First of all, many thanks to this forum, it has helped me a great deal in preparing myself for the application.
And here is my experience at Sollihull PEO:
Just a little bit of background: The application was for myself and three dependants, switching from WP to Tier 1 (G). We came to UK in Mar 06 and will complete 5 year in Mar 11. I am currently on overseas assignment and flew to UK for this application.
Documents prepared:
Cover letter [*]
Passports, current and previous, showing Entry Clearance and all Permits to stay thereafter
Completed application forms (signature should be more or less the same as passport – I had to sign again in front of officer – Ooops!)
Company letter to clarify my overseas assignment
Photos: taken at home on light background, reduced to required size, printed at the Morrisons.
Birth and Marriage certificates: original & certified translations [*]
Original Degree certificate and transcripts
Proof of earnings Oct 09-May 10: Original payslips and original bank statements
Proof of earnings Jun 10–Sep 10: Original payslips + salary letter + stamped electronic bank statements. I had to get the salary letter to proof living allowances as they are not shown in payslips.
Explanation on Earnings [*]
Table to show calculation of earnings [*]
Bank statements for Maintenance
IELTS certificate
[*] not handed as it was not asked for, or substituted by verbal explanations.
Appointment time was 12.00, we arrived at 10.30 but we were let in. Through security check, got the ticket No. and called to attend at a counter after about 15 mins. I had a stack of document including cover letter and all supporting documents but the officer explained that he would start with my application form then ask for evidences as he went through. All went well until he came to the Past Earnings section where the officer pointed out that my salary case was too complex and would not fit in the time slot allocated. That was to do with conversions of income earned overseas. He suggested that my application would have to be sent by post for processing! I was so alarmed at that point, as it would mean that I would not be able to return to work for another 1-2 months. He went to discuss it with the senior case worker, and as expected, they agreed that my case was for postal application. I tried to be cool and suggested a way to simplify the calculation by disregarding living allowances which was in foreign currency (I got this tip to keep calm & cool from this forum
). Thank God the officer agreed to proceed; he did a very thorough check on those income figures. Disregarding the living allowances reduced the score by 5 points, but I was still covered in total. Other than that all went pretty smoothly. He then went through applications of spouse, dependants, one by one. I was surprised he didn’t ask for the birth certificates nor marriage certificate, maybe because that info is already indicated on their previous vignettes. I was asked to pay for the fee and to come back at 3.30pm. Paid the fee using debit cards, hadn’t informed the bank but it went through alright. According to what I learnt from other people's experience, paying the fee at Birmingham meant that it was going to be approved. But somehow I couldn’t relax. We left the PEO ~ 1pm for lunch, returned to PEO at 3.15pm, the passports were ready at 4.10pm and we were the last. It was a nervous experience but pleasant with the outcome!
Hope this is of some use to someone. Good luck to you all.