ILR postal applications (excluding 10/14 yr.)

[drsk]

I can understand that it the wait is really frustrating and getting us no where.

I have now written to my MP that I am dissatisfied with the response UKBA sent through her when I asked her to write to UKBA about the progress of my application.

MP's response was disgusting asking me to wait patiently until UKBA decides.

In my new letter I have told her that UKBA has not yet assigned a case worker to my application for 3 months and she should write to UKBA strongly to act quickly as it is unfair that after being eligible for ILR after 5 years of wait we send in application which UKBA doesn't even bother to act on for 3 months.

I have also written to her that if she can not initiate any action against this then she should forward my concerns to Immigration Minister.

I have now written to MP with cc to Immigration Minister urging him that he should understand the concerns of HSM.

Am now waiting for their response.

I too am frustrated with the delay and wrote a letter to my MP. THis is the reply i got on his behalf!

Thank you for your message to Fabian Hamilton MP. He will see the points that you have made.

I have also forwarded it to Mr Ron Kaye who Fabian uses for all matters concerning constituent immigration matters and he will know if it is possible to make an enquiry about the progress of your application. The delay is unreasonably long but the Home Office for a long time has not worked efficiently and there has been a lot of political controversy about it. There is a backlog of many hundreds of thousands of applications for visas or leave to remain from people, some of whom have been in the country for over 10 years. If MPs enquire, all they are told is that the applications remain under consideration and there is nothing any MP can do to bring forward the consideration of any particular case. I suspect the delay you are experiencing is just part of the backlog of work in the Borders Agency. The reason they reject enquiries is probably to allow staff to get on with the job.

If Mr Kaye feels there is something that he might do, he will be in touch with you.


SO basically, who cares what happens to us. As long as we pay tax into their coffers and exorbitant processing fees, carry on!!!

[drsk]

I can understand that it the wait is really frustrating and getting us no where.

I have now written to my MP that I am dissatisfied with the response UKBA sent through her when I asked her to write to UKBA about the progress of my application.

MP's response was disgusting asking me to wait patiently until UKBA decides.

In my new letter I have told her that UKBA has not yet assigned a case worker to my application for 3 months and she should write to UKBA strongly to act quickly as it is unfair that after being eligible for ILR after 5 years of wait we send in application which UKBA doesn't even bother to act on for 3 months.

I have also written to her that if she can not initiate any action against this then she should forward my concerns to Immigration Minister.

I have now written to MP with cc to Immigration Minister urging him that he should understand the concerns of HSM.

Am now waiting for their response.

I too am frustrated with the delay and wrote a letter to my MP. THis is the reply i got on his behalf!

Thank you for your message to Fabian Hamilton MP. He will see the points that you have made.

I have also forwarded it to Mr Ron Kaye who Fabian uses for all matters concerning constituent immigration matters and he will know if it is possible to make an enquiry about the progress of your application. The delay is unreasonably long but the Home Office for a long time has not worked efficiently and there has been a lot of political controversy about it. There is a backlog of many hundreds of thousands of applications for visas or leave to remain from people, some of whom have been in the country for over 10 years. If MPs enquire, all they are told is that the applications remain under consideration and there is nothing any MP can do to bring forward the consideration of any particular case. I suspect the delay you are experiencing is just part of the backlog of work in the Borders Agency. The reason they reject enquiries is probably to allow staff to get on with the job.

If Mr Kaye feels there is something that he might do, he will be in touch with you.


SO basically, who cares what happens to us. As long as we pay tax into their coffers and exorbitant processing fees, carry on!!!

And this is my reply :

Dear Mr Masterton,
Thank you for taking the time to write back. As you have very clearly mentioned in you email, it is unlikely that Mr Hamilton's intervention is going to make an iota of differance. As you will however appreciate, this kind of prolonged delay puts life on hold for my family and myself. Who can I turn to, if your office cannot help me and the many hundereds like me? How is it that the home office can process applications withinh 20 minutes of people who pay the extra £1000 in addition to their usual exorbitant fee whilst others who have to wait five to six months? As you will appreciate, I have paid £2400 as the basic fee for my family and myself. If I were to pay the addition premium fee, that would be an entire months wage.

