Post
by vikramaditya » Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:55 pm
Hello
I went to the Sheffield PEO on 12th February to make an in-person application for my ILR permit (along with my wife).
I booked the appointment online - not much choice was available in terms of dates and times.
We arrived really early - we went for a coffee to the city centre and presented ourself at security at 9.30AM for a 10.45 appointment. We got in in about 15 minutes after going through security. The lady at the reception gave me a token after which I waited to be called to another window for initial vetting of my application. This was done fairly quickly (15-20 minutes in all) and I was asked to submit my supporting documents which were placed in a folder. Documents handed over:
1) All passports for both of us (India)
2) Marriage certificate
3) 9 months of pay slips+ 5 annual P60s
4) All letters received from the Home Office (I changed three jobs over a 5 year period)
5) Letters from my employer including a letter providing full information about my work related travel. I also included letters from previous employers.
6) Detailed Excel print out with a list of trips overseas divided into work trips and personal trips (total days out - about 195 with about 55 days worth of work travel and 140 or so days worth of personal travel). I also referenced pages on my passports linked to entry and exit stamps.
7) Six months long bank statements for both my main bank accounts
8. Life in the UK test certificates
After making a payment for our application fee (there was a queue), we waited for about 2 hours during which time a lot of people were being asked for other supporting documents and lot of people were facing further queries. We grew a bit concerned that we had still not been called for any clarifications/ questions and we were not sure about the progress on our application.
However, at about 11.45AM an immigration officer came across and called us and told us that the ILR permits for both of us had been approved. All our original documents (excluding letters from current and past employers) were returned to us.
Our passports and ILR permits took about another hour to process and we left after collecting them.
All though this process, the UKBA staff members were very polite and courteous, and they dealt with our application and queries in a prompt and professional manner.
Thanks to other people on this board for sharing their experience which really did help me a lot for preparing my application.