applying BRP/NTL during naturalisation application

Hell all,

I wonder if anyone can help me please. I have applied for naturalisation in June 2015 and am awaiting decision. In the meantime I am in the process of changing jobs, my ILR stamp is in my expired passport which has never been a problem before. The new company has advsied me they can't accept it and requested me to apply for a BRP/NTL. Is this really a HO requirement from on? And if so, is there any danger it might affect my naturalisation application if I apply for BRP/NTL before I hear back?
To make matter worse I am due to go on holiday for a week tomorrow, but it takes a minimum of 7 working days to have the new card made - does this mean I'll also have problems at passport control on the way back?

Any help and advise on this is greatly appreciated.

KTRN wrote:The new company has advsied me they can't accept it and requested me to apply for a BRP/NTL. Is this really a HO requirement from on?

No.

KTRN wrote:And if so, is there any danger it might affect my naturalisation application if I apply for BRP/NTL before I hear back?

You are not a British citizen until you naturalise, so you may do whatever you require wrt to your ILR.

KTRN wrote:To make matter worse I am due to go on holiday for a week tomorrow, but it takes a minimum of 7 working days to have the new card made - does this mean I'll also have problems at passport control on the way back?

Well, how will enter UK without a BRP?

Sorry - I must have been clearer: I normally travel with both my current and my expired passports, as the ILr in the expired one and have never had issues with it before. Now that the company has requested me to get a BRP, and as I am not sure whether this is a strict home office requirement I wondered whether i'll have problems coming back if I don't have a BRP but just have my two passports with an ILR stamp instead.

Also, I can see from this link (https://www.gov.uk/transfer-visa), that is isn't a requirement for travel, but is it a HO requirement for employment to have a BRP/NTL, or can an expired passport with ILR stamp still be accepted (in addition to the current passport)?

Are you saying that everyone in this country who has a valid ILR vignette in their (expired or currently valid) passport - because they were granted ILR when a BRP was not issued for ILR - must now apply for a ILR BRP to continue to have settled status or right to employment in this country?

Not at all!!

It is your choice to switch from a ILR vignette in a (expired or currently valid) passport to the newer version of ILR format (a BRP), and that is what NTL is for.

Thank you for your response. Hopefully my new company will see sense and accept my old ILR stamp.

I guess I panicked as when trying to research the situation I came across an NHS Right to Work check document ( http://www.nhsemployers.org/~/media/Emp ... 202014.pdf ) where on page 6 it says:
'An indefinite leave to remain stamp in an expired passport must not be accepted. Where an
individual presents an expired passport with indefinite leave to remain, employers should provide
the individual with opportunity to obtain and provide current documents, such as a Biometric
Residence Permit'

And although my new employer isn't NHS (or a healthcare provider at all), I guess i presumed that they must follow similar guidelines as in the email they sent to me in response to my ID documents they stated " Home Office made some changes in May 2014 regarding what is acceptable for migrants as proof of right to work. Since May 2014 we are not able to accept an in date visa in an out of date passport.'

NHSEmployers has it all wrong, and their assertion is contrary to what Home Office requirements are. What matters is the validity of the "immigration document" rather than the validity of the passport.

The following is an extract from the Home Office document first published subsequent to the "May 2014" changes and is the current one in use:

An employer’s guide to acceptable right to work documents wrote:Prior to the introduction of the Biometric Residence Permit, for those granted permission to come to or remain in the UK, we issued a UK government endorsement in their national passport. This might have placed restrictions on the type of work they were permitted to do, and/or the hours they could work, depending on the conditions attached to their immigration permission. For those coming to the UK, this would be in the form of an entry clearance (often called “a visa”) granted in their country of application. Vignettes granting permission to come to or remain in the UK will still demonstrate a right to work while they remain valid.

Unlike BRPs and ILE, ILR vignette has no "expiry date", so it remains valid even after the expiry date of the passport it is glued to.

Oh, well that's a relief! Thank you so much for clarifying this and all your help!

A somewhat belated update.

Having had further conversations with my new prospective employer and the HO themselves, it turns out it absolutely IS a new requirement for employment to have your ILR stamp turned into a residence card, otherwise the company will incur fines. The fact that the person has applied for naturalisation has no relevance, any new employee with an ILR in old passport will now have to apply for an NTL.

What they have failed to disclose however, is that they seem to have a massive backlog of these applications now (currently only just began processing June applications), and the whole thing can take up to 6 months. The vetting team of the new employer seemed to have been blissfully unaware of this too. The lady from HO whom I spoke to on the phone prior to submitting my application, assured me that to do all the necessary checks, all that the new employer would require is the reference number and all will be fine.

So now having sent my application off at the beginning of August and having handed in my resignation at my current workplace (as instructed by new employer), I am facing a prospect of unemployment, as the new employer are chasing HO for ECS check to no avail and then chasing me asking if I've received a BRP yet, which I obviously haven't and won't for some time now.

Conversations with Home Office on the phone or in writing?
And where is this "new requirement" so described to you by Home Office published on their website?

On the phone, unfortunately. HO aren't great at communicating in writing - I sent them an email asking to explain and confirm prior to finally calling, but to this date I haven't received a response. It was 2 different agents from two different departments I spoke to who both confirmed this was now a requirement (although one of them did tell me to speak to the nationality team, in the hope they would spare me from having to apply and pay the £230 fee for a BRP card on top £1005 already paid, but alas).

With regards to where is the update on their website - it's a good question! I actually managed to speak to a team leader from my new employer's vetting team who told me that the new rule came into force last year, however for some reason was never publicly announced by HO, as per usual practice, but was announced to employers (or perhaps government/ public owned big companies?). So they have had loads of people applying with the ILR in old passports, only to be asked to renew to BRP.

So it appears ILR in old passport is fine for immigration purposes but not fine for employment, which makes 0 sense to me, but here you go!

Oh and when I queried the status of my NTL/BRP application, I was told that it would normally take them 4/5 weeks(!!!) from the aknowledgement date to send a letter requesting the biometrics. When I advised I had already submitted my biometrics for naturalisation, and had attached the letter and receipt of that with my NTL/BRP application I was told, and I quote " they probably wouldn't use those, as they'd want their own. So they would probably still ask you to submit your biometrics for this application separately to naturalisation". Great.

It sounds like a bad joke, but apparently it's not, as I'm living it right now.

Hi guys,

Ive recently been told by my employers that I need to apply for NTL as my current ILR is on an expired passport. However, I have a pending naturalisation application and having spoken to the Home Office on the phone I've been told that If I was to apply for an NTL BRP it would get rejected as I already have a pending application with the Home Office. Can anyone confirm if this is correct and if so is my only option just to wait for a decision on my naturalisation application before I can start work?

Many thanks
Taha

New question

I am experiencing this exact same issue almost a year after you wrote about it
Do you have any retrospective advise?

Also, how long did it take for things to get sorted? (Presuming that they are now sorted?)

Please help as I am now officially unemployment and it's looking like I wont be able to get another job any time soon I'm panicking...!!!

Any updates guys? I’m in the exact situation with a new job, new employer asking for a BRP and a current citizenship application on the waiting list. Very confusing information coming from all sides and also going away on holiday soon! Help!!!

It's a mess.

Hostile, you’re right. No better way of describing it.