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[NewExp]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 16 Sept 2012
3. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 16 Oct 2012
4. Date of expiry of the new visa : 16 Oct 2014
5. Payment mode : debitcard
6. Name of PEO Applied Croydon
7. BRP received : 22 Sept 2012

[anynet]

No of Applicants: 1
Current vignette: Tier 1 General (emp+selfemp)
Date of PEO Appointment: 28 sept 2012
Appointment was at 9:30 am
Date of expiry of current leave (visa): 11 oct 2012
Date of expiry of the new visa: 15 oct 2015
Payment mode: debit Card
Name of PEO Applied: Croydon
BRP received on: 5th oct
Approval letter given: Yes

[vain]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 8 October 2012
3. Time spent at PEO: 2.5 hours
4. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 1 Nov 2012
5. Date of expiry of the new visa : 1 Nov 2015
6. Payment mode : Bankers Draft
7. PEO: Croydon
8. Biometric card received: 10th October

[KumarSpore]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 19-Oct-2012
3. Number of dependants: Two
4. Employment: Salaried
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 10Nov2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : 10Nov2015
7. Payment mode : Credit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Solihull
9: Approval letter: Given after 90min waiting
10. BRP Received on: 23-Oct-12 (In 2days)

Everything went well. Arrived 30 min before appointment. Asked to switch off mobile phones when entered. Nervous at the office before appointment. Then it was time for our turn. Case worker (Asian) is very good and nice. Asked for passports, checked everything. Asked for Appl. forms, Payslips and Bank statements. I have given recent Employer letter, Letter from bank for funds maintenance also. Case worker took only these documents. He said he does not even need the cover letter, P60 etc., Every case worker is different.
I asked the caseworker a question on K18 in dependents form. My dependents visa was refused last year and got approved again in appeal. I asked him that is that okay that I mentioned 'NO' at K18. He said yes, okay. He said he checked the past details and everything is fine. Then took about 15 min and said everything looks positive. Asked me to go to payment counter. Later called for bio-metrics. We were informed that payment went well. We can leave office and can come back after 90 min. Went back and collected our Approval letters at 12pm. I spent 90 min at Visa office.

Thanks to this forum.
Good luck to you all...!!

[hsmp1412]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 15 October 2012
3. Time spent at PEO: 4 hours
4. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 15 Mar 2013
5. Date of expiry of the new visa : 15 Oct 2014
6. Payment mode : Bankers Draft
7. PEO: Croydon
8. Biometric card received: 26th October

[marynwokedi]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 26-Oct-2012
3. Number of dependants: 0
4. Employment: Employed and self employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 19 Nov 2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Waiting
7. Payment mode : Credit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydonl
9: Approval letter: Yes
10. BRP Received on: Awaiting

My PEO experience was okay but not too smooth. I arrived 10:20am for 11 am apt and left 16:30pm.

The checks were pretty straight forward and i was called really quickly for biometrics.

After biometrics, i had to wait for about 2 hrs, then i overhead some ladies talking about a strict CW who they both had problems with and when i asked what happened, one of the lady told me that the guy was really strict, unfriendly and a bit rude. She advised that i avoid him if i had to, so i asked for the CW's desk number so that i could watch out for him.

To my utter dismay, my number was called by the same CW and i tried to ignore it and have him pass my number so that he calls another number but after a second thought, i just thought it should be okay as i have all the required docs, so there i went.

The CW wasn't a friendly person and spoke bluntly. He asked if i had photocopies straightaway and told me that if i didnt have it, my application can be refused but i choose to ignore him because i knew a few persons who did not go with copies, only downside is that application may get delayed a bit not refused because they did not bring copies. Anyway, i told him i had copies and he asked me to mark the entries of net payment in bank account with entries on Payslip/Invoice summary with numbers(1,2,3,4...etc). i had already highlighted the entries with my marker but wasn't going to waste time explaining to him as i could see that the guy was really unfriendly and a bit rude so sat for another 30mins remarking the entries with numbers as requested.

