14 Year Continuous Residence ILR Application

Hi All

This thread is all about 14 Year Continuous Residence ILRs, also known as 14 year lawful/unlawful stay (though I note UKBA no longer refers to this category as the latter).

If you've found this thread because you are eligible to apply for your ILR or have already applied and are looking for support. You've made a brave move and prepare yourself for an extension of your long and difficult journey. There is an end now so be patient and try to remain positive. Please don't be too scared to post here. If you have already applied you've declared yourself to UKBA so what's the worse they can do. If you've still to apply you have the right to apply under the 14 year rule so if the UKBA make contact (which I doubt they will) you have this in your favour.

My first advice is find yourself a good immigration solicitor. You can't do this alone. If you were to include the standard documentation or the documentation for other categories you will find the your assigned caseworker will request further information which will hold your application up, or worse case scenario your application will be rejected. If you can't afford a solicitor please do not hesitate to ask for advice as to which documents you should include.

Waiting Times

The published targets for all ILR applications (postal) is 6 months. The 2-3 year wait stated on this board on many occasions is no longer factually correct. 2010 straight-forward applications, on average, receive a response within 8-9 months. Remember you are a paid ILR applicant therefore you have the same rights as any other paid ILR applicant. This right is that after 6 months you can and should complain to UKBA either directly or via your solicitor (I suggest your solicitor as they have plenty of history with UKBA therefore know how to influence UKBA). You may also wish to contact your MP (after the Election). Don't let anyone here convince you that you have to wait 2-3 years.

With regards to contacting UKBA after 14 weeks. They do welcome this on their website but in reality applicants have found this futile. Please do so if you think it will help but expect a scripted response.

If anyone want to start posting personal waiting times like the other ILR categories, please do.

Useful documentation

Caseworker Guidelines -Chapter 18 - Long residence

My bible when applying. Gives you peace of mind that you meet the criteria and what the caseworkers are looking for.

Parliamentary Ombudsman Report (Feb 2010) - http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/pdfs/UKBA-2010-02-09.pdf

This is an official report by the Ombudsman on complaints regarding waiting times for all types of ILR applications. Of interest to 14 year applicants is the finding that 2-3 year waits are unlawful further reiterating that you do not have to wait this longer before complaining.

I will update this thread if any other useful information comes to mind. Feel free to post any information that you think will help. Please note trolling will not be accepted and I will have no hesitation reporting you to the Mods.

As a wise man (or woman) told me:

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.

Hi kiwigirl,

I am glad that the application times have been reduced and this makes very interesting reading on the 2010 applications. That means that HO has cut the backlog substantially. Anyway I will put my post on here as an example of how long it took when I submitted my application in 2006 so that others who have done so, will not despair by waiting.

Hiya

I just wanted to post this timeline for those that are waiting for their application under ILR 14 year rule. I knew whilst waiting I kept wanting to find this information and thus having got my ILR, I feel it would be helpful for all:

Landed in 1992 as a student for a degree course. Granted 3 year visa

Completed the degree and got another year extension for the Masters.

Started a PHD and got a 3 year extension to that, meaning I had legal stay until 2000. From then I overstayed until Sep 2006, when I applied for ILR.

I waited nearly 3 years from Sep 2006 to June 2009 to get the ILR and finally got it. Exact Timeline and Steps described below:

20 Sept 2006 - Went to solicitor and submitted application

29 Sept 2006 - Letter arrives from HO through Solicitor to indicate application has successfully been recieved

Since then many countless calls to solicitor and HO and same reply saying case under consideration.

Out of the blue and after a lot of patience on the 18th June 2009, I got a letter from solicitor saying it had all been approved.

On the 19th of June 2009, I went to collect that passport with the ILR stamp, what a relief and thanks to GOD.

Hope that this helps everyone in the same predicament.

Hi ashaab

Thanks you posting your story. It will help others because we have to remember that there are still some people caught up in the backlog.

asaab you are the top man, good luck

Hi all, first thanks to kiwi girl for starting this thread I’m sure it will be very useful to a lot of people and I hope they will learn some thing
especially from other people experiences. So I’ll try from time to time to post what I think is useful.
For those who are a little bit frustrated, actually you can check all your personal information held by the UKBA.
The request is called Subject Request Access (SAR).
For more information check this link:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/navig ... l-data/%20

Hi Character

Can you check your SAR records whilst they have your application? Do you think perhaps it will record any information about your application?

