LIUK test

http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html

[duckykin]

Thanks f2k for the reply.From the reply It means that i dont need to extend my visa. I will do the Life in the UK test on 16/06/2009.
Can you please advise me on the date i should call the PEO in Croydon because I wish to apply in person? What time is best time to book for such an appointment? Can i call after passing the exams?
Also, what are the necessary documents that will assist me on the date of the appointment?
Thanks once again.

[f2k]

Thanks f2k for the reply.From the reply It means that i dont need to extend my visa. I will do the Life in the UK test on 16/06/2009.
Can you please advise me on the date i should call the PEO in Croydon because I wish to apply in person? What time is best time to book for such an appointment? Can i call after passing the exams?
Also, what are the necessary documents that will assist me on the date of the appointment?
Thanks once again.

As i said in my previous post, you have to try and get an appointment from Monday 8 June and Friday 12 June.

You came on the the 16-08-2007 so earliest you can apply (that is attend the PEO or post to HO) is 19-07-2009 Which means you only have 5 days before your visa expires.
To get an appointment for 20-07-2009 (19-07-09 is a Sunday) you have to start calling from 6 weeks before, that is from Monday 8 June 09. appointments normally go within minutes of openings, lines open at 9am but you should start calling from about 8.57am.

The reason i asked about LIUK test is that they ask you if you have passed when you call, if u say No, they tell you you cannot book an appointment.