Appointment Time 10:15
Called in to interview room at 10:10am, seems interviewer was already set to go……The Interviewer (council staff) was very pleasant and professional lady.
She asked for the form and then all the relevant documentation as she went through the form thoroughly. First my own then my wife. She commented on how excellent we had everything sorted and ready. That excellence is partly due to you lot on the forum who contribute priceless information day in and day out. My wife and I had also previously done a practice form first then filled in the final one. My backup envelope was irrelevant this time around. It had p60, ILR letter, deed, council tax, extra form, extra payment form etc. However, below is the list of what she asked for (all from my primary envelope):
2 Completed (new) Forms - 2 Referees filled in, 2 photographs attached labelled at the back with name and DOB. (Paper glued to the form). She also commented saying “good that you are using the new forms”.
BRP card or stamp in passport showing ILR – I had BRP card – (Note no ILR letter or the likes asked for although I had it in my backup envelope)
4 Passports (old and current)
2 LIUK Test (Please note – Whatever document you presented at this test must be used again i.e. License then License) – My wife and I carried both our counterparts and Licenses.
Driving Licences and Counterpart– As mentioned above, also I had 6points back in 2007, however I have been squeaky clean since then, so I highlighted this on the OTHER section on the form (page 15). NCS lady indicated that it was ok as 3yrs had passed as per usual guidance notes.
Marriage Certificate – Wife also changing her name to married name so this was good enough.
1 Payment form - Both my wife and my name as joint application. My payment details only.
Other things I noted and questions I asked out of curiosity
She copied all pages in passport, as well as copies of all documents above. She further stated that as there will be thorough background checks done by HO which will include references, character, police/ criminal records, HMRC etc. She commented that our application was nicely arranged and she saw no issues whatsoever as long as the other thorough checks are ok. I asked about my previous court fines in 2007 for speeding (SP30) and traffic light breach (TS10) she clearly stated not an issue, as three years has passed. YEAH! For 100% clarity and for no case worker errors I added a few lines in the other section of the form stating that I have no driving offences for the last 6yrs and please see attached counterpart as evidence.
Now that all was well with the submission. I had to ask about the HO confusion between PCN / FPN. She said as far as she understands PCNs were seen as FPNs. WHAT! Now I understand why some on the forum have been turned away for having 2 PCNs in the final 12mths by NCS staff……this is the source of much confusion as some NCS says No and some say Yes. The debate will rage on until HO is 100% clear in their guidance- No further comment from me on this. I had none so it didn’t really matter.
Lastly, she presented us with a form which you have to tick yes or no about and then both sign. Most of the 11 questions are straight forward i.e. Are you of sound mind? However, the one that I noticed is this “In the last 12mths have you had more than one fixed penalty notice? Yes or No
So it seems clear two FPNs in the final year and you may have to face another 12mth battle. DRIVE CAREFULLY! It’s not actually my champagne moment just yet (as possibly another 3-6mths of waiting), but another milestone cleared on the way to conquering Everest aka BC. All the best to all applicants.
Update: Happy Days 19/11/13
Thank God ! Our joint application has been approved after 5weeks with UKBA. Yeah! My champagne moment is within touching distance
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Thank God - HO stronghold is broken forever !:D
Ceremony completed, certificate in hand - It's now done and dusted - I have BC!
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All the best to those on there way up to conquer Everest (BC).