Thanks

kiwigirl25 wrote:Hi Character

Can you check your SAR records whilst they have your application? Do you think perhaps it will record any information about your application?

Thanks

I'm not really sure, wha I think is: The definition of "personal data" under the Act covers both facts and opinions about an individual, as well as information regarding the intentions of the home office towards that individual.

This request should therefore cover any internal/external memos, emails, faxes and any other correspondence or readily accessible data held on computer by your organisation, which could be classified as 'personal data' under the 1998 Data Protection Act. This covers both manual and electronic data.

An other useful link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... chapter24/

and this is and other person (SAR) experience:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... +residence

hi
just wanna share my experience i applied for 14 years lon residence rule and i got ilr in 7 months i applied in may 2009 and my ilr on 11 dec 2009 in my case they didn't tht long

cogratulations Londongoodand enjoy your new freedom
Can you please tell us more about your application was it strait forward?
what kind of docs did gave them? did you ask your MP to get involved?
Thanks

hi Kiwigirl,
have you got any reply from HO yet?
I was told by my solicitor already, he said this kind of case has to wait 1-2 years, which means he won't chase it till then. It is very frustrating as he promised we could ring him when 6 months gone if no news. Now don't be bothered till another 1-2 years. Very upsetting as he charges £4500.

chorc123 wrote:hi Kiwigirl,
have you got any reply from HO yet?
I was told by my solicitor already, he said this kind of case has to wait 1-2 years, which means he won't chase it till then. It is very frustrating as he promised we could ring him when 6 months gone if no news. Now don't be bothered till another 1-2 years. Very upsetting as he charges £4500.

See your original thread, we've been chatting under that. There are not 2 kiwigirls. God help the world if there was

I don't want to upset but you're coming across as quite naive. Firstly you let a solicitor mislead you into thinking you had legal status. Now you've let a solicitor charged you £4500. I paid under £800, can't remember exactly how much... I will need to go through my records. My solicitor is actively looking at my case and as mentioned before complained prior to 6 months. I only got my MP involved because I had utterly had enough. My MP took action within 24 hours. It's summer recess for parliament so this maybe why you haven't heard from your MP.

Your story is simply surreal, I don't understand how people let themselves get in these situations. Suppose I'm very fortunate that I've learnt to gain strength and knowledge from my experiences/mistakes. Or maybe I'm just suspicious of other people.

Actually is £4500 a typo... did you mean £450?

hi, my story is that:
I and my parnter came to this country for study on 1995. After 5 years, we decided we want to stay and contacted solicitor about immigration matter. We were originally going for £200000 investment type visa (Now it calls tier 1 enterprise). It was 2000 when we still had valid visa. The solicitor then advised us to look for business to run. Eventually, we bought a leasehold for a shop. But after few weeks of opening the business. We were told the business was not big enough to get the visa. Therefore, she said she could extend my student visa and my partner and 2 young kids be dependence. Therefore, my partner got NI number. She did manage to extend the student for 2 years but business was a failure. At around year 2002-3, the visa was going to run out again. She said she could get us a work permit but it will cost £5000 and needed to pay in advance. We did not have any money left at the time after paying mortgage for the house and draining money for a business. We couldn't have our passports and documents back as we have £300 outstanding for some reasons. Also, it was so much happening at household, my partner was at hospital due to depression and kids at care for a very short time. Luckily, we managed to get the house sold at cheap price and got the £300 plus interests for the solicitor for our documents back.
At was around, 2004-5, we knew we could get DL under 7 child concession, so we consulted a few solicitors. We got the one now we are hiring for 14 years case one. Then, he said we have to put deposit down for our case also new passports for application. It took a long time to get the new passports from our country embassy. Then, we were told to get life in the UK test and it was another 3-4 months for it.
At was September 2008 ( I think!), finally, we got everything the solicitor needed for our case, He said he needed some time for our case preparation. It was about 1-2 months later, he said the 7 years concession had gone. Therefore, I was told to get the British Citizenships for Kids first. It only took 2-3 weeks for approval and another few weeks for British passports. It was last summer we qualified for 14 years rule. It still took him few months for case preparation, Finally, we received acknowledgement letter on Feb/10.
I have mentioned all details to my MP, I just hope he will make all details and the whole story to HO. We can't hold up any longer, as we have no money as I only have a delivery job for the sole income of the family with rent and bills to pay.
I wish I had spoken to other people first rather than the people and solicitor of our own national. ( I thought other English solicitors and people won't take any sympathy of our case!!!)

yes, it is £4500 for our family. We have consulted a few solicitors at the time, it was all the same price

My eyes can't believe what I'm reading

To break down your story:

You can't run a business on a student or dependant visa. Why the solicitor advised this!?!