Reflecting this into my current working environment within the NHS, there are clear targets for healthcare professionals to work to and the trust is penalised if this is breached. Colleagues and I will have to answer face to face about this. Why is this not the case within the UKBA? Why are they able to hide behind a faceless organisation and get along with this very poor standard of work?

If you feel that your office is unable to help me, please point me in the right direction as I find this period of wait completely unacceptable and a violation of my freedom of movement.

Best wishes

Now lets see what happens!

[AshMad]

I have written separately to Damian Green with regards to my application and he has not responded back. I had asked my MP to write to Damian Green since she said that she cant do anymore.
Now I have recieved a letter from MP that she is afraid that nothing can be done to expedite things the way I want and should be left to UKBA.

I think there are two issues here :

1. PEO for extra £400 for 1 appplication decision is made on same day (90% as per their standards. Their naturalization period requires just 11 months since one can apply 28 days before completing 5 years.

2. Postal PEO : 5-6 months of wait. Naturalization period requires 18 months.

In my opinion this is in justice and they should stamp the postal ILR application from the eligibility date rather that stamping from date they decide application.

I am interested in taking this fight with UKBA further but may be if there are many people who feel the same way and can support.

[superman555]

I think it's just a deliberate attempt by UKBA to make one cough out the additional £400 for a PEO application. I agree with you 100% AshMad as I honestly think that the ILR stamp should be the eligibility date as opposed to the decision date. However they might think that if they do it this way, then it might mean less money for them. Shame on UKBA.

[polly_s]

Chris, thanks for updating while im away! please feel free to update as I have no access to PC here.

[gj6ab5657]

Thanks drsk, Ashmad and superman555 for post above topic of frastration, really its gone worst, If I would know this forum before application made, I would not have preferd my application by post, its completely nightmare and too much worried things.
every single morning wake up full of hope i will get it today my all documents back with ILR stamp and I'm just depressed now weeks and weeks gone but not answer yet, another week will start from tomorrow let us see, hope we all get our ILR soon.
even I have notice from month August-sept-octo-nove files are processed very slow,

[chrisrich]

Chris, thanks for updating while im away! please feel free to update as I have no access to PC here.

You are welcome Polly, please let me know when you are back!

[amsidk]

SET O APPLIED 11TH OCT 2011
MONEY OUT 13TH OCT 2011
ACK LETTER RECIEVED 12TH OCT 2011
EXPEDITE LETTER SEND 7TH FEB 2012
still waiting n no reply of letter send

thinking to contact MP since i hv to travel in march n need my passport urgently

[gj6ab5657]

year:2007-The average waiting time basis of 9 cases is 4 weeks
year:2008-The average waiting time basis of 13 cases is 4.5 weeks
year:2009
Name Type Applied ILR date Weeks
Pahini HSMP JR 13-Aug 22-Sep 5.7
Sapra HSMP JR 14-Aug 09-Oct 8.0
MrBaboo HSMP JR 14-Aug 17-Oct 9.1
mmk385 HSMP JR 17-Aug 09-Oct 7.6
rafcrown HSMP JR 17-Aug 12-Oct 8.0
Krazydude HSMP JR 17-Aug 16-Oct 8.6
rajgoreja HSMP JR 21-Aug 23-Oct 9.0
Sridhar HSMP JR 25-Aug 28-Oct 9.1
Free71 HSMP JR 27-Aug 28-Oct 8.9
Bumblebe HSMP JR 02-Sep 29-Oct 8.1
Webonline HSMP JR 05-Sep 30-Oct 7.9
Jahmadj HSMP JR 07-Sep 29-Oct 7.4
riss10 HSMP JR 16-Sep 25-Oct 5.6
Maclesuya HSMP JR 19-Sep 03-Nov 6.4

The average waiting time basis these 13 cases is 7.8 weeks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
year:2010
umeyad:11 weeks since application sent
doc79:4 weeks since application sent
nobby:all in all application took 21 weeks
assembly:ilr stamped 15/7/2010 (abt 15wks)

