Croydon appointment experience

[John]

Congratulations Tamzin, glad it worked out.

Given that you are married to a British Citizen, and you have been here well over 3 years, are you now going to move on immediately and apply for Naturalisation?

[easylife4me]

Tamzin

can you please tell me what supporting documents you took. and what supporting documents they ask during the interview.
many thanks

and enjoy the freedom

[Christophe]

Well done, Tamzin. Congratulations and patience rewarded.

I hope you smiled politely at the snooty security guard on the way out...

[Tamzin27]

To be honest, I haven't even thought of naturalisation yet. Am I entitled to apply for British citizenship already? I thought you have to be on ILR for a period of time.

I took my bank statements, work permit, marriage certificate, basically everything.
But they only asked me for my last 3 payslips, UK Life Test certificate, Work permit Documents (especially the letter which has the visa stamped on it), employer's letter, old and new passports and 2 photos. They didn't even ask for bank statements.

Jaz

[John]

To be honest, I haven't even thought of naturalisation yet. Am I entitled to apply for British citizenship already? I thought you have to be on ILR for a period of time.

If not married to (or in Civil Partnership with) a British Citizen then there is indeed a requirement that you would have needed to have your ILR for at least 1 year when you apply for your Naturalisation.

However you tell us that you are married to a British Citizen and accordingly there is no minimum time that you need to have had your ILR when you apply for your Naturalisation.

Assuming you did not happen to be out of the UK exactly 3 years ago (when you apply), you have not been out of the UK for more than 270 days in the 3 years up to your application date, and not been out of the UK for more than 90 days in the 1 year up to your application date, and haven't got any criminal convictions that might get in the way ... you can apply now!

Indeed I would recommend you to do so ... given the way the application fees keep increasing.

[firstime]

Congratualtions!! So glad for you !!

By the way , may i ask - do they ask you when did you acturally starting working? On the enployer letter did you state anything like that?

Also you mentioned that the ' Work permit Documents (especially the letter which has the visa stamped on it); I have a work permit document but there is no visa stamps- mine WP was an in country application though.. Could anyony else here confirm do you have a visa stamp or not? I am panicking now...

[Tamzin27]

Hello Firstime,

Don't panic yet. Mine was an in-country application too and I did receive a letter with my Work Permit with a visa endorsement on it. My friend has got the same letter. I suggest you call the Work Permit Department in Sheffield and ask them.

Yes, they did ask for my employer's letter and there was the date I started working on it. I was worried about this because I started working a month after my Work Permit was issued. But they didn't make a fuss about it. They only read the letter and made a copy. My letter said that "I am currently in full-time permanent work and started working on 15th Aug 2002".

I worried a lot like you before I went to the HO. You still haven't answered my questions I asked you in a previous message. When is your ILR due etc and when are you going to HO?

Jaz

[Tamzin27]

Hi John,

You are brilliant! Thanks for your advice and information. I didn't have a clue. I'm going to have to do some more research about it. If yes, I'll definitely apply. I'm quite happy with my Mauritian passport and Indefinite leave, but I suppose it will be less hassle when I travel with a British Passport. Would you know if I can keep dual nationality?

Thanks a lot
Jaz

[John]

The UK has no problem at all about dual nationality. But Mauritius? A quick check on Google seems to suggest that Mauritius also does not have a problem with dual nationality, but do check that out before you apply for British Citizenship.

To apply for Naturalisation as British go to this BIA webpage and download the form AN and the guide AN. Also appreciate that the application fee is currently £655. And that fee, it is never going to get any cheaper, and could well get even more expensive in the future. (My wife paid just £268 when she applied for Naturalisation 3 years ago.)

[miffedyankee]

Hello Tamzin

I am in the same boat as you. I came to the UK in August 2002 from the US. I was offered a job in the UK and applied for a work permit. The work permit was issued on 7 November 2002. Even though I was on a visit visa, the work permit explicitly stated that I was allowed to work.

My employer filed for FLR and this was approved on 16 December 2002. Later in March 2003, I was issued with an extension until 31 October 2007.

I have since called up the home office to enquire if I can apply for ILR on approx 10 October 2007 (28 days prior to 5 years from the date of being allowed to work) as opposed to 18 November 2007 (28 days prior to leave to remain).

If I take the latter option, this will mean that my employer will have to apply for an extension for the work permit and an FLR (all for 20 days) before I can apply for ILR!