It does not cost £5000 to extend a visa. I would day £650 average for a good solicitor and £800-£1000 for the actual fee.

A good OICS qualified solicitor would never withhold a clients passport or visa documents. It's unlawful!!

Life in the UK test was only introduced for settlement in 2007. If your solicitor pushed through your application in a timely manner when you hired him in 2004, there would have been no need for you to sit this. It doesn't take that long to arrange, unless there were personal circumstances that resulted in this length of time.

Doesn't take 3-4 years to prepare an ILR application. If your solicitor hadn't taken his time you would have been okay now. Did alarm bells not ringing extremely loudly at this stage? It took my solicitor 3 months and that was too long! I could have taken advantage of the same day service if he did it in good time.

British citizenship for your children was the only good advice he's given you so far.

You have a job and you've applied for your ILR under the 14 year lega/illegal rule and your current status is illegal!?! Are you not worried this will go against you (I don't know if it will)?

You've been extremely unlucky and it saddens me that people in your own community have taken advantage of you. I think people outside your community would be appalled and shocked at what you've been through rather than unsympathic.

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice as I cannot relate to your story. I'm struggling to comprehend how badly you've been treated by various solciitors. I'm struggling to comprehend how you got yourselves into those situations ... forgive me.

Contact your local Citizen's Advice Bureau to see if they can direct you to a local support group.

chorc123 wrote:yes, it is £4500 for our family. We have consulted a few solicitors at the time, it was all the same price

I don't care if it's for a family, it's still too much. You've simply got yourself in a situation whereby your solicitor has taken advantage of you. You need to get yourself out of this and I hope that a more knowledgeable member of this board will be able to direct you to a support or charity group which can help you.

Hi,
yes it is what is happening from the first day we arrived UK.
The first solicitor got us into buying a business, I think she had finished her office not long ago. Yes, it was alarming when she asked for £5000 for working permit at 7th years. For some reason the social security still issued NI number at 5th years when extending student visa.
Second( present solicitor), it took a long time to get everything done. As for Life in the UK test, he insisted we need a valid passports before taking the test. Therefore, it was another 3-4 months after we got our new passports back. The old one had been expired/ nearly expired.
It is our story, we did not trust other solicitors rather than our own national. Partly because we did have some unpleasant experience with English solicitor. Also our own nationals always have advertisements on TV, newspapers etc.....
Solicitor always promised the best at the beginning then when they got your money and documents, it will be another story....
I just hope our MP can sort this mess up.....

Good luck. I wish you all the best, you're due some luck after years of hardship. It must be heartbreaking to be let down by your fellow nationals. I suppose they don't believe in looking after their own.

By the way, you will get a NI number as a student as you are allowed to work part time.

I understand now about the passport situation. I too thought you needed a current passport to sit the test. It was only recently found out that you can use an expired one. But I was lucky, my embassy only take a few days to issue new passports.

Hi kiwigirl,
I will keep dating my case and yours too...
Just hope the darkness will end soon...
By the way, I hope other people from 14 years case can drop a line here for sharing. I know how it feel when we got attacking by some narrow-mind people, just because we are in 14years cases. It likes third class people in the country.

U have to consider also that the HO could have issued removal orders against you, even if you don't know about it cos you've moved or something. Then the ILR clock is reset.

Suggest you request your SAR file from UKBA...

no removal notice ever issue at all. Therefore, 15 years at few weeks time.

chorc123 wrote:no removal notice ever issue at all. Therefore, 15 years at few weeks time.

But you don't know that if you've moved and not told the UKBA, which you are unlikely to do.

my solicitor got my SAR file.

chorc123 wrote:my solicitor got my SAR file.

U seen it tho? - ur solicitor doesn't inspire confidence.....

yes, we have. He was very good at the beginning( at least he would answer all questions/ enquires immediately), until we received our acknowledgement letter, but now he is unwilling to push up HO for update.