The average waiting time basis approx. 13 cases is 12.5 weeks
year:2011
Successful
Set M
luke79 - applied on 15/09/2011 - after 16 weeks
invincible27 -applied on 20/10/2011 - 13 weeks
bazzy_1 applied on 03/11/11- approved after 11 weeks
simbal applied on 18/11/11- after 11 weeks
smz applied on 23/11/11- after 11 weeks
doggles applied on 10/10/2011 - after 17 weeks
kayaniii applied on 07/01/2012 – after 6 weeks


Set O
lifeonhold applied on 08/08/11- after 22 weeks
Rennie applied on 25/8/11- after 19 weeks
totallylegit applied on 7/9/11- after 19 weeks
victorlcb applied on 12/9/11- after 18 weeks
SETO25Oct2011applied on 20/10/2011- after 12 weeks (after letter of expedite)
GSOTodd applied on 05/09/11- approved after 19 weeks
albert11 applied on 10/09/2011- after 21 weeks
shuklap applied on 24/11/11- after 11 weeks
2011ILR-2012 applied on 05/12/2011 - 9 weeks
ratish123 applied on 12 Sep 2011 -22 weeks ( sent expedite)

Set O JR
uyi.controller applied on 30/7/11 -after 23 weeks
p5004 appliedon 16/08/2011 after 19 weeks
TEDDY61 applied 19/08/2011 - after 21 weeks
mollymaik applied on 20/08/11- after 19 weeks
a-s applied on 22/08/2011- after 21 weeks
kollexy applied on 28/08/2011- after 17 weeks
Nemo2011 applied on 30/08/2011- after 19 weeks
I-L-R-2011 applied on 31/08/11- after 20 weeks
Doubletrouble applied on 06/09/11- after 20 weeks
abdul23 applied on 25/08/2011- after 22 weeks
kamicool applied on 18/08/11- after 24 weeks
ishareef17 applied on 09/09/11- after 21 weeks
liner2011 applied on 21/09/11 -after 21 week

The average waiting time basis these above cases is (set{M}-13.2,set{0}-18.6,set{0}JR-19.9

[chrisrich]

SET O APPLIED 11TH OCT 2011
MONEY OUT 13TH OCT 2011
ACK LETTER RECIEVED 12TH OCT 2011
EXPEDITE LETTER SEND 7TH FEB 2012
still waiting n no reply of letter send

thinking to contact MP since i hv to travel in march n need my passport urgently

Thanks for joining amsidk, added you to the list, hope you get your ILR soon

[gaku]

hi guys
i m in long waiting list.going for interview in march will update u guys
good luck
regards

[Preacher]

SET O - application sent on 31st October 2011
Letter received on 5th November (dated 2nd November).
Money out - 4th November

[chrisrich]

hi guys
i m in long waiting list.going for interview in march will update u guys
good luck
regards

Wishing you all the best Gaku.

[chrisrich]

SET O - application sent on 31st October 2011
Letter received on 5th November (dated 2nd November).
Money out - 4th November

Thanks for joining Preacher, added you to the list.

[pymapp]

year:2007 The average waiting time basis of 9 cases is 4 weeks
year:2008 The average waiting time basis of 13 cases is 4.5 weeks
year:2009 The average waiting time basis these 13 cases is 7.8 weeks.
year:2010 The average waiting time basis approx. 13 cases is 12.5 weeks
year:2011 The average waiting time basis these above cases is (set{M}-13.2,set{0}-18.6,set{0}JR-19.9

Thank you very much for your research!

[bob-russell]

The letter of complaint above is great and to the point. A single letter will do nothing but dozens leading on to hundreds will. It takes time for these complaints to be processed.
I doubt there will be any chance of expediting individual applications except in the most extreme cases and I feel this 'muddies' the water.
The key thing is for everyone to complain and as new applicants are kept waiting the complaints process can be put under pressure.
With permission I would like to take the really good communications by drsk and produce a 'generic' complaints letter for others to use 'as is' or modify to their own circumstances.
The fee we pay is not to cover the cost of processing but to cover as much of the UKBA as possible. It is a fee or tax but it does not mean it is acceptable to treat applicants in this way.
If an application can be processed in 20 minutes on the day but four to six months by post there is clearly some sort of agenda!

[Timing]

Dear Friend TIMING,

Believe me there is no such EMAIL ID in existence which will force UKBA to prioritise your ILR application. It is just a HOAX.

