Confirmation of Immigration Status from Home Office

[Infamy]

I have a question about confirming my status in the UK, I sincerely hope someone has experience with this and can give me some insight.

- I hold a Canadian Passport as I was born there
- I was stamped with 'Indefinite Leave to Enter the United Kingdom' originally in 1994 (at the age of 6)
- In 1998 I was stamped with the same 'Given leave to enter the United Kingdom for an indefinite period' stamp in my new passport although it also has the endorsement in the IO's handwriting 'As endorsed in previous passport'
- In 2002 (at the age of 14) I went on holiday to the United States and upon my return my passport was stamped incorrectly with the standard visitor condition 'Leave to Enter for six months, Employment and Recourse to Public Funds Prohibited'
- I went on Holiday again to the United States in 2009, upon re-entry I carried my old passport with the ILE stamp from 1998 and was stamped with a normal (just date) stamp an the endorsement VIPP (Visa in Previous Passport) The same happened on two further occasions in 2010 and again in 2011. Each time the IO at the airport questioned the incorrect stamp from 2002, and on the first occasion went away for 5 minutes before coming back and telling me its absolutely fine and stamping my passport as I hold ILR.

I have recently decided to change jobs, and have resigned from my previous employment. The new company upon receiving my documentation and doing their standard Right to Work in the UK checks have stated that my ILR is not valid due to the incorrect stamp from 2002, even though they are fully aware of my last three entries to the UK being stamped correctly. Also, when I attended an interview at the JobCentre to get a national insurance number my passport was checked and I was allocated a National Insurance Number without and issue and have been working with other companies previously (with no problems having my Right to Work in the UK checks done). Finally, in January 2012 my wife was issued a spouse visa on the basis that I am a settled person in the UK, and in the application provided copies of every stamp in my new and old passports.

Previous I have asked about my eligibility to British Citizenship however I have yet to be able to confirm that and time constraints mean that I have put that issue onto the back burner for the time being.

My questions are:
1) It is clear to me that I still hold Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, however am I mistaken?!
2) If I am right, how can I get confirmation of this from the Home Office as I would need to provide this as soon as possible in order to start my new job and I cannot afford to be out of work while I wait.

I appreciate that this is quite a long post but I thank you all in advance for considering my issues and (hopefully) providing me with some insight!

[crb]

may be u can damage your passport spill tea/coffee ...let ur dog bite it etc....make sure to damage the visitor visa page completely/tear off...or say u loost the passport ....then get new passport.....then go to home office to transfer ilr onto new passport......... ...

[linkers]

Infamy; everything is fine with your Settlement/ILR in UK. They would have never issued spouse visa to your wife if there was anything wrong with your ILR.

Also when you said on each occasions in 2010 and 2011, they questioned the visitor stamp which IO mistakenly put on your passport, and they checked their system and cleared everything and realised it was just a mistake. It has not cancelled your ILR status at all.

If I were you (for peace of mind), I would have used the form NTL and get my ILR transferred to my correct passport, and then I wouldn’t have to carry old and new passports. As now UKBA are issuing ILR on a plastic card, it’s even better for you.

Just get a same day appointment (or in Croydon you can even turn up before 12 for this type of application if there are slots) in your nearest PEO and get your Biometric ILR card which would make your life lot easier.

Once you have your Biometric Card, you can give it to your employer for job purpose and you don’t need to provide them any of your passports.

And for travelling, all you need is your Biometric Card along with your current valid passport.

(I think the reason why IO got confused in 2002 is that you were holding a Canadian Passport and Canadian Citizens don’t need a visa to enter UK, and he must have got confused and thought of you as a normal visitor and didn’t realise you hold a UK ILR).

[Infamy]

Linkers, thank you very much for your reply.

The employer has finally come back to me, after they asked me to provide them with further documentation (such as my wife's recent spouse visa, the original allocation of my NI number after I attended an interview at my local JobCentre, Marriage certificates etc etc.) and refused to clear me for employment on the following grounds:

- While they can see the original Indefinite Leave to Enter stamp in my old passport, the incorrect stamp conflicts with this.
- While they can see the most recent stamps which are endorsed Visa in previous passport, having leave to enter the United Kingdom does not constitute right to work in the UK.
- While they can see that the UKBA has recently issued a visa to my wife on the basis that I am a 'person settled in the United Kingdom', this only proves my wife's right to work and not my own (????)

They have also told me that the UKBA employer checking service can only be used to check on applications for visa extensions that are currently in progress, and also that I should, and I quote "easily be able to get a letter from the Home Office confirming your status if it is genuine".

Is any of this true? This situation has caused me a great deal of stress but I really want to clarify if the decision they have taken is correct and if I should challenge it or actually approach the Home Office for some sort of confirmation letter.

I understand the NTL application that I can make, but I also understand that I am not obliged to transfer my visa to a new passport as long as I carry the old one, so why should I be required to do so by an employer?

[linkers]

Infamy: I am still surprised that why your employer is concerned about any stamps on your passport.
He is not an immigration official and he is not supposed to look and comment on any right or wrong stamps on your passport. This is not his business at all. All he should be interested in is your ILR.

If I was you, I would either email the scanned copy of just my ILR page to my HR or will provide a photocopy of my ILR.

Also, I am aware that you are not required to get a new ILR using NTL form but you can still do it for your own peace of mind and to keep your employer happy.

If your employer is still not happy, tell him that it’s not your responsibility to prove the authenticity of your ILR and ask him to contact UKBA himself to check the status of your ILR.

[Infamy]

linkers, thanks for the reply once again.

Actually, it is a very large multinational company that is having this issue. It is more than surprising to me. They claim to have no ability to confirm anything with the UKBA. I have provided my passport to them and they have made their own copies, this is where they say they have a problem, my ILR stamp is not good enough for them, even though my wife can be issued a spouse visa and I can enter the country without any problems!

I guess I will have no other choice but to spend the money, time and effort in getting the NTL application done at the PEO, but I am still trying to understand on what basis this decision was made by the company in question.

Thanks anyways for your positive input, I'm glad that I'm not the one who is wrong in this matter, at least I have that peace of mind.

[linkers]

That’s correct. I would suggest, get a same day appointment for NTL application and you will have your Biometric ILR Card within 7 days of attending the PEO.

This will definitely make your employer a happy bunny and will also give you peace of mind.

[vinny]

- In 2002 (at the age of 14) I went on holiday to the United States and upon my return my passport was stamped incorrectly with the standard visitor condition 'Leave to Enter for six months, Employment and Recourse to Public Funds Prohibited'

The Immigration Officer had probably pressed too hard on his stamp.

[linkers]

Thanks for sharing these useful links vinny as I had not seen them before.