Some exciting update finally, to kill the suspense we got ILR for all successfully
It is still a long story. I checked with several solicitors some face-to-face and some via emails. None of them knew this rule upfront. Some even after reading the rule said it's not possible (for both spouse and children since they came after 2012) and others said it might be possible but not for the children (due to paragraph 199). But all this is only after explaining upto where we were in this thread - so nothing new from them.
Since current visa was to expire on 05th November, i didn't want to wait anymore and risk children's visa status. So, I decided to apply for just FLR(M) and started preparing all documents. Booked same day appointment at Croydon for 2nd November.
In the mean time I'd created a
freedom of information request about
Paragraph 199. Suddenly on 31st October i got a very
positive reply for my FOI request which even went on to say that
We will consider amending the Immigration Rules and the guidance to make this clearer in a future update
At this point i was fully convinced that i should go for it, otherwise no point doing all these in the last couple of months is a complete waste.
I called UKVI helpline about using the FLR(M) appointment to apply for SET(O) but got conflicting messages from them. So, I just moved my FLR(M) appointment to 5th Saturday and booked another appointment for SET(O) on 3rd November - in the view that i'll cancel the 5th appointment later. Luckily, my wife had already cleared Life In the UK and English (Trinity) exams. My daughter had cleared Life In the UK but not English, so booked exam for her on 2nd Wednesday - she is Uni, it was a mere formality.
On the appointment day, could see the guy who is registering the case struggling a bit - he spoke to other colleagues couple of time as he was not sure under what category he should file this etc. Anyway, that was done followed by biometric and asked to wait for 60-90 minutes for the result.
Within 20 minutes of it, our token number was called and i thought it can't be a good news if it is this early. The lady looked genuinely concerned and asked me did i not know that we had to wait for 5 years before applying for settlement! She was holding my wife's passport and pointing me to the visa page. I said i am fully aware of that settlement route but i am applying under paragraph 196E and starting to explain it. I had this mentioned this in the cover letter, i think they missed to read it. She was not aware of the rule, but was listening very carefully and writing down the paragraph numbers etc on a piece of a paper. When i said her that i even have an email from home office she asked whether i have a copy which i had. So, finally she said she will check with other colleagues, took my mobile number and said she will call me if needed rather than calling my token number. I got a call after 30 minutes, she spoke to me and said "everything is absolutely fine" and "it won't be long". That was a big relief!! We got our final approval after 45 minutes. Overall, same day appointment is pretty good, everyone seemed very friendly and welcoming.
We received our BRP yesterday. If it was not that FOI response we would have just gone for FLR(M) wasting all the efforts. I still can't believe how things have changed within those three days!
Thanks to other forum members for sharing their experiences and knowledge which hugely helped me in getting this right. Especially Vinny who has been very helpful answering my queries helping me to decipher the rules.
