ILR (SET M) Success in Solihull - 2 May

[pichon]

I'm married to a British husband and I had obtained a spouse visa before July 2012 through FLR (M) from a student visa.

I had a 11:30 am booking yesterday on 2 May at Solihull.

I had made a booking before the fee change in Liverpool but changed it to Solihull when it became available as it is just one hour away from where we live and is more convenient. It was all fine to make an amendment and I wasn't charged extra.

We couldn't find the John Lewis car park, and we just parked in M&S parking lot. It's not too far anyway and the cost is the same. We only found John Lewis parking lot as we walked towards the PEO.

The office itself was pleasant, having been refurbished and re-opened just three weeks ago. It has a coffee bending machine and that's all. All the staff were really friendly.

We arrived at the office about half an hour earlier than the appointment.

They had a problem with the computer and a guy who came before me disappeared from the computer system. This and the backlog caused me to get called 45 minutes after my scheduled time to register my case. We were able to leave the office at around 12:30.

The wait was tedious and long, and we got a call from the office 15 minutes to four p.m. as the office is about to close.
At around 3:55pm, I got my ILR acceptance letter.

We thought my case was a very straightforward one, and didn't think it would take this long to be honest.
When I did my FLR (M) two years ago in Glasgow, the whole process took around two hours only, and the caseworker was being very efficient. Looking at my huge files, he only requested marriage certificate, English proof, spouse's payslips and bank statements, and my postgraduate enrollment certificate.

1. Payment confirmation (I didn't bring booking confirmation, but the lady asked me to show it to her if I had it on the phone. So I recommend that you print the booking confirmation too)
2. Completed SET (M) form
3. Husband's six-month payslips
4. Husband's employment contract
5. Husband's six-month bank statements
6. Joint account six-month bank statements
7. My six-month bank statements
8. ISA statements
9. Savings account statements
10. Proof of cohabitation - we brought 12 just in case. We had four in joint names and eight others individually.
11. My degree certificate for Master's degree in the UK
12. My enrollment certificate for PhD program.
12. Life in the UK pass letter

Our parking ticket had our entry time to the parking lot as 10:11, and when we made the payment, it was 16:11. We spent exactly six hours in Solihull. From my personal experience, I think I preferred Glasgow over Birmingham, purely based on the speedy handling of the case. I think the staff are very friendly in both places, but the location of Solihull is superior as it is close to the station and the town centre. Glasgow PEO is quite far away from everything.

[Amber]

Congratulations.

[pichon]

Thanks Amber.

Just to update that my biometric card arrived this morning.
Even considering that we had a bank holiday inbetween, I'm impressed at how quickly it arrived.

[chandu_246]

congrats..

I have a query, if you can help me with..

I booked my appointment in Croydon few weeks back(Paid old fee) and then thought of changing it to Solihull(5 min. bus for me) but I am afraid of the new fee and didn't change it.

It's good to know that they didn't charge you extra fee(Diff. between old and new fee), when you changed the appointment.Am I right with my understanding?

[smartkhan]

Have you received your BRP?

[WR1]

Have you received your BRP?

Thanks Amber.

Just to update that my biometric card arrived this morning.
Even considering that we had a bank holiday inbetween, I'm impressed at how quickly it arrived.

[pichon]

congrats..

I have a query, if you can help me with..

I booked my appointment in Croydon few weeks back(Paid old fee) and then thought of changing it to Solihull(5 min. bus for me) but I am afraid of the new fee and didn't change it.

It's good to know that they didn't charge you extra fee(Diff. between old and new fee), when you changed the appointment.Am I right with my understanding?

Yes, you are right. I can only speak from my own experience, but they did not charge anything more than what I paid (old fee).
You need to take the confirmation email and payment confirmation printouts.

[pichon]

Have you received your BRP?

Thanks WR1.

Yes, I did receive my BRP yesterday.
I got my letter just minutes before the closing time on Friday. And then there was a long bank holiday weekend.
So effectively it arrived in just two working days I guess.