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Hi All,

Watch out this space for details once I get my BRPs. Will write in detail.

Regards,
skano

look forward to hearing from you...congrats!

congrats

Veni Vidi Vici > I Came, I Saw, I Conquered

Hi skano! please tell us your story

One day we will hear the Story!

Hi All,
Time to share my experience and give back something to the forum; I had a combination of WP, Tier2-ICT & Tier-1 [same employer] with total 296 days out of UK including one long business trip of 5 months and short business trips of 110 days.

I had recently extended my Tier-1 which was valid till 2015 which according to many folks in this forum is a disadvantage as UKBA might reject the ILR as I would have no right to appeal.

As I was closely following the cases on this board, I was not very confident and hence first went to Solihull to try my luck and save some money! There, the case worker looked at my list of absences & employer letters, went to check with her manager and said that she can’t process my case as they normally deal with straight forward cases.

She suggested either applying at Croydon or applying by post. She also mentioned that applying by post might be better as there are likely to be further enquires due to longer absences.

Well, I was prepared for the response and already had an appointment booked at Croydon 3 days later. At Croydon, made the payment and was through with biometric by 12:30 and then the long wait started.
My number was not even called till 4:30 pm. Then they checked all the tokens that were still waiting and collected the documents/photocopies and handed over to back office team. At that moment, I thought this will be to my disadvantage as I will not be having any opportunity to explain my case face-2-face. I mentioned the same to the person collecting documents and he said that if case worker is in any doubt, they will call me to have a discussion.

After 10 minutes, I realised a mistake that I committed. My photocopy file had some additional documents that were not mandatory and might have made my case weak like P60 during longer absence as I was not paid in the UK during that time, neither had rent/utility bill payments during that period.

But I could not have done anything at that point, so I just waited. After 2 hours, my files came back to the window and the officer handed over the decision along with my passport & originals. He didn’t mention the decision verbally.

I was so negative in my outlook especially after reading so many negative cases and deferred cases, that I thought the decision letter will state which clause I have broken – continuity or not enough days. But to my surprise, it mentioned that my BRP’s are on the way!
Things that might have worked for me to get decision on same day• Higher income bracket, they might have seen the tax/NI paid till date and potential
• Strong letter from employer related to longer absence
o Why it was beneficial to the company
o Why I was the best choice for the assignment
o Why it took 5 months to accomplish the work
• No visa breaks. Even during longer absence my visa was valid
• The fact that my file went to backend team, probably a more senior worker looked at it and made the decision on the same day (instead of deferring it as experienced by other folks).

Suggestions to future applicants
• As negative cases are more likely to appear on the discussion boards, don’t base your decision just on the experience on this board. There might be many positive cases as well but either the users are shying away from sharing their experience (you can see some people looking for inputs for their ILR and now same people looking for inputs on citizenship but have not shared their experience) or they are not on the board.
• Always maintain good professional relationship with your managers. In future, you might need their approval in getting necessary employer letters.
• Every case is different and if you feel that your case is strong then take a chance as you never know when the changes in rules might affect your adversely.
• Book appointments at Croydon for longer absence cases. Solihull trip is likely to be unproductive.

Wow aN awesome case study. Congrats!

skano, Congrats on your ILR.

I think your employer letter strongly justifies the reason for your long absence. Please can you share the format and content please? So pppl like me will ger benefited.

Thanks for your help

A lot of people are asking for employer letter format. However, I cannot share as situation for every person is different.

I have already provided the bullets around which the letter must be prepared.

Sorry, I can't share the letter that I used.

Regards,
Skano

Hi All,
I would like to know about my eligibility and possibility of getting ILR with the following days out of UK.

1) 34 days out of UK - UK Salary Paid holiday.
2) 4 Days out of UK - UK Salary Paid holiday.
3) [u]162 Days out of UK - 17 days UK Paid Salary and 145 days Unpaid. 145 days salary paid in India. I can get letter from employer regarding this[/u].
4) 14 days out of UK - Salary paid India, UK salary not paid.
5) 16 Days out of UK - Salary paid India, UK salary not paid.

Below my UK entry and visa details -
I came to UK in 1st week of Dec 2007 and continuous visa until now with extensions.
Initial it was WP and then I got Tier 2 (ICT) in Feb 2009.

Has anyone got ILR with >150 days absence? Please advice.

Thanks in advance.[b][/b]

hmmmm..

congrats . strange CW didn't bother to see you face to face or may be you were lucky there was load of work and they decided quickly. or your documentation was quite strong.

do you mind sharing the following

1) your income band
2) your company structure (small , medium or large).


i have observe from this forum the people who have >90 absence and got approved on same day must be working in big companies. this is my assumption.

i'm saying this because I have requested employer letter and it contains each and every point you mentioned in your post still the CW rudely said this letter is not enough.

couple of months back i have seen post . a guy was earning 100K and was worried for his ILR .

Can you keep two different appointments on two different days/locations at the same time?

I have an appointment at Solihul next week. I have the same problem. Over 90 days stay outside the UK. Can i book a appointment at Croydon before cancelling the one booked at Solihul? It took me 1 month to get this appointment. I am happy to cancel it as long as i can secure one at Croydon.

I would strongly recommend to avoid going to Croydon especially if you were outside the UK for more than 90 days which was unpaid in UK. See my experience - http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=111569