Then he asked about my period of earnings and said that i am not allowed more than 15 months. i then explained to him that i was using months before my maternity leave and had evidence to show my maternity absence. I also referred him to my cover letter but he insisted that i am unable to use months more than 15 months. I was really surprised as i tried to explain to him that this rule is in the policy guidance. He went to the back office and came back to say that he confirmed that i am unable to use earnings outside 15 months and said i can use earnings from Maternity pay. I bluntly refused and said that i do not wish to use my maternity pay earnings. It is written in the guidance that months outside maternity leave is allowed if proven evidence is submitted and i advised him that i will appeal the case and make complaints if he refuses my Visa on that grounds.

He wasn't bothered about it and said " it is your visa not mine", and i thought this guy is really rude. He went back again to reconfirm and came back saying nothing. He just asked what other documents i had for proof of self employment and i told him that i had accountant letter, p and L from Accountant, Balance sheets, NI letter and HMRC tax letter for 2011/2012 plus invoice summary from accountant. I also explained that i sell mainly via Paypal and had Paypal statements too so he asked me to give him all the copies of my documents and wait for 30 mins. I asked if he wanted Birth certificate and Letter of remittance for Maternity absence but he said no. He didn't even look at my original documents so i sat back at the waiting area for his decision.

In less than 30 mins, he called me back and gave the approval letter.

Lesson: It is very useful to know these Visa policies as i can see that some CW don't even know them and might refuse your application wrongly. I was really insistent and wanted to talk to someone in charge.

well, that's my experience. If you are going to Croydon for PEO and you will like to avoid this CW, PM me and i will describe him to you plus give you his desk number.

Cheers!

[eclairs]

1. Current vignette (HSMP / Tier 1) : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 25-Oct-2012
3. Number of dependants: None
4. Employment: Salaried + Self Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 01 Dec 2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : 01 Dec 2015(as per the case worker)
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Belfast
9: Approval letter: yet to receive in the post(due to some system issue)
10. BRP Received on: Awaiting

First of all, a big thank you to this forum for helping out with all my queries.

I live in Edinburgh, but went to Belfast PEO as I couldn't secure any appointment near by, believe me.. belfast PEO is very very good.. and I really recomend it.

The security guards were very polite and allowed me inside 1 hour earlier to my appointment. We were asked to wait for few minutes before the application and documents were accepted for verification. The lady took about 10 minutes and asked us to pay the visa fee.. All this was done in the first 25-30 minutes.

I was then called by the case worked to inform that my visa will be issued from Today's date rather than the previous expiry date. My visa expiry is about 5 weeks away, so I will have to go for another extension(just for 1 week) to qualify for ILR. I requested him several times, but he said that it is againt the rules and he can't do it.

I was then asked to wait in the waiting hall for Biometrics. After about 20 minutes, was called in for bio-metrics, and finished it quickly.

After about 70-80 minutes waiting, I was called in to tell the good news. She confirmed that my visa application has been approved, and the extension is from the date of expiry.

Due to some systems problem, they couldn't give me the approval letter, but promised me that it will arrive via post.

Waiting for the approval letter and BRP card...

Thanks everyone in this forum once again...!!!

Good luck to you all...!!

[Johnwoo]

Current vignette (HSMP / Tier 1) : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 15/10/2012
3. Number of dependants: None
4. Employment: Salaried + Self Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 10/11/ 2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : 10/11/2015
7. Payment mode : Postal orders
8. Name of PEO Applied : Sheffield
9: Approval letter: Received in 2 days
10. BRP Received on: Received after 6 working days

I had early appointment in Sheffield. I was told to be there at 8:30 however; i was there at 8:15. At 8:30 they opened the doors for us there was airport like security. They took my bottle of water away.
Went in and someone saw me at 9. She checked my documents and asked me to pay the fees. At 9:30 i was called for bio metrics. Saw my case worker at 10 am. She asked a lot of questions about self employment. She also asked for additional documents like contract with the different companies that i worked as a consultant.
She went to her senior to discuss my case further. This is when problems started she told me that she is happy with my application at 11:30 am but she said I need to wait 30 min for bio metric results.

SIX hours later I was still waiting for the results. She came twice in between to tell me they are waiting for result. They made announcement that they cant give results today as the have IT issue. We were issued with letters to get bio metric done in post office in case system cant recover our details.
I was bit upset as I was hoping to get the letter same day. I left Sheffield and while I was in train my case worker called and gave me good news. Got letter in 2 days.
BRP: Missed delivery as I was in the office. This was Thursday. I tried to redeliver but they needed 48 hr notice if I want to change address. So I had to wait till Monday. On Monday I wanted all day and then called courier company .To my horror they told me I missed delivery again only to later found out that driver never tried to deliver my card. I filled a complaint and card was delivered next day morning.