Dear AshMad,

I thought about that since I could not find one based on internet. Thanks for sharing your thought, and wish all the people in waiting good Luck!

[Timing]

Hi Shuklap,

May I ask what did you write in you letter of expediting? Did you send along some other documents/proof supporting your request?

Thanks

No I did not provided any supporting documents. Just wrote a decent email requesting them to look for possibility of expediting the application as my wife wants to join her family to see her mother who is not keeping well.

Hi Shuklap, Can you send me the e-mail address you used please?

Sent a PM

Thanks Shuklap. Confirm E-mail address received.

[drsk]

The letter of complaint above is great and to the point. A single letter will do nothing but dozens leading on to hundreds will. It takes time for these complaints to be processed.
I doubt there will be any chance of expediting individual applications except in the most extreme cases and I feel this 'muddies' the water.
The key thing is for everyone to complain and as new applicants are kept waiting the complaints process can be put under pressure.
With permission I would like to take the really good communications by drsk and produce a 'generic' complaints letter for others to use 'as is' or modify to their own circumstances.
The fee we pay is not to cover the cost of processing but to cover as much of the UKBA as possible. It is a fee or tax but it does not mean it is acceptable to treat applicants in this way.
If an application can be processed in 20 minutes on the day but four to six months by post there is clearly some sort of agenda!

Hey Bob!
Feel free to use my letter to draft a "generic" letter. I have no objections. BTW, I have had further communication for my MP's office.

I post it here for you all to see.


Dear ..........,

I do not Know if Mr KXXX has also contacted you. If you arrange to see him or myself at the constituency office we can try a call on the MP's hot line to the Borders Agency but I would not hold out much chance of this leading to anything positive. You would need to come with any papers including your Home Office Reference Number. Ring the number below to arrange this if you wish to proceed.

In answer to your question, I think the reality of the situation is a dead end. The MPs at Westminster have identified the problem in the Home Office, Ministers have changed as a result in the past yet the problem is too big to be solved quickly and quietly go away. There is no higher authority to appeal to or which can take further action. The moral basis for the Home Office charging an additional fee for fast decisions is questionable. At least the UK system means that the Treasury gets the money and it is not a bribe to an official which might well be the case in many other countries.

With best wishes.


Now that we have a political agreement of a "problem" lets handle this on a mass scale. If you have friends in the BBC/ SKY news network, give them a story of poor treatment of hardworking, taxpaying overseas nationals whilst the asylm seeker lives in a house provided by the state, not to mention a weekly spending cash! If we involve the news neworks and bring this issue out in the open, i think this will get better eventually. I dont see any other process working as the British government is significntly affect by not being seen to do the right thing. Make them out to be the bad guy in public and then you have them by the proverbial "balls".

Apologies if that offends anyone, that wasn't the idea.

[bob-russell]

Date

Dear Sir or Madam

Home Office Ref: XXXXXXXX

I am writing to complain about the time the UKBA has taken to process my Indefinite Leave To Remain (SET X) application.

My passport has now been returned but the process has taken ** weeks from the date of receipt of the application and supporting paperwork.

I would appreciate an explanation why the Home Office/UKBA can process such a straight forward application in person same day, often with no more than twenty minutes effort and a couple of hours for the passport vignette to be applied yet keep postal applicants waiting for months.

Over the last few years the average processing times appear to have increased from approximately four weeks to sixteen to eighteen weeks. At the same time application fees have risen astronomically.

I accept some applications are more complicated than others and enquiries are required on occasions but this does not account for the difference in service standards detailed on your website.

If 90% of applications can be processed on the same day please explain why it is felt acceptable for 95% of, presumably similar, postal applications to take up to six months to be processed.

For many the extra costs and inconvenience involved in applying in person make it impractical.

The length of time for postal applications makes it difficult or impossible to find work because employers fear being fined for employing people not entitled to work. This can and does lead to significant hardship for many families.

Applicants are prevented from travelling abroad for significant periods and this can lead to hardship particularly as requesting the return of a passport in emergency leads to the application being 'withdrawn'. I feel this may contravene Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25th November 2003 which confers the right to freedom of movement equally to non-EU nationals residing legally in the territory of an EU country.

