Payment for ILR - Bankers Draft

HSMP2ILR · Post by **HSMP2ILR** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:07 am

Dear All
Anybody paid the ILR fees [using SET(O)] through Bankers Draft. If so, please let me know to what name the fees payable to.

Thanks many

Post by **geriatrix** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:51 am

Read the form - all payment methods (and necessary details) are mentioned.

HSMP2ILR · Post by **HSMP2ILR** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:09 pm

Thank you sushdmehta for your immediate response.

On SET(O) Application, it has been given as
"Cheque or postal order payable to Home Office Leave to Remain"
"Bankerâ€™s draft (payable to the Home Office)"

Actually my doubt is this is an application form for Indefinite Leave to Remain, but the postal order payable name is given as Leave to Remain.

Moreover, for Bankers draft they have mentioned only Home Office without any specification.

So any one could clarify me, in what name should I take the bankers draft because postal order costs me more.

adamboston · Post by **adamboston** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 5:54 pm

HSMP2ILR wrote:Thank you sushdmehta for your immediate response.

On SET(O) Application, it has been given as
"Cheque or postal order payable to Home Office Leave to Remain"
"Bankerâ€™s draft (payable to the Home Office)"

Actually my doubt is this is an application form for Indefinite Leave to Remain, but the postal order payable name is given as Leave to Remain.

Moreover, for Bankers draft they have mentioned only Home Office without any specification.

So any one could clarify me, in what name should I take the bankers draft because postal order costs me more.

I had the same confusion and it caused me a lot stress.

I went to my bank and got 2 bankers drafts, one for my SET(O) and other for my wife's FLR(M) and followed what has been advised on the form means payable to 'The Home Office'. My bank (NatWest) charged me Â£12 for each draft.

Then couple of days later when I read the form again it was giving the impression that all the cheques and postal orders should be paid to 'Home Office Leave to Remain'. Now the bankers draft is not a cheque but technically, according to the bank lady, it is a 'guaranteed cheque' from a bank to a payee.

Very confusing - this made me to go back to my bank and I asked if I could get it changed to 'Home Office Leave to Remain'. They told me they will have to cancel the previous drafts and issue me the new but there will be another Â£12 for each draft. The bank lady was very kind and didn't want to charge me again. She rang UKBA general enquiry line to check with them. The UKBA adviser told her to write, on the draft, what the application form says which is payable to 'The Home Office'.

So we left it as 'The Home Office' and posted both applications on 18th July and I still await the decision. No news is a Good news, after more than 7 weeks I've not heard anything back from the UKBA. The acknowledgement letters arrived on time and my wife's biometrics were enrolled without any issue. So I assume that payable to 'The Home Office' is the correct way.

Hope this is useful.

Hunter007 · Post by **Hunter007** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:30 pm

This has got me worried now...coz I paid by Banker's Draft and instead of "Home Office"...I got it made out to "Home Office Leave to Remain"

I got the acknowledgement letter too...been waiting now 4.5 weeks...it would be disastrous if they send the application back due to payment problem...any ideas what I could do to check whether the Home Office took the money or not?

edit - Just called Barclays my bank, they can't tell me whether the Banker's Draft was encashed or not and when...and thats standard policy for all Banker's Drafts...so it doesn't tell me whether my application has been put through or in a batch due to be sent back now...

Maybe senior members or mods could comment if they've seen cases where Banker's Draft was made out to Home Office Leave to Remain and then was returned more than 5 weeks later?? Its really stressing me out now...coz i'm now on 3C leave so to speak and send my application just days before my visa was due to expire.

Post by **geriatrix** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:47 pm

Hunter007 wrote:Hello,
I just came across someone else's post making me realise I may have made a serious blunder.
I applied ILR 10yrs on Set(O) on 9th Aug...payment made by Banker's Draft made out to "Home Office Leave to Remain" the same as for Postal orders & cheques, completely overlooking that it needs to be made out to "Home Office" instead.

I got an acknowledgement letter too....been waiting 4.5 weeks now, really stressing that maybe now my application is in a batch of those that need to be sent back as invalid. Already checked with Barclays my bank and they're unable to tell me whether the draft has been encashed or not and when (standard policy for all banker's drafts issued)

I'm extra worried coz I applied just days before my visa was due to expire, so I assumed that i'd be on 3C leave but the payment issue may mean that I get my application sent back and my stay deemed invalid.