[vijar]

1. Current vignette (HSMP / Tier 1) : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 29/10/2012
3. Number of dependants: 2
4. Employment: Salaried
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 09/11/ 2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : 09/11/2014
7. Payment mode : Visa Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
9: Approval letter: Received same day
10. BRP Received on: 01/11/2012

I had a very good experience in croydon office. I reached at 8:15 and smoothly passed thru' Fee payment and Biometrics process. I was called by the case worker after 15 mins of wait and case was decided in 1 hour after submission of documents. I submitted salary slips, bank stmt and saving bank stmt for maintenance. I was out of the PEO at 11:00 with approval letter

Many thanks to this forum for providing all the guidance.

[polapts]

1. Current vignette (HSMP / Tier 1) : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 01/11/2012
3. Number of dependants: 2
4. Employment: Salaried
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 15/01/ 2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Don't know
7. Payment mode : Credit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
9: Approval letter: Received same day
10. BRP Received on: Not yet


I was not getting any appointments for December but got some cancelled appointment for 1 November so applied for it. The experience was pretty okay. Entered the place and security guard rudely told to close the main door as he was feeling cold. Airport like security. Then proceeded to a reception area, got my application forms and passports checked and received token number. Went on to first floor, paid teh visa fees. Then my number was called up. The person there checked my application form and updated passport info. Went to bio-metric where a rude asian girl/lady enrolled biometrics. My 3 year old son was not sitting properly for his photograph and instead of understanding how to deal with kids that lady was looking angrily at us. After that again my number was called up. the lady on the counter asked to submit all documents and told me to go for lunch. Then waited for about 3-4 hours till I got my documents back with approval letters. Don't when the new visa is starting as my current visa expires on 15 Jan 2013 and I applied 2.5 months prior. The hall at the counters is very noisy and difficult to hear when your number is being called so keep an watch. Also, take photocopies of all documents as they need it.

[madmegnik]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 8,2012
3. Number of dependants: 0
4. Employment: Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave : Jan14, 2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Nov 8,2014
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Liverpool
9: Approval letter: Decision made in 2hours
10. BRP Received on: 12.11.2012

[meetravi]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 2, 2012
3. Number of dependants: 1
4. Employment: Self Employed
5. Payment mode : Debit Card
6. Name of PEO Applied : Solihull
7: Approval letter: Decision made in 2hours
8. BRP Received on: Nov 8, 2012


I had my appointment on Solihull, Birmingham Nov 2, 2012 at 9 AM. Reached around 8:30 AM. Security was kind and polite , checked the application form and gave us a token. Sharp 9 AM called by a case worker, She was talking very kind and polite. First she asked my Marriage certificate, then she came directly to the Past Earnings Page. She asked whether I am employed or self employed. I said I am a Director and employee of my company and as well I am an IT Contractor. She was convinced. She asked for Payslips, Dividend Vouchers along with Accountant Letter. She started calculating with her calculator even though computation was done by my accountant every month and I as well carried a spreadsheet excel. After matching the amount I mentioned in my application, she was convinced. Then she started asking for my Business Bank Statements, Personal Bank Statements, Invoices. She started verifying my Invoices, NI,VAT in my business bank statements and also verifying salary and dividend in Personal Bank statements. I highlighted everything with different marker for Salary ,NI,VAT. She also asked for Incorporation. I gave her Incorporation Cerificate, VAT , PAYEE Registration, UTR Number from HMRC.She was really happy and she was asking for maintenance. I had a letter from bank for maintenance and I said I used the same Personal Account. Then I said her I have some few points to add on. I said I am applying two weeks early and requested to give visa from expiry because I have some business travel within next three weeks and I had proofs like Business Invitation letter etc... She said she may need to check with her manager and took all the proofs I gave. She went for 5 minutes to discuss and she said since you have some valid reasons so its fine. She asked do you have Photocopy, I gladly had everything except my passport photocopy. She was really happy to see that and took everything. We thanked and requested for my visa from expiry and she said it was fine.Moved to Payment counter, there was a shock waiting for us, We gave the Bankers Draft they said they dont accept in solihull, they comforted not to panic and they said go to the bank and transfer it to your account and pay it by card. Then gave cheque and also not accepted, so took time to find the Natwest Bank from the security and cleared the draft but bank said it will take 5 days to clear. Then luckily had some money in other accounts, transfered everything to a single account and paid using my debit card. Waited for BRP, Very kind lady was there in biometrics room, she was talking about solihull and other stuffs and made ourselves cool. Biometrics went sweet without any hardware failures. Then we asked to go out for an hour and half or two hours to come back. We came back after an hour and half visa letters were ready we collected from security.After four business days got my visa in courier from the expiry date

