ILR - UK Ancestry

[kristibainsy]

I am Canadian and came into the UK in October 2005 through UK Ancestry as my grandmother was born and raised in the UK. I have lived and worked full time in the UK since with no long absences, just annual holidays taken. I married a British Citizen in August 2009, we have 2 children who were born in the UK and both have British and Canadian passports. I quit work in August of 2013 at the end of my MAT leave and I am now a stay at home mom. I currently have a residence permit with "leave to remain" UK ancestry, it expires this coming July. I filled in the Form AN applying for my British Citizenship believing I met the requirements of being married to a British Citizen...my application was refused and my £800.00 plus kept by the Home Office. Ouch. I now know that I needed to have ILR status prior to applying...I did not know that ILR was different to what I have - Leave to remain. What I am confused about is can I apply for my ILR through being married and fill in form Set (m)? Or do I have to stay on the UK Ancestry path and do I have to fill in form Set(O)? Do I have the choice? Is there a reputable agency I can work with to ensure I fill in the application correctly and do not throw away another £1000+ for my ILR?

[CR001]

As you have a UK Ancestry visa, you can only apply for ILR on Set(O), you do not have the choice to apply in any other category.

You could have applied for ILR in 2010 after 5 years residence and immediately after than for British Citizenship as spouse of BC, based on 3 years residence.

To apply on Set(M), you woulod have to be on a spouse of British Citizen visa, which you are not.

Applying for ILR is not difficult and most of the help you might need you can get on this forum for free.

You will need to do the Life in the UK Test, if not already done.

You can also apply for ILR in person at a PEO and a decision will be made on the same day or you can apply by post, but some people have waited 6 moths or more for approvals.

[vinny]

See also, ILR set(O) UK ancestry questions (click).

[newperson]

Settlement for UK Ancestry, however, requires that you be in employment (part-time ok) or be actively looking for work at the time of application. This is evidenced by providing a letter from your current employer saying that you are still needed OR proof of an ongoing job search. UK Ancestry is a form of employment visa. You cannot just be a stay at home mum and qualify for settlement under UK Ancestry. Your application will have an extremely HIGH chance of being refused.

You could switch to the family route as the spouse of a British citizen, but that will be subject to the financial requirements and you'll have to wait another 5 years for settlement.

Too bad you didn't apply for ILR when you first qualified, or at the least, before you quit working. :-/

[newperson]

Further to my previous posting, check out the official guidance on UK Ancestry applications:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

Page 12 and pages 16-17 (particularly) are of critical importance.

[Amber]

Once Maternity Pay finishes and if you're not going to work, sign on for Contribution Based JSA with the Job Centre and use this as proof you are actively seeking employment. In such case you should be ok to apply for settlement if you provide proof you have been employed all the previous time.

[kristibainsy]

Thank-you very much for this extremely helpful information. I have passed the Life in the UK test. So sounds like it could be an issue that I am presently not working? Would bank statements from my husbands and my joint account that show we can more than get by on his income while I am at home with our children not be considered? We jointly own our home as well which surely would help?

[newperson]

Would bank statements from my husbands and my joint account that show we can more than get by on his income while I am at home with our children not be considered? We jointly own our home as well which surely would help?

NO.

UK Ancestry is a path tied to *your* employment history and prospects, not your husband's.

Please follow the official UKBA guidance and/or Amber's advice offered above.

You should provide proof of financial viability anyway, but that has no effect upon the clearly-stated employment demands of the UK Ancestry path.

[kristibainsy]

OK - I can provide my paystubs from Working at Dell for 7 years and explain that I do plan to go back to work when my youngest is in school. Perhaps I can include e-mails from headhunters that continuously contact me through LinkedIn to speak to me about job vacancies.

When looking at the Set (O) form, do I need to fill in details on the sections that refer to the Tier points system? Or as I am in the country through UK Ancestry and nothing to do with the points do I leave these blank?

[kristibainsy]

Would you recommend that I contact an organisation listed on the OISC website and pay them to assist me with my application to ensure there are no errors and get advice where needed?

[vinny]

See also Any good law firm recommendation?

[kristibainsy]

Thanks for that thread - I am waiting on a call back from Sunrise Solicitors. I did just speak with Kamals office at ukvisaexpert and he said that as I am on UK Ancestry I do need to at least have a part time job....which someone did mention in an earlier posting of mine. I would think that there must be loads of woman in my situation who entered the UK through UK Ancestry, met and married a Brit and are now stay at home moms! I am wondering if I should now try to switch my visa to through marriage?

[Amber]

I Suggest you read the guidance.

[kristibainsy]

Of course! I have! and spoken to a handful of lawyers - who have all said different things, which is comforting....but sounds like it is too much of a risk for me to apply for ILR when I am not working and not looking for work under UK Ancestry - so will now do appendix FM and go through the marriage route. in 2015 I will have lived in the country for 10 years so can apply for my ILR then...well that is what Sunrise Solicitors told me anyway!!

[Amber]

Good luck.