Unmarried partner - ILR query

[nijels]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and this is my first post so I hope that I have posted in the right section and apologies in advance if I have not. To provide a bit of background I am an Indian citizen and have been living in the UK since 2006. I originally came here on a student visa and then met my partner / girlfriend who is a British Citizen back in 2007.We then moved in together in 2008 and have been living together as unmarried partners since.

On the basis of this I was granted an unmarried partners visa in 2010 December with an expiry date of December 2012. I have been told that I can apply for an ILR on the basis that we are still living together and have been since 2008. I have been looking around different sources for information on making the application and there seems to be a lot of information out there that can be confusing at times. I came across this forum and saw that this might be the right place to ask for advice regarding a few queries I have on the same. Also to add I will be writing the life in the UK test in September.

• Is the SET(M) form the correct one to use for this type of application

• Which method of application is better to use i.e an agency, settlement checking service, self through post or the premium service by appointment at the PEO?. Does one have more advantages over the other? My partner reckons the settlement checking service is the better of the available options but we aren’t sure if another method of application has any benefits over this.

• Regarding finances I have been told that there is no set balance required to be shown on the bank statements but is there a minimum amount that needs to be sustained or is it just a case of its fine as long as there is no recourse to public funds.

• As far as joint documents are concerned we have photographs with timestamps, joint bank account statements, electric bills, council bills and lease papers and home insurance (which is primarily in my name with her name appearing within the contract details) for the time span required for the application. We don’t have any phone bills as these are e-bills and I am unsure if these are absolutely necessary?(2010 Nov – 2012 Nov).

• Apart from the above joint statements / letters we also have our own individual bank account statements from two different banks, payslips, letters from the NHS e.t.c for the time period and some TV licensing letters in her name which covers some of the time period. Do we need any more documentation on top of the above mentioned ? (We of course have our own UK licenses showing our address + Passport(s) + my bio metric card).

• If everything goes well and the ILR is granted how long will I need to wait after that time before I am eligible to apply for a citizenship? During this time would I have to write any other English language test or would the life in the UK test still be valid for the same?


That’s most of the queries I have and thank you in advance for answering and helping out with any of my queries. I look forward to hearing from you guys soon.

[nijels]

Any assistance on this one guys would be appreciated.Please advise at your earliest convenience.

[GrahamD85]

Hi nijels,

Sounds like my story! My girlfriend studied here, we lived together, applied for our unmarried partner visa two years ago and have our appointment for ILR in a couple of weeks.

Regarding your questions:

-SET(M) is the correct form

-For us, applying in person at a PEO makes more sense as my (now) fiancee travels with work frequently, and using this route means she can have her passport and biometric permit (needed for travel) within 7 days after the appointment. Appointments can be booked through UKBA and once you're registered online it's best to look just after midnight as that's when appointments for 6 weeks away tend to pop up. Postal application is fine if you're not in a rush for passports and at the moment I think the waiting time is around 3 months.

-Your account doesn't need to be maintained at a certain level, you just need to show you won't have to use public funds. They'll look at your wages for this, but proof of savings (if you have some) might be handy. I got my building society to write me a letter at a local branch saying 'Mr X has X amount in his savings' or an actual savings book is fine.

-In terms of joint bills, not all of them have to be joint - you can show letters/bills sent to you at your address in your separate names. I have joint elec/gas and water bills, but will also be taking our individual mobile bills and hospital appointments. They say 6 letters on the form, but I'm taking close to 30 to be on the safe side. This probably isn't necessary - I just like to be over-prepared!

-Regarding bank statements and payslips etc, check the form - it'll tell you what you'll need to show for finances

-I honestly haven't looked into citizenship yet, but have a look on the UKBA site.

Hope this helps,

Graham

[nijels]

Hi Graham,

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my queries. Much appreciated. I wish you all the best with your ILR application and I am sure all will go well indeed.

We don't have any urgent travel arrangements except one at the end of December but that's by train so shouldn't be an issue at all. I think applying through post or even the settlement checking service makes sense for me as I have read somewhere that they do return all the originals except my biometric card and passport which is fine.

As far as funds are concerned I have our joint account which I intend to use for paying for the application and showing evidence of finances as we both have been putting money into it for the same. Our individual salary accounts do tend to make use of the overdraft facility from time to time so hopefully that wont be an issue.

As an added assurance I will try and get our employers to provide us with address proof letters on a company letterhead stating how long we have been working there and where we live so it serves as proof of full time employment and proof of address.

I've been preparing for the life in the UK test as of the last few weeks so hopefully that will go fine too. Thank you so much again for your response and I wish you and your partner all the very best with your application.