DVLA unable to confirm immigration status

[andre m]

I didn't really know where to put this since I already have ILR but here goes anyway:

I got my ILR letter (which I have recently noticed has my surname spelt wrong in the address bit) back in 2001 and because I came here on my mum's passport, I never got a passport of my own which has greatly complicated my recent attempts to get a provisional driving licence.

I decided I would just send as much identification as possible including the ILR letter and after waiting a mere 2 months for the DVLA to process my provisional driving licence application, I got a letter back today saying:

Dear Mr. [spelling mistake on my ILR letter perfectly replicated, despite me writing them a note pointing out the typo and every other piece of ID having the correct spelling]

We cannot proceed with your application as we are unable to confirm your immigration status.

Your Home Office letter has been sent to:
Eaton House Joint Intelligence Unit
blah blah blah...

Luckily, being as incompetent as they are, they actually sent the letter back to me.

Should I just go to Eaton House and get the typo fixed or will they deport me (I'd like to see them try - the country I come from doesn't even exist anymore )/take my letter/manage to think up some other way to inconvenience me that I haven't heard of? I've never dealt with such bureaucracy before, being just 9 when I got ILR, so all this is a bit new and scary to me.

Thanks in advance!

[mulderpf]

Sounds interesting - where are you from?

[andre m]

Croatia but back then it was still part of Yugoslavia.

[The Station Agent]

I would write to the UKBA at Croydon, tell them your situation and ask them to confirm your immigration status. If you got yourself a passport you'd be much better off in proving your identity and status though. You could presumably become a naturalised UK national (eventually - takes ages).

[andre m]

So I finally decided to get the typo in my ILR letter fixed by sending it to them and now they say they don't give out letters any more and I have to apply for a NTL stamp instead. Which of course is impossible as I still have no passport to stamp as previously mentioned and without any photo ID (still) I couldn't even get one if I wanted to from the Croatian Embassy. They offered to send me back the letter with the typo, though. How helpful...

[slugmeister]

How did you get ILR without a passport?

Also, what a nightmare. Hope you get it all sorted soon.

[Highly_Skilled]

So I finally decided to get the typo in my ILR letter fixed by sending it to them and now they say they don't give out letters any more and I have to apply for a NTL stamp instead. Which of course is impossible as I still have no passport to stamp as previously mentioned and without any photo ID (still) I couldn't even get one if I wanted to from the Croatian Embassy. They offered to send me back the letter with the typo, though. How helpful...

What makes it even more ironic is that they no longer issue stamps regardless if you had a passport or not. It would be issued on a Biometric Residency Permit...

[cs95tdg]

So I finally decided to get the typo in my ILR letter fixed by sending it to them and now they say they don't give out letters any more and I have to apply for a NTL stamp instead. Which of course is impossible as I still have no passport to stamp as previously mentioned and without any photo ID (still) I couldn't even get one if I wanted to from the Croatian Embassy. They offered to send me back the letter with the typo, though. How helpful...

What makes it even more ironic is that they no longer issue stamps regardless if you had a passport or not. It would be issued on a Biometric Residency Permit...

Not quite. It depends on whether your original ILR status was issued as a stamp or not. If it were stamped in your passport and you lost your passport or it expired, then you wouldn't need to apply for a BRP, but apply to transfer the NTL stamp. See... http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... m-NTL-TOC/

All new ILR applicants however have their ILR status endorsed on a BRP with no stamp on their passport.

[andre m]

How did you get ILR without a passport?

Also, what a nightmare. Hope you get it all sorted soon.

It was back in 2001 so I guess things were different back then.

I've been thinking of asking them if I can just complete form NTL to get only a BRP but no stamp. Seeing as they don't give them for new applications anyway, it just might work. If it doesn't, I don't know what to do other than possibly ask for a letter stating that there is a typo on the ILR letter. Then as long as the two letters are together, they would I hope essentially be equivalent to one typo-free letter.

[cs95tdg]

It would definitely be worth stating your circumstances and directing your query to the relevant group in the UKBA, as your case does not fall under the current standards where ILR is issued on a BRP (or even the previous standards where ILR was stamped on passports). It is a legacy standard (where it appears, ILR was issued as a letter alone) which not many on this forum would be aware of. I'm sure the UKBA team would be the best point of contact to resolve it.

I'm curious though, as to how you managed to get along, with no form of photo ID to date. Do you have any other form of ID which you have used for ID purposes in the UK?