My ILR experience

[yoyo73]

ALL PRAISE BELONGS TO ALLAH

hi all,
First of all big thanks to people behind this Forum and all those who have contributed to this . I have been a silent member of this forum and have gained allot of knowledge that helped me get my ILR last month , (specially when my employer changed their office address it was from this forum i confirmed initially that i need to inform HO of the address change , this probably has saved me from any unwanted complication that i may have suffered during my ILR application process) so i thought i should share my experience with other members hoping that some one may benifit from it.

here is my application background.

-got my work permit on 25th august 2000
-since then i have worked with the same compay.
-booked an appoinment with the croydon office for 29th July 2004 (
STRONGLY recommend booking an apppoinment with them , this will
save you hours in standing in the que ! although you have to wait for 10-
15 minutes on the phone to speak to someone but beleive me its worth it)

-went to croydon office at 10AM went straight to the first floor after telling
that i have an appoinment .
-Initially a person checked my documents and forms and asked me go to
the Payment window and pay £250 which i did .
-went to the waiting room and was called by the IO who took my form
and papers and after few minutes ( some of which was taken by the
computer searching software which could not find me on their database ,
apparently my name was misspelled !) finally the Good Lady asked me to
come after two hours to collect my Passport .
-that was it every thing in about 40-45 minutes !
came back after 2 and half hours and by the Grace of ALMIGHTY GOD
was given my passport stamped wit ILR and a letter confirming that.

here is a list of documents that i took with me.
-Passport
-form
-P60
-letter from employer ( my good employer gave me a very good letter,
big thanks to them)
-payslips ( they just asked me to show that , did not took them from me )
-bank statements ( again the IO lady just had a look at it , probably just
confirmed the address , name with proof of salary coming in )
thats all they asked from me , although i had other papers with me
aswell but was not asked to produce anything .

thanks to every one and best of luck to all .
Yahya
[/quote]

[Chess]

Yoyo73,

Congratulations and well done......may your continued stay in the UK be fruitful and prosperous - next mission is naturalisation!!....

..All the best

[Gmmi]

congratulations! yoyo73. Would you like to share the employer letter. Can you tell us the wording/text/format of the letter (leaving all your personal details).

Another question is about your company address change. What is the procedure to inform HO about that. Actually I am going in a similar situation where my employer will change the company name (although the parent/owner company will be same)


Gmmi

[vin123]

Hi Gmmi

Info here

[Joseph]

Yoyo73,

Congratulations and thanks for your detailed report. A couple of questions:

1. Without giving your personal details, can you give us the precise text of the letter that the Home Office gave you with your ILR? Does it provide you with a new Home Office Reference Number? That number will be helpful when you apply for naturalisation.

2. Did you wait 2.5 hours for them to call you back, or did you come back after 2.5 hours and the passport was already ready? Would it have been OK with them, for example, if you came back after 4 or 5 hours?

Your detailed feedback and their new procedures make it a lot easier for us to plan ahead. Thanks again and good luck!

Joseph

[yoyo73]

Hi All,
Thanks GMMI,
The letter that my company gave me had clearly stated that " my company wants to continue my employment on a permanent basis"
i think this is what the HO requirement is or simply "your employment is continuing with the company " is well sufficient according to HO website.
apart from this my company also mentioned that i have been working with them since sept2000 ( when i joined them) and they have found me a hardworking person .
about letting HO know of your office address change , my employer just had to write to them about the change of address ( my company name was not changed ), after receiving our letter they asked us to provide a proof of change ( like copy of lease for new building /office etc) which we then sent to them ( so its a good idea to send it in the first place) after this they sent my employer an emborssed paper( similar to the first work permit that one gets) confirming my new details on it.

Joseph
thanks for the good words,
i dont have the letter with me now ( kept in a safe place!!) but what i remember from it was that it confirms my ILR and details the benifits in terms of not requiring visa every time i go out of the country and come back , also it tells what to do if i go out of the country for more than two years( as a returning resident) . i was also told that NOT TO LOOSE THIS LETTER AND SHOW THIS IF I NEED TO TRANSFER MY VISA ON TO A NEW PASSPORT,I ALSO WAS TOLD BY SOME OF MY FRIENDS THAT THIS LETTER CANNOT NOT BE REISSUED IF LOST SO TO KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE!

i will see if i could give you any more detail of the text when i get it out of the SAFE PLACE .

for the 2.5 hour wait, i was told that it takes a minimum of two hours to get the passport stamped , then i had the option to sit in the waiting room or go out and have something to eat , which i did and came back after 2.5 hours . few minutes later my number was called and i collected my passport. i guess if you go out and come back after 3-4 hours you may still be able to collect you papers but i dont know whether what time they will close the doors for entry , if you want to do something in between then i suggest get an appointment for early morning ( 9:00) and then you can come back around 1-2PM to collect you papers .but it will be good to ask the case worker if that is ok to do.
hope this helps.
regards
Yoyo73

[guy]

Hi

New ILR letter format:

Name - Home Office Ref. Number
Nationality
Date of Birth - Date of letter


Dear xxxx

I am writing to say that there are no longer any restrictions on the period for which you may remain in the United Kingdom.

You can now remain indefinitely in the United Kingdom.

You do not need permission from a Government Department to take or change employment and you may engage in business or a profession as long as you comply with any general regulations for the business or professional activity.

If you are thinking of going to live in the Isle of Man or one of the Channel Islands, you should first consult the immigration authorities of the Island concerned.

If you leave the United Kingdom, you will normally be re-admitted for settlement as a returning resident provided that:

* you did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving this country:

* you had indefinite leave to remain here when you last left:

* you have not been away for longer than 2 years: and

* you are returning for the purpose of settlement.