- What can I do at this stage, is it possible to contact UKBA about this, if so on what number?
- Have senior members or moderators come across people paying by banker's draft and screwing up on the same issue or have they been fine...coz techinically if postal orders & cheques can be made out to "Home Office Leave to remain" then surely they can still encash the Banker's draft made out to the same wording too...?

Hunter007 · Post by **Hunter007** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 7:56 pm

Excuse the double posting...
But as an experienced Mod Sushdmehta i'd be very grateful if you can tell me what you think & perhaps what I could possibly do at this stage?
Thanks!

adamboston · Post by **adamboston** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:08 pm

Dont know Hunter what to suggest, it could be the case that I am the one who's made a mistake. I dont know what difference it would make if it's Home Office only or Home Office Leave to Remain. The first thing I would suggest (which I'll my do myself too first thing in the morning) to visit the same bank and ask them to check whether or not the payment has been taken. When I first requested the bankers draft my bank advised me to keep a photocopy of my banker drafts as a proof of payment and also to check later if the draft has been cashed.

If this doesn't work then I would ring UKBA to get some sort of assurance. As more than 4 weeks have already been passed let's hope that everything is going fine. My visa expired on 31.07.2011 and I myself on 3C and to be honest I can't take any more stress. I know it's not very helpful but that's all I can add.

Hunter007 · Post by **Hunter007** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:17 pm

adamboston wrote:Dont know Hunter what to suggest, it could be the case that I am the one who's made a mistake. I dont know what difference it would make if it's Home Office only or Home Office Leave to Remain.

Yeah Adam, drop me an update after you come back from the bank, although I think you followed instructions as per the form and payable to "the Home Office" is what they've clearly stated...don't think u have to worry at all. I suspect the bank will tell u the same answer they gave me that they can't say whether the draft has been encashed...

I just came across another user "fandango" after carrying out a search on here...who paid by a banker's draft made out to "Home Office Leave to Remain" at a PEO in person...I've messaged him/her to ask whether it went thru fine or not...? fandango's subsequent posts do say ILR was granted at the PEO...but it doesn't mention whether the Banker's Draft was fine or not? One would imagine it was, but i've sent a message

See below -

fandango
Joined: 29 Oct 2010
Posts: 26
Location: Nottingham
Posted: Mon Nov 01, 2010 2:06 pm Post subject: For those who went personally to the PEO, how did you pay??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sushdmehta - regarding a banker's draft, are you saying that this clears on the same day? I have a banker's draft in my possession you see payable to Home Office leave to Remain and hoping it clears in order to get an answer on the same day.

Many thanks, JO

Hunter007 · Post by **Hunter007** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:58 pm

Hello,
I have good news to report back. In summary, I just received confirmation from UKBA that my Bankers draft was cleared for payment on the same date as my acknowledgement letter was raised on 12th Aug. The application has then been sent to Liverpool to one of the settlement teams for consideration and that is the status as of now.
Lesson of the story is to please check thoroughly every single minute detail relating to your application. And if you're going to use Bankers Draft or Postal order remember to make it payable to exactly what it says in the form and not mix it up like I ended up somehow.
I'll write a more detailed response below of how I went about confirming this for others on the forum.
Here's hoping that the email confirmation I recieved is the end of this matter and that I don't get any more unexpected nasty shocks like this one and just get my ILR soon. Thanks to everyone concerned for their assistance so far. Its much appreciated!
Hunter

In detail -
This morning started with being told 2 different answers on the standard 0870 Croydon number by 2 different advisers. After explaining, one said to just sit tight until UKBA contacted me as no possible action from my part could be taken. The second one said to write everything I explained to her on the phone and post it to the Croydon Lunar House Address and wait for a response.
Not getting a satisfactory answer, I then looked up the number for the North East, Yorkshire & Humber Region Customer Services & Complaints Unit on the UKBA website, since i'm based in Yorkshire. Link -> http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/about ... complaints

