Promised to share our SET(O) interview experience, so here we go.
I was entitled for ILR based on 2 years of WP, 2 years of HSMP, and 1 year of Tier 1(G). The only major concern we had was my wife and I had only got married 18 months ago and she only transferred from PSW to Tier 1 dependent 3 weeks before our interview. Please see my previous post about details (http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?p=462029).
Documents submitted:
1. Previous and current passports of both;
2. My P60 forms in the past 5 years;
3. My pay slips for the last 12 months and corresponding bank statements; these are provided mainly because my last P60 was 11 months old;
4. Police registration forms of both;
5. Our marriage certificate, and its certified translation;
6. Two letters from my current employer, one to confirm my position and salary, the other was a notification of salary increase;
7. All Home Office letters I had previously received for my WP, HSMP and Tier1 applications;
8. Letters I had received from my previous employer regarding my contract, work permit etc;
9. SET(O) form
We did prepared photocopies of all these documents, but we did not submit them with the originals. This was proven wrong in our case, because we didn't have another chance to submit the photocopies, and all these photocopies became a waste.
We also brought a lot of other documents with us, but none of these were used. I don't remember all the documents because they are not on a list, but important ones are:
1. My pay slips and bank statements for the past five years;
2. Evidence of our co-habitation in the past two years; we had moved 3 times before we bought our own home, and finding sufficient evidence for each address was proven quite difficult. These included everything we could find, such as Council Tax bills, bank statements, NHS registration letters, DVLA letters, utility bills. Anyway we thought the effort was worthwhile, because we were able to enter the PEO less anxiously with more confidence;
3. Some evidence of our relationship, such as the title deed for our home in the UK (which is in our joint names), print-out of some photos of us and us with our families, bank statements of our joint account since 2006.
The interview was scheduled 1:30. We arrived in Sheffield around 12:00. There is a modern-looking car park called 'Q Park' just opposite the PEO building, but it is a bit expensive. We parked our car in the Blonk Street NCP carpark, which is about five-minute walk from the PEO. Once you've found the Vulcan House, there are enough signs to guide you to the entrance of the PEO.
When we arrived at the entrance, we were told to wait outside, because there is no space for queuing inside (so be prepared for bad weather);
Security check was standard, nothing to mention; we were told to go to window 7 directly;
At window 7, a lady officer took my name, gave us a number, and told us to wait for our number to be called to either window 5 or 6;
In about 10 minutes, we were called to window 6, a male officer asked who is the main applicant and how many dependents are applying etc, and started to take our documents. He then asked how old our photos are. I honestly answered, two months (yes I admit I didn't read the photograph guidance at all). Then he said they can only accept photos no older than 4 weeks, and the photos must not have been used in other applications (and in our case my wife's photos had been used in her dependent application). He noticed we were a bit worried, so he kindly told us this will not affect our application today, we just need to supply some new photos. This really eased our mind. Luckily the photo koisk in the PEO was working, and another officer at the reception very kindly took our five pound note and returned with five pound coins so we could get the photos done.
We then went to the payment window, a nice-looking young lady took away our 1600 quids, and told us to wait;
Then wait
Then wait
Then wait
It was two hours later when we were called again to one of the windows and seen by a gentlemen officer in his late 50s or early 60s. We were told everything is fine, they have all our records and ILR is granted for both of us. What a relief. He briefly described to us what he had learnt about us. It sounded like a very informal chat, but we still answered or confirmed him with great care, as no mistakes are allowed before we see the stamps in our passports. He asked me, were you working when you two met? I answered no, I was about to finish my study. Anyway, he told us to wait another 45 minutes or so to collect our passports.
We then went out to have some food as we were starving (we had no changes left so the vendor machine inside the PEO was useless to us); we came back in about 30 minutes, and the same lady at the reception told us to wait a bit more; amazingly the same gentlemen officer spotted us, and also came to tell us it will take another five minutes.
A few moments later, our number was called again and we finally had the passports back. My wife insisted to know about our scores of the Life in the UK test so I asked. The lady went to a desk and came back to us with our scores. She told first me I had 23, which is very good; but my wife's got 24, which is why she wanted to know...then a big laugh.
The PEO was a bit crowded, and some kids were playing around, shouting, crying. But all the officers we have met were very kind, helping and often humorous. Overall this has been a very pleasant experience.
We do hope sharing our experience here will help some others who are a bit lost as we were before the interview. We wish you the best luck in your application.
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