So had my ILR approved in Solihull.
1st - I had an earlier appointment and has lost my debit card, got a bankers draft done and turned up at solihull and they said they dont accept it, I had to come back and rebook.
2nd appointment (if you are looking for the list of docs, scroll down I have listed them seperately anyway in red)
Waiting time (1 hour 10 mins)
Went at the time, was given a token in 10 mins (staff very pohlite and helpful)
wasnt called for more than an hour. It is a very small office with 30-35 seats and nothing is happening, with no mobile phone I was getting bored.
Interview (40 mins)
Was called by a CW, The lady was older but very calm and polite, I think she was a senior CW.
Lost passport - She asked for my Passport, gave her my current passport and mentioned I lost my previous passport. But I had the xerox of front page, back page and visa stamps.
But she said she wouldnt accept this and wasnts something more concrete, I didnt know what to say .
She asked if I have an employment letter and fortunately I had an eomployment letter mentioning my start and end dates.
She gladly accepted that.
I questioned her on why do they need it form me, do they not have the records in thier system and she mentioned, they only have the landing card info.
So, now I understand the fuss between all these employment letters, P60s etc. Do wonder why dont UKBA have an emmigration control (They do that in India)
She perfomed some checks, made some notes. (10 mins)
Company name change - She was confused as the records she had and my employment letter etc didnt match as my company had a name change.
I provided a printout from the internet as a proof, and she took it , did some cheks and later said it was fine. (10 mins)
She then asked me for LIUK , I had scored 100% in less than 10 mins and she was very happy telling that to me. (I expected)
She then asked me how I operate.(self employed, ltd director)
I explained that , with a contract letter I managed to get from my client.
She then asked me for my pay slips and associated bank statements for the period I was employed.
She asked me for my payslips and bank statements for the period I was self employed and I provided the accountant letter. she took that.
She verified my earnings claim and did some checks (10 mins)
She went and did some checks behind the scens (10 mins)
She said she is happy with everything and gave me an approval.
Total time around 40 mins.
Waiting for documents (1 hour 20 mins)
- Said she will process them and should take 1.5 hours. It did take more than 1 hour 15 mins and I was handed the approval letter.
They had taken my employment letter and the payslips with them , i was looking for them as I need them for a mortgage applucation, but she said anything that is adress an to whomsover it may concern , they keep it.
I was happy to leave it there.
I was well prepared, straight forward case but there were some issues, like lost passport, All salary for self employed and dividends taken within 1 month (for over 9 months).
My 2 cents, If you are preparing
- it is important to start a bit early (give yourself at least 2 months
- Dont get bogged down if you are missing some docs, use a little bit of common sense and see what they are looking to check and what alternatives you can provide,
- Go to solihull
, Never been to any other PEO, but cant imagine the service being better than this one. I gained a lot of perspective from this forum, I will continue to contribute but would first like to say thanks, It was a major help and helped me save a few hundred on a solicitor.
Docs List
1. Set (O), Passport, BRM (asked)
2. Employment letter (asked)
3. Duplicate of previous passport and visa (offered, not accepted completely)
4. Travel tickets (offered & accepted)
5. LIUK pass certificate (asked)
6. Company contract (asked)
7. Pay slips & corresponding bank statements (asked)
8. Accountant letter (offered and accepted)
9. Company reg certificate (asked)
10. Passport photographs (asked)
