Post
by skano » Wed Aug 22, 2012 11:07 pm
Hi All,
Time to share my experience and give back something to the forum; I had a combination of WP, Tier2-ICT & Tier-1 [same employer] with total 296 days out of UK including one long business trip of 5 months and short business trips of 110 days.
I had recently extended my Tier-1 which was valid till 2015 which according to many folks in this forum is a disadvantage as UKBA might reject the ILR as I would have no right to appeal.
As I was closely following the cases on this board, I was not very confident and hence first went to Solihull to try my luck and save some money! There, the case worker looked at my list of absences & employer letters, went to check with her manager and said that she can’t process my case as they normally deal with straight forward cases.
She suggested either applying at Croydon or applying by post. She also mentioned that applying by post might be better as there are likely to be further enquires due to longer absences.
Well, I was prepared for the response and already had an appointment booked at Croydon 3 days later. At Croydon, made the payment and was through with biometric by 12:30 and then the long wait started.
My number was not even called till 4:30 pm. Then they checked all the tokens that were still waiting and collected the documents/photocopies and handed over to back office team. At that moment, I thought this will be to my disadvantage as I will not be having any opportunity to explain my case face-2-face. I mentioned the same to the person collecting documents and he said that if case worker is in any doubt, they will call me to have a discussion.
After 10 minutes, I realised a mistake that I committed. My photocopy file had some additional documents that were not mandatory and might have made my case weak like P60 during longer absence as I was not paid in the UK during that time, neither had rent/utility bill payments during that period.
But I could not have done anything at that point, so I just waited. After 2 hours, my files came back to the window and the officer handed over the decision along with my passport & originals. He didn’t mention the decision verbally.
I was so negative in my outlook especially after reading so many negative cases and deferred cases, that I thought the decision letter will state which clause I have broken – continuity or not enough days. But to my surprise, it mentioned that my BRP’s are on the way!
Things that might have worked for me to get decision on same day• Higher income bracket, they might have seen the tax/NI paid till date and potential
• Strong letter from employer related to longer absence
o Why it was beneficial to the company
o Why I was the best choice for the assignment
o Why it took 5 months to accomplish the work
• No visa breaks. Even during longer absence my visa was valid
• The fact that my file went to backend team, probably a more senior worker looked at it and made the decision on the same day (instead of deferring it as experienced by other folks).
Suggestions to future applicants
• As negative cases are more likely to appear on the discussion boards, don’t base your decision just on the experience on this board. There might be many positive cases as well but either the users are shying away from sharing their experience (you can see some people looking for inputs for their ILR and now same people looking for inputs on citizenship but have not shared their experience) or they are not on the board.
• Always maintain good professional relationship with your managers. In future, you might need their approval in getting necessary employer letters.
• Every case is different and if you feel that your case is strong then take a chance as you never know when the changes in rules might affect your adversely.
• Book appointments at Croydon for longer absence cases. Solihull trip is likely to be unproductive.
.