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ILR status cannot be used as a "glorified visitor visa" which you appear to have been doing up to now. So far you've been lucky but if you now present yourself as a US citizen it will alert most immigration officers to what you have been doing.insead wrote:
a) Carry canceled Indian passport and new US passport and ask for the US passport to be stamped with LPR at Heathrow. Do they even do this anymore ? Or do I have to go to Croydon ? What are the chances of my LPR getting canceled. I do own a house and maintain bank a/cs in the uk.
b) Just enter on my US passport only. Would this automatically imply abandonment of LPR ?
Any advice appreciated immensely. We have plans to retire in the UK in couple of decades. Maintaining my LPr for another 20 years if I can get it transferred would be great.
JAJ wrote:
ILR status cannot be used as a "glorified visitor visa" which you appear to have been doing up to now. So far you've been lucky but if you now present yourself as a US citizen it will alert most immigration officers to what you have been doing.
If you enter as a visitor you will not have ILR any longer.
Get some professional advice from an experienced UK immigration lawyer.
Absolutely. A Nigerian friend of mine here in the UK has a green card, which as we all know is the USA's ILR equivalent. US immigration only require her to visit the US annually, there is an expectation she resides there but it is not a requirement. The fact she has ties there (all her siblings and parents, bank account etc) and visits regularly seems enough for them. I'll be surprised if ILR didn't work in a similar way for certain people.vin123 wrote:Situation described below is not generalizable as it is unique to each person granted with an ILR. In OP's case, if he still has his immediate family relations/inheritance or other means of financial tie-ups within the UK, then might be good enough to maintain ILR, as long as Immigration officials are convinced.
There is no rule written that each ILR holder must remain in the UK a significant part of every 2 years, and of course ILR visa could well serve as "a glorified visitor visa" , perfectly possible in certain situations.
insead wrote:All, I hope you can help me sort out how to handle a peculiar issue:
History: I got my LPR when I was 9 through my parents. I am now 35 and have been maintaining LPR all these years by visiting the UK once every two years (in some cases I exit LHR and go right back in when transiting). I have had an Indian passport until now but have been living in the US for the last 14 years and in India for the previous 10.
Now: I recently became a US citizen and have a cancelled Indian passport which has my LPR stamp in it (just the stamp that says given leave to enter for an indefinite period)
I have ot go the UK on business next week and if possible would like to avoid losing my british PR. So my question is how to maintain it:
a) Carry canceled Indian passport and new US passport and ask for the US passport to be stamped with LPR at Heathrow. Do they even do this anymore ? Or do I have to go to Croydon ? What are the chances of my LPR getting canceled. I do own a house and maintain bank a/cs in the uk.
b) Just enter on my US passport only. Would this automatically imply abandonment of LPR ?
Any advice appreciated immensely. We have plans to retire in the UK in couple of decades. Maintaining my LPr for another 20 years if I can get it transferred would be great.
Hmm...There is no rule written that each ILR holder must remain in the UK a significant part of every 2 years, and of course ILR visa could well serve as "a glorified visitor visa" , perfectly possible in certain situations.
Returning Residents
18. A person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a returning resident may be admitted for settlement provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person concerned:
(i) had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom when he last left; and
(ii) has not been away from the United Kingdom for more than 2 years; and
(iii) did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving the United Kingdom; and
(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement.
Yeah right...like they will allow you to be a PR holder for 40+ years through having spent a few weeks at a time here...We have plans to retire in the UK in couple of decades. Maintaining my LPr for another 20 years if I can get it transferred would be great.
They don't work the same (why should they?). It states in the policy section AND in the guidance notes for BC applications (I didn't check ILR applications). You cannot keep your ILR/PR simply by waltzing through Heathrow every couple years. Now, the OP had an Indian passport, now a US passport- how did he get it, if not by living there for a long time? So he has (likely) nothing to show for his stay in the UK, plus he has entry stamps for the UK which means he hasn't been here at all (for 24 yrs!). Which, according to the laws, means he has lost his right to hold PR.I'll be surprised if ILR didn't work in a similar way for certain people.