The home office has informed me that I will have to apply for the ILR only in November 2007. However, after I have pointed out that this will carry a further expense on behalf of my employer, they have stated that I could pply earlier by sending a covering letter.

Is this something you have done? I would apppreciate your comments on this.

[firstime]

I am in a similar situation that is why i am thinking of sending the application by post. My WP was an in country application and granted 5 weeks (on 30 July 2002) before i acturally start working .. i will be left with 8 days gap with nothing covering me if i apply IRL via the date of my acturally starting date. But thanks for your informaiton it seems that the HO go via the date of the visa endorsement which is a good news think i will make the calls soon!

[kariarxy]

Congratulations to you, Tamzin27. BTW, do you have any absence outside UK within the five years? Has the caseworker counted the total days of absence? I think this it one of the questions that many people in the board pay attenttion to, as it seems that the total absence should not exceed 6 months.

[easylife4me]

Yeh tasmin.. if you can please tell us the of your absenses in uk and how homeoffice react to you..

[Tamzin27]

Hello,

To be honest, I only went on short holidays abroad since I got my Work Permit. I did list every holiday and the dates. The caseworker had a look at the dates and I could see that it would not have been a problem, because they were only short. The longest was 5 weeks in Mauritius and the others were european countries for week-end breaks. Also went to Ireland and Switzerland for two weeks.

Just make sure you list everything. However, he didn't check my passport to see if the dates coincide with what I had written on my application form.

Hope this helps.
Jaz

[Tamzin27]

Hi Miffedyankee,

I have two threads on this website. If you read my other thread, you might find it helpful. I got so many different advices from the HO, that at the end I was very confused, angry and left to decide by myself what to do. It was probably a risk going to the HO, not sure and paying £950.

I called the Work Permit Department and asked them to send me the information they have on me on their computer. There's something called "Freedom of Information" now and therefore you have the rights to know what they have on you. I didn't have to pay anything and someone from the Work Permit Department wrote a covering letter for me to say that there could have been a delay in them stamping my passport. The caseworker was actually surprise to see that I had a hardcopy of what he could see on his screen.

The information they had on their computer was actually different to what was on my passport. I'm glad I didn't trust the HO advisors and did my homework. By the way, my employer was about to apply for another work permit for me and I would have had to extend my visa. But I asked them to wait until after my appointment. They were quite pleased, as they didn't have to spend their money.

Does that help MiffedYankee?
Jaz

[miffedyankee]

Many Thanks Jaz

I will contact the home office and see what they come up with.

Your assistance is most appreciated!

[firstime]

I have called Shinfield , the WP office and they also have the records and they could check for you while you are talking to them on the phone...

[easylife4me]

Tamzin27
Hi..

I will be going to Croyden for my ILR in 2 days time.
I will be applying on the basis on 5 years work permit
Guys,..

Can you please give me some final tips..

Many Thanks

[Tamzin27]

Hi Easylife,

If you have had no problem with immigration before, it should be pretty straight forward. Just make sure you have that letter which came with your Work Permit. Your visa is stamped on it, if it's not in your passport. I made a folder in chronological order, and took as much documents as possible. And your Life in the UK test, work permit, passport , pay slips etc. See previous messages.

By the way, they ask for documents of the last 3 months.

Hope you get your ILR. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Take care
Jaz

[easylife4me]

Tamzin27

Do they ask for Bank statements?
I have payslips for June may and March.
will that be ok.??

[John]

Suggest you read the guidance on the application form. That will give you information about the supporting evidence to be supplied, dependent upon what category you are applying under.

[easylife4me]

I am applying under WP

[Christophe]

All the best, Easy!

[Euclase]

Hi Everyone,

I've just come back from the Croydon office this morning after my successful application, I dont want to hijack the thread as this was Tamzin's orginal thread but if anyone wants to know details of my interview just let me know and I'll post up what happened at my interview.

Bear in mind though I was applying on a SET(M) form and claiming settlement as a spouse

All the best

Euclase

[Tamzin27]

Hi Euclase,

Congratulation! So pleased for you. Let's hope Easylife4me gets his ILR now. Euclase, I don't mind you adding to my thread. It will be very helpful for others if you write down your experience. I'm so grateful to this website and the moderators and members. Experiences like ours will be helpful to others. Are you going to apply for British Citizenship now? John, the moderator told me I could.

Take care
Tamzin