All applicants have a right to be treated in a fair, considerate and timely manner which the Home Office is clearly failing to do at present. It is obvious to those of us unfortunate enough to have to deal with the UKBA that it is unfit for purpose, a situation that is only getting worse.

Why is it taking up to six months to complete applications that take minutes to process? What steps are being taken to improve the standards of service? Is it acceptable to use minimum standards as targets?

I am copying this letter of complaint to my Member Of Parliament and to the Immigration Minister.

I await your response with interest!

Yours faithfully


XXXXXXX

This is my first draft and I would appreciate feedback and corrections/amendments!

[bob-russell]

I have written separately to Damian Green with regards to my application and he has not responded back. I had asked my MP to write to Damian Green since she said that she cant do anymore.
Now I have recieved a letter from MP that she is afraid that nothing can be done to expedite things the way I want and should be left to UKBA.

I think there are two issues here :

1. PEO for extra £400 for 1 appplication decision is made on same day (90% as per their standards. Their naturalization period requires just 11 months since one can apply 28 days before completing 5 years.

2. Postal PEO : 5-6 months of wait. Naturalization period requires 18 months.

In my opinion this is in justice and they should stamp the postal ILR application from the eligibility date rather that stamping from date they decide application.

I am interested in taking this fight with UKBA further but may be if there are many people who feel the same way and can support.

Funnily enough my wife did not get a response to a letter of complaint from Phil Woolas when she had problems at Heathrow! Immigration Ministers are clearly above all this or the problem is so great that they have to run and hide!

[tushars]

Good job at the draft. I think (and we need to phrase this properly) we need to mention that being stuck up without a passport is hindering our freedom of movement for 6 months. I am pretty sure that this can be classified as some sort of human right violation (probably some legal guys can assist).

Just a thought.

cheers

[AshMad]

Today evening, I will post my correspondances with MP so that we can make this letter look a bit more compassionate.

It is my request to all the troubled and harrassed immigrants who have been detained for </= 6 months or more without their passports in possesion just because they did a mistake by applying through post instead of seeking PEO service, to come forward and contribute.

I think a copy of this letter signed by affected immigrants on publication would atleast make them correct UKBA way of working so that the next batch of ILR seekers have less hassle.

Thanks & Regards
Ash

[bob-russell]

Good job at the draft. I think (and we need to phrase this properly) we need to mention that being stuck up without a passport is hindering our freedom of movement for 6 months. I am pretty sure that this can be classified as some sort of human right violation (probably some legal guys can assist).

Just a thought.

cheers

I have added a sentence in italics so if anyone is better clued up on EU law please correct it if it is wrong!
As I read it freedom of movement is a right of any legal long-term non-EU resident and I suspect the government may turn this back on us by claiming the application being processed is specifically to grant the right of the applicant long-term residential status. Certainly anyone with 5 or more legal years of residence should qualify but those with two year TLR may not qualify!
It is always good to put a bit of EU law into the melting pot because I bet the UKBA and the Immigration Minister will have to go and look it up!!!

Unless very significant numbers of applicants complain nothing will happen. The UKBA are relying on people being so tired and fed up by delays and stress that they just breath a sigh of relief and get on without fighting for those applying in the future!

[bob-russell]

Today evening, I will post my correspondances with MP so that we can make this letter look a bit more compassionate.

It is my request to all the troubled and harrassed immigrants who have been detained for </= 6 months or more without their passports in possesion just because they did a mistake by applying through post instead of seeking PEO service, to come forward and contribute.

I think a copy of this letter signed by affected immigrants on publication would atleast make them correct UKBA way of working so that the next batch of ILR seekers have less hassle.

Thanks & Regards
Ash

It may be good to have a few 'template' letters of complaint because applications vary so much. The complainant selects the most appropriate and edits as necessary. If it is done right it will take a lot more work to process the complaint than to write and send it!

My wife (and step-daughter) is applying for ILR as a spouse. We have all the right paperwork and I would expect the processing to take minutes rather than days unless there was a suspicion of fraudulent documents. Most of our documents are easily checked.

The delays seem to be poor performance rather than because there are serious questions regarding the applications.