ILR success @ Croydon

[vin79]

Hi,

I have been taking a lot of help from this forum - so I think its right that I share my experience here.

Our (me and my wife) interview was set for the 26th of April - reached there about 45 minutes before the interview.

As the others have stated before went through the airport style security check. After that went to the first counter were our forms were checked and the lady also made sure that we had all the correct supporting documents.

Then was the payment and the waiting game i.e. to get the call from the case worker.

We were seen about 10 minutes past out alloted time.

The caseworker started off with the forms and the passport. There was some confusion about my previous Leave to Remain. The problem was that I had previously got a HSMP approval letter - but when I send my passports for stamping I got the Tier 1 (general migrant) visa stamped. It seemed that the system did not have my complete details w.r.t. the points I had earned earlier(for the HSMP). The caseworker was talking to her senior case worker and clarifying a lot of questions.
Thankfully I was carrying the following
a. The HSMP approval letter
b. The letter I got when I got my Tier 1 stamped.

The CW took copies of these two documents.

After this initial confusion it was more or less smooth.
The CW took the following documents
a. 12 month payslips
b. 12 months bank statments
c. Employee letter
d. my 4 years P60's
e. Life in UK

For cohabitation I had
a. Bank statements
b. Election polling card
c. driving license letter
d. Water bill.

After this I was asked to sit down for an hour (when all the checks were made) then was called again to confirm that my application was approved.

The whole process took about 3-4 hrs and I was poorer by about £2000 but did get my ILR in the end.

[renegadejay]

Hi Vin,

Thank you for sharing your experience! Congratulations for your success.

Could you please let me know if I use the premium service like you did, we get the stamp on our passport there and than? or they send us via post?

Also to find how easy is to book an appointment? I have decided to apply on 19 July 2011, hence what will be the feasible time to call for an appointment?

Thank you in advance,

Jay

[vin79]

Hi Vin,

Thank you for sharing your experience! Congratulations for your success.

Could you please let me know if I use the premium service like you did, we get the stamp on our passport there and than? or they send us via post?

Also to find how easy is to book an appointment? I have decided to apply on 19 July 2011, hence what will be the feasible time to call for an appointment?

Thank you in advance,

Jay

Yes - I believe Premium service means that you get your passport stamped the same day.
You can do the booking online or over the phone - the sooner you book the better else you might not get the appointment for the required date.

[kunald]

....
Yes - I believe Premium service means that you get your passport stamped the same day.....

Not always. If your case is straight forward and the caseworker is able to make a decision then it will be approved straight away. However if the caseworker feels that further checks are required, your application may be converted to a postal one wherein you will be informed via post about the decision.

Even if your ILR is approved, your passport may not be stamped the same day. It depends which PEO you go to. For example Cardiff PEO send all passports to Sheffield to get stamped before they are delivered to the applicant (This normally takes 4-5 days time). I don;t know if any other PEO follows the same pattern.

[fahadz1]

Hi,

I have been taking a lot of help from this forum - so I think its right that I share my experience here.

Our (me and my wife) interview was set for the 26th of April - reached there about 45 minutes before the interview.

As the others have stated before went through the airport style security check. After that went to the first counter were our forms were checked and the lady also made sure that we had all the correct supporting documents.

Then was the payment and the waiting game i.e. to get the call from the case worker.

We were seen about 10 minutes past out alloted time.

The caseworker started off with the forms and the passport. There was some confusion about my previous Leave to Remain. The problem was that I had previously got a HSMP approval letter - but when I send my passports for stamping I got the Tier 1 (general migrant) visa stamped. It seemed that the system did not have my complete details w.r.t. the points I had earned earlier(for the HSMP). The caseworker was talking to her senior case worker and clarifying a lot of questions.
Thankfully I was carrying the following
a. The HSMP approval letter
b. The letter I got when I got my Tier 1 stamped.

The CW took copies of these two documents.

After this initial confusion it was more or less smooth.
The CW took the following documents
a. 12 month payslips
b. 12 months bank statments
c. Employee letter
d. my 4 years P60's
e. Life in UK

For cohabitation I had
a. Bank statements
b. Election polling card
c. driving license letter
d. Water bill.

After this I was asked to sit down for an hour (when all the checks were made) then was called again to confirm that my application was approved.

The whole process took about 3-4 hrs and I was poorer by about £2000 but did get my ILR in the end.

did u claim previous earning as well ??