ILR SET(O) Ancestry Success at PEO Solihull, 195 days absent

[the_ilr_boy]

Hi all,

First up, thanks very much to everyone for help and feedback in the past as I was stressing over preparing my application .... thankfully I have been successful and can share my experience with others on the forum.

I think a lot of cases on here are through HSMP, but I applied on an Ancestry visa, so I didn't need to complete section 9 and makes the process a little easier I think, anyway ....

My visa was due to expire within a week of my appointment and due to the fact I could only get an appointment at Solihull on 05-Mar-2012, I decided to stay overnight in case of any issues with the train (I was travelling from London) which could mean I miss my appointment and my visa expire - eeeek!! There were issues with the train on the way home, but that is another story to this happy one.

So, I arrived at the PEO at 11:30 for my appointment at 12:00, passed through security and was called up about 12:30.

Had a nice guy who went through my application and requested:
1. Birth certificates to prove Ancestry (provided mine, my fathers and both his parents who were both born in England);
2. List of absences (I had 195 days total which were all holidays not including the dates I flew in and out, but none were over 30 days) - there were no questions asked about this;
3. Payslips - the advisor wanted three months, but I advised I had changed from self employed through limited company to permanently employed at the start of Jan - as such, I provided two payslips from current employer, letter from current employer and also a letter from my accountant advising all my personal earnings (PAYE and annual dividend) for the last twelve months and stating that I had met all my tax obligations, I had the bank statements to support all of this, but he did not request to see these;
4. Life in the UK test notification pass letter;
5. Two recent passport photos; and
6. Photocopies of passport photo page as well as the page that showed my Ancestry visa - I also provided copied of all other visas that were in my passport (only tourist visas) - I don't think this was required, but he was happy to take them when I offered them.

I was not asked for any bank statements, P60s or any of that stuff, but I believe this is due to my visa category being under Ancestry which does not require me to fill in section 9.

Finished interview after about 20 minutes and told that my application was successful, went and paid the fee (I had called my bank in advance to inform them about this transaction) then back to the waiting room about 13:00, called up for biometrics at 13:30 or so, which took about 10 minutes. Then told to come back in 90 minutes, so I went and celebrated with a nice British cuppa and went back at 15:00, collected my letter and told I should receive my biometric card within 7-10 working days.

A few notes for people:
1. It will only cost you a few extra quid, but make colour copies of ALL your supporting documents - he seemed to appreciate this and many others on the forum have advised the same.
2. If you have letters from anyone that you are providing that you have requested to be addressed to UKBA, these documents will not be returned as they are addressed to UKBA - they kept both my original and the copy.
3. Make sure your photographs are recent - I usually wear contact lenses but on the day I went I was wearing glasses - the officer asked about how recent the photo was seen as though I was wearing glasses today. It is just common sense, but he did quiz me on mine which I was surprised at.
4. Most people get online payslips now I assume, so get your HR department to sign and date these once you print them out.
5. You are not supposed to travel until you receive your Biometric Residence Permit - so I am wishing on a leprechaun that mine comes quickly as I am supposed to be flying to Dublin for St Patricks celebrations on the 16th!! So, even though you get a decision on the day, you are still not exactly free to come and go until the BRP arrives.
6. I also entered 56 days after the start of my visa, so I took advantage of the recent modernised guidance to include those days in my qualifying period (up to three months allowed), but he did not ask specifically about this. These 56 days were not counted in my 195 days absences. I had a printed copy of the modernised guidance (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary) to show page four if required due to it still being recent, but it was not required.

Anyway, I think that covers my experience - the staff were all very nice at the PEO and the process was all fairly simple so it is all about just making sure that you are prepared in advance.

I had a bunch of other documents to prove my addresses at various points over five years, some old invoices from my limited company, etc, and it is always better to have too many documents rather than not enough - they will ask you for what they want so better to have too many documents than not enough!!

Good luck to everyone applying in the future.






Cheers!!

the_ilr_boy

[linkers]

Congratulations for sharing your experience the_ilr_boy !

[settled_now]

When they say don't travel before receiving biometrics, I believe Ireland will not be an issue. It is considered a common travel area.

If you haven't purchased tickets yet and you are overly concerned about this, you may want to consider flying over to Belfast ( where I am sitting at the moment ).

A return ticket by bus from Belfast to Dublin costs about 20 pounds, is a nice short trip, and the border is long gone.

Guinness in Dublin tastes incredible. It's not bad up here either, but the further you get to the source, the faster it deteriorates.

[ssgs]

congrats !

You should be able to make it to Ireland in good time. My hubby had his ILR approved at Solihull itself on Friday and the Biometric card arrived in just 3 days.