I had been to the Belfast PEO today(12th June) for my Tier 1 General extension application and had a very good experience.
My appointment was at 11 AM, single applicant. Arrived @ 10:30 and was let in after security checks. Mobile, keys, stapler were taken off and kept in a numbered plastic folder. Security asked me to wait in the reception area to be called for allocating a ticket number. Apart from the staff, hardly couple of souls were present in the PEO.
In 15 minutes, was allocated a ticket number. At @ 11 AM, was called to a window to submit the application form + supporting documents and was asked to wait.
In another 15 minutes, was called to inform that the documentation is in order(for a valid application) and was asked to make the payment. The lady said that she would need to take photocopies of all the documents and I offered her my set of photocopies which she was quite happy to take.
Payed by HSBC credit card(Mastercard). Payment went through without any issues. I had called the bank yesterday to inform about the big transaction, the agent told that as long the transaction is within the credit limit, it should not be declined and if there is any problem I could call the bank.
After 5 minutes, all the original documents, except the passport, were returned to me.
Was called for BRP in another 5 minutes.I asked the lady at the desk if the BRP system was functioning well. She said the system itself was Ok but was taking time to get back the results of all the checks that were performed on the internal systems after fingerprints/photograph were taken.
After another 5 minutes at @ 11:30 AM, was called by the case worker(a different lady than who took and validated the completeness of the documents). I thought that she had some queries on the documents since it was hardly 30 minutes after I had submitted them. Imagine my surprise when the Irish beauty said that everything is in order, my extension has been approved and handed over my passport to me!:D
She mentioned that she cannot physically give the approval letter immediately since the biometric results were not back due to systems being bit slow. She said the results would hopefully be back in the afternoon, the approval letter will be posted to me in the evening and that there was no point in me waiting there.
Chatted with another applicant for a while and was ready to leave when I remembered that I needed a reference number since I had to send my dependants applications by post in a day or two. Went back to the window to ask for it. The lady checked with the caseworker and told that the reference number will be available only when the results are back and the approval letter is printed. She said she will phone me once the reference number was available, hopefully by today evening.
Collected my belongings from the security desk and left the PEO at 11:40 AM; could not even finish 10 pages of the novel that I had carried with me in anticipation of atleast a couple hours wait - and I am a fast reader
All in all, a fantastic experience at the Belfast PEO. Very cordial, courteous and professional staff!
Some additional details:
Single applicant, employed - had submitted salary slips and 12 months original bank statements + earning letters from 2 employers(additional documents). I had mentioned degree certificate in the application but forgot to give it, was never asked about it.
When the documents were handed back to me, I noticed that the employer letters were at the top, then the bank statements and the pay slips(corresponding to the employer letters) were relegated towards the end of the bunch. My guess is that it must have been easier for the caseworker to look at a single letter containing the earning figures(gross and net) instead of going through multiple payslips.
I have 3 dependants for whom I would be applying by post - to save money, ofcourse. I had taken the PEO route to take any anxiety out of the process + I would have the reference number for the dependant application + the dependant application will pass through (hopefully) quickly since the main application would already have been decided. Worst case, even if the decision was not made immediately at the PEO and no reference number was available, in any case the main application would have been decided before the dependants postal applications came for consideration.
Added later: Due to change in my employment last year, I had quite some tax overdue for FY 11-12 (Had to fill P46 since P45 not recd soon enough from previous employer). I had filed online tax return which states that I have time till 31-Jan-2013 to make the actual payment. I did not make the payment before this application due to maintenance fund requirements.
Will update the PEO experiences thread with timelines once I receive the approval letter and BRP.
This is a great forum. Thanks to the forum members and moderators for their guidance.
Cheers!