I called them, explained my situation very clearly and complained that I was not being given the correct answer and my intention was not to track progress of the application but just to confirm that the Payment Charging Unit cleared the payment through. The guy was very friendly (maybe I was fortunate) and heard me out and then said that there was no way for me to contact the Payments Charging Unit but he told me to email everything I explained to him clearly to the email address provided in the link above and mark it to the attention of Customer Services Unit. On receipt they will then forward it to the relevant department and I should then expect a reply soon (there are no defined response times and they can can take as long as they like).
I wrote a very clear and to the point explaination of the slight wording mix up I made and I made it clear that I did not want my application withdrawn or sent back. All I wanted them to do was to confirm that despite the slight mix up, the charging unit was able to encash the draft or will be able to encash it. I also indicated that i had been to my bank already and the manager their said that drafts were as good as cash and word mix up was still good enough for it to be claimed by UKBA if they try to do so. And since my bank can't tell me whether its been encashed the only option left to me after waiting for over 5 weeks and getting more and more anxious was to contact them and get some sort of confirmation that it was indeed ok.
I also attached scanned copies of my Acknowledgement letter, the Bank draft I posted and my last Biometric Visa Id card to show an intime application before my visa which expired soon after applying.

After sending the email, i got an automated response confirming receipt of my email. Not stopping here, I then went to my local Citizens Advice Bureau and spoke to an immigration adviser because I was wondering if I made one of them call UKBA whether they'd be able to confirm payment cleared on the phone itself. The adviser got fobbed off from the main Croydon number with requesting me to write a letter into Croydon. She then called the Sheffield complaints number that I had called earlier...luckily the adviser ended up speaking to the same guy as I spoke with earlier. He said that he had done some checks (coz he had my application ref no., name & date of birth) with the Payment Charging unit and somehow had the information that my Draft was cleared on the 12th of Aug (application sent 9th Aug). And also that the application was then sent to Liverpool Settlement teams for consideration, he told me on his own accord and I didn't ask for it. I then requested him to write me an email confirming this and he did. So now I have an email from UKBA saying that payment was taken on 12th Aug. to avoid any future nastiness regarding this. And before anyone asks there is no name in the email and neither any personal email address. Its the same email address I emailed to.
Thats it I guess. I hope this is helpful for everyone on here.
Kind regards,
Hunter

adamboston · Post by **adamboston** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:16 pm

I had no joy whatsoever after ringing UKBA. I hope my and wife's bankers draft were gone through smoothly too and I'm just giving up on this matter.

Good to know that your mind is in peace. Mine is in pieces

Hunter007 · Post by **Hunter007** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:25 pm

Adam,
You have absolutely no cause for concern in my opinion. Both the drafts for you and your partner were made payable to "The Home Office".
If I had done the same as you on my bankers draft, I wouldn't let the issue of whether they've been encashed or not bother me at all, honestly!

Plus, you're now 8 weeks into your waiting, for all you know your application is being decided this week or already been stamped and then on its way back to you in 2 weeks like we have seen with other applicants.

Come on spirits up dude

your supporting documents, your payment method, your forms, everything was done as good as they could have been done with nothing lacking in my opinion.

adamboston · Post by **adamboston** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:29 pm

Hunter007 wrote:Adam,
You have absolutely no cause for concern in my opinion. Both the drafts for you and your partner were made payable to "The Home Office".
If I had done the same as you on my bankers draft, I wouldn't let the issue of whether they've been encashed or not bother me at all, honestly!

Plus, you're now 8 weeks into your waiting, for all you know your application is being decided this week or already been stamped and then on its way back to you in 2 weeks like we have seen with other applicants.

Come on spirits up dude your supporting documents, your payment method, your forms, everything was done as good as they could have been done with nothing lacking in my opinion.

Thanks buddy for making me feel much better. Let's hope everything is okay.

fingers crossed.

billy121 · Post by **billy121** » Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:28 am

hello i have submitted my ilr application with postal order now instead of only 'home office" i wrote home office live to remain now i am worried sick they might have invalid my application

they have recived my application on 22/04/2015 i rang on the switch board the lady assured me if there is any payment issue they will let me know

its only 4 days they have recived my application

now what shall i do ? shall i ring the switch board again does anybody have the payment section number of home office?

Immigrationboards.com: Immigration, work visa and work permit discussion board

Payment for ILR - Bankers Draft

Payment for ILR - Bankers Draft

Re: Payment for ILR - Bankers Draft