I'm sure you must know by now that most of the stuff in those guidelines are not set in stone. I can give you many instances of those so-called rules being adjusted based on the person's circumstances, which is what Vin123 and I alluded to. I think "discretion" is the lovely word the IND like to use.sakura wrote: They don't work the same (why should they?). It states in the policy section AND in the guidance notes for BC applications (I didn't check ILR applications). You cannot keep your ILR/PR simply by waltzing through Heathrow every couple years. Now, the OP had an Indian passport, now a US passport- how did he get it, if not by living there for a long time? So he has (likely) nothing to show for his stay in the UK, plus he has entry stamps for the UK which means he hasn't been here at all (for 24 yrs!). Which, according to the laws, means he has lost his right to hold PR.
The UK does not allow PR/ILR holders to be out of the country for more than 2 yrs without the possibility of losing their status...24 years is taking the...well, you know what.
sakura wrote:
They don't work the same (why should they?). It states in the policy section AND in the guidance notes for BC applications (I didn't check ILR applications). You cannot keep your ILR/PR simply by waltzing through Heathrow every couple years. Now, the OP had an Indian passport, now a US passport- how did he get it, if not by living there for a long time? So he has (likely) nothing to show for his stay in the UK, plus he has entry stamps for the UK which means he hasn't been here at all (for 24 yrs!). Which, according to the laws, means he has lost his right to hold PR.
The UK does not allow PR/ILR holders to be out of the country for more than 2 yrs without the possibility of losing their status...24 years is taking the...well, you know what.
This is true if the passport was cancelled because it had been replaced by a newer passport of the SAME nationality.By the way, a canceled passport does not affect the visa contained in the passort at all.
Dawie wrote:This is true if the passport was cancelled because it had been replaced by a newer passport of the SAME nationality.By the way, a canceled passport does not affect the visa contained in the passort at all.
However, when your Indian passport was cancelled it was because you were no longer an Indian citizen. I have serious doubts (although I can find no previous case histories) about the validity of ILR issued to someone who has lost the nationality to which the ILR was issued despite what those immigration officers might have said. Unfortunately immigration officers can not be relied upon to provide definitive or consistent interpretations of immigration law which you might find out to your detriment in any future trips to the UK. You might have got lucky with one lot of clowns but you have no guarantee you won't be rumbled the next time.
Let's say for example you come to the UK as an Indian (or other commonwealth country) citizen on an ancestry visa. The main reason you qualify for the ancestry visa, besides being the grandchild of a British citizen born in the UK, is because you are a citizen of a commonwealth country. Let's say you spend your four (now five) years in the UK and qualify for ILR. What happens if you lose your Indian citizenship by becoming the citizen of another country? The ONLY reason you were able to obtain the ILR was by virtue of your Indian citizenship. It is the single most important factor.
Would it be right in the above example for the person to keep their ILR if they lost their Indian citizenship? Would it be lawful? I'm not sure.
sakura wrote:We can argue about this for eons, the point I'm making is this: it would be one thing to be out the country for 3, 4, heck 5 years, but two decades, when it does state that one could lose one's ILR if out of the UK for two years, what is "common-sensical" about the IOs' decision?
I would also state that the IOs have not validated his ILR by simply writing in his new passport, so, as mentioned before, the OP would have to get an NTL stamped in his new passport, which would be determined by the BIA, who, upon knowing he has been out of the UK for two decades, might well take it that he has been using is as a glorified visitor's visa, hasn't been here, and might want to cancel his ILR...I don't think ILR is for life - some people might have had their's revoked for various reasons.
Also, I thought ILR was valid as long as you prove that the UK is your main home, not....a few days here out of 730.
ILR is not dependent on nationality. Some ILR holders are stateless.Dawie wrote: However, when your Indian passport was cancelled it was because you were no longer an Indian citizen. I have serious doubts (although I can find no previous case histories) about the validity of ILR issued to someone who has lost the nationality to which the ILR was issued despite what those immigration officers might have said.