In order to be considered as settled here you will have to be able to show that you are habitually and normally resident in this country, and that any absences have been of a temporary or occassional nature.

You will not be re-admitted as a returning resident if you are resident overseas and only return here for short periods.

If you absence from the United Kingdom is for longer than 2 years but you can still demonstrate that you had indefinite leave to enter or remain here when you last left, and you are returning for the purpose of settlement, you may still qualify for admission as a returning resident if, for example, you have maintained strong connections with this country.

You do not require a visa to return to the United Kingdom provided you are returning for settlement after an absence of 2 years or less. However, if you are returning for settlement to the United Kingdom after an absence of over 2 years, you are advised to apply for an entry clearance at the nearest British Diplomatic Post in the country in which you are living. This should then facilitate your re-admission to the United Kingdom.

If you obtain a new passport or travel document you may ask us to stamp it to show your immigration status before you travel. You should send it to this Directorate at the address at the top of this letter at least 2 months before you intend to travel.

If you do not have your passport stamped before you travel, when you return to the United Kingdom you will have to satisfy the immigration officer that you had indefinite leave to remain when you left. To do this you will need to produce either the enclosed passport or other documentary evidence such as bank statements, notices of income tax coding, school or employment records etc. relating to the earlier years of your rersidence in the United Kingdom. It may also be helpful to carry this letter with you.

A child born to you in the United Kingdom since 1 January 1983 who is not a British citizen may now be entitled to be registered as such a citizen and any child born to you while you remain settled here may be a British citizen automatically at birth. However, you should note that, where the parents of a child have never been married to each other, British Citizenship can only be derived from the mother.

More information about all aspects of British Citizenship (including by birth in the United Kingdom) and an application form for registration are available from the Nationality Group, India Buildings, 3rd Floor, Liverpool L2 0QN. Telephone 0151-237-5200.

Yours sincerely

xxxxx



Hope this helps

[Gmmi]

Very useful guy. One question about

you did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving this country:

Does that mean If you are taking public funds then you shouldn't leave UK?

[guy]

Hi Gmmi

I think it means that you should not use public funds to help you settle somewhere else. For instance, claiming benefits until shortly before leaving the country to settle somewhere else means that you probably used public funds to fund your trip

[MicroDev]

Could someone let me know what is the waiting time to get an appointment with IO for ILR. Can I get an appointment for friday if I call them on thursday?.

thanks

[tibs]

On appointments (ILR at Croydon), please can anyone let me know when is the earliest date that one can take an appointment. For example : If one plan to visit the croydon office on 'x' then can he take an appointment on 'x-30' days ?

Thanks in advance

[Joseph]

Thanks Yoyo and Guy for the detail on the letter.

Tibs and Microdev

Appointments can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance. In other words, you can't book more than 14 days from now. You may be able to book on short notice, but I suspect it fills up fairly quickly and booking from one day to the next may be tight.

When you call the main hotline, they will ask you questions about your basis for getting ILR and then forward you to the Croydon booking number. A lot of times the first number is busy, or you get a recorded message to call back later. You just have to keep trying until you get the recorded message that asks you to stay on the line. Sometimes you get through on the first number but the later Croydon booking number is engaged which means you have to call back later and do the whole process again, because you can't call the Croydon booking number directly. Frustrating, but still an improvement over waiting in the queue.

Joseph

[tibs]

Thanks Joseph for your reply.

One more question - on the date of employer's letter - how early can it be from the date of your appointment ?

Thanks in advance

[Joseph]

I think the letter would be strongest if it were a day or two before your application, but I suppose a week or two before would be OK. If it's much older than that, there's the risk that they may wonder if you're still working.

Joseph

[mailquery]

ILR appointments at croydon -

hi guys / gals
i got m y ilr last week and experience not dissimilar to yoyo's. by the way i went to croydon by booking an appointment, i called on thursday at 9 am and got an appointment for 145 pm SAME day.

and yes appointment saves a lot of hassle and waiting.

[mailquery]

i wld disagree a little with yoyo's statement abt the importance of this letter...

i think if it were lost, not the end of the earth. HO can always track your records by your residence permit number..

correct me if i am wrong..i am newbie ..

[yoyo73]

congrats mailquery on getting your ILR , best of luck in the future as well.
about the importance of the letter , i too am in the favour of assumming that it can be reprinted/reproduced by HO if needed but i was told by a friend that either its not possible or is very difficult, why ? i dont have any idea . Perhaps some one who has unfortunatily lost his/her letter can tell us more about their experience !
regards
yoyo

[Joseph]

The Home Office say that the letter is very important, even more so than the sticker in the passport. That it can't be reissued and that they won't accept copies. Even so, I don't think there are many instances where the letter is needed. The reference number in the letter is very important for finding your records quickly and easily.
Joseph

[Khurram]

Hi,
I got my ILR successfully this week. For the benefit of new applicants, here's my story:

BACKGROUND
Came to UK in 1999 on a student visa.
Got a WP in 2000. (since then have been with the same employer)

DOCUMENTS TAKEN
Pretty much everything as per this list.

AT CROYDON
Similar experience to the one described in this thread.

TIPS
1-Preferably go into the PEO by making an appointment with INEB. That would save up enormous amount of time, other than sparing yourself the agony of queueing up for long hours.
2-Whilst in the waiting area (on the 2nd floor), preferably find a seat a bit of distance away from the canteen - at times it does get a bit noisy there and you might miss out on the announcements being called out. On your turn, the appointment numbers are not displayed on the display screen (*), but are called out on the public announcement system.

Many thanks for all those who've answered my numerous queries on this board in the past.

Regards


(*) - A technical glitch infact, as it can only caters for 3 digit numbers , and most of the appointment numbers are 5 digit ones.