On the whole I will say Solihull experience was amazing for the polite and courteous staff. I will give 5 Star Rating for their service and speedy process .Gave a nice feedback to them while returning.

Good Luck to all the people who are planning to apply and thanks so much for the forum and other senior members like sushdmetha and all in guiding us in each and every step we need to do.

[jilka007]

Visa: Tier 1 General Extension
PEO: Croydon
Date of Application: 06-Nov-2012
Appointment Time: 8:45 AM
Representative: No
Mode of Payment: Debit Card
** Bankers draft rejected for the reason, it does not say Pounds in words.
If you are using Debit Cards make sure your bank has enough limits in the card to pay the Visa fees.
Time of approval: 10:30 AM (On the same day) All original documents returned
Expiry Date: Feb 2013
Extension Granted until: Feb 2016
BRP Card Received: 8-Nov-2012
Supporting Documents: 12 Months Salary and Required Maintenance statements, straight forward.
No questions asked.

[aayushd]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 16,2012 @ 8:45 am
3. Number of dependants: 1
4. Employment: Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave : Jan 1, 2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Jan 1, 2016
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
9: Approval letter: Decision made in 3 hours
10. BRP Received on: 28/11/2012 ( Courier company claims that tried to deliver it on 21/11/2012 but no one was at home - which is not correct )

Thanks to all the moderators, active members of this forum.

Good luck to all for their appointments.

[rtp2111]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1 General
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 19,2012 @ 8:45 am
3. Number of dependants: 0
4. Employment: Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave : Jan 7, 2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Jan 7, 2016
7. Payment mode : Bankers Draft
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
9: Approval letter: Given on same day.
10. BRP Received on: Received on 21Nov

Biometic system was facing an 'IT issue' in the morning due to which the whole process was delayed. It was fixed (glad it did fix!!!) after about 1PM.
My case was quite straight forward and the case worker approved it without any questions.

Thanks to this forum..you are doing a great job.

[anilkmanu]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1 General
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 22,2012 @ 8:20 am
3. Number of dependants: 1
4. Employment: Employed (Contractor through Ltd. Company)
5. Date of expiry of current leave : Dec 17, 2012
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Dec 17, 2015
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
9: Approval letter: Given on same day.
10. BRP Received on: Nov 26, 2012

Stop 1 - Entrance:
The doors opened by 7:45 AM and people were let in. Though my appointment was only at 8:20, I was able to get in

Stop 2 - Security:
Typical airport style security check

Stop 3 - Token Issue:
Here your documents & appointment are checked by someone at one of the counters
They seal with today’s date & give you a token number, mine was 7

Stop 4 - Payment:
They take the payment sheets from the application form and collect the payment
The lady at the counter was very helpful
My payment required an authorization & hence she had to call the bank to verify my details
Went fine in the end

Stop 5 - Document check:
You need to wait for your token number to be called
Here another lady at the counter collected my application forms & entered details that probably are used for biometric appointment
Didn’t take more than 5 minutes

Stop 6 - Biometrics:
You need to wait for your token number to be called
Biometrics taken individually - 4 fingers of right hand, 4 fingers of left hand & then both thumbs together
Took about 15 minutes for both of us

Stop 7 - Case Evaluation:
This is in the 2nd floor of the office
Note that until know token numbers are called sequentially
For the case evaluation, your token numbers are called as and when the biometrics are available

Went to the counter and there was a gentle man who collected the application forms. Some of the questions are as below
1. Are you employed or self employed?
2. Are you applying for a work permit?
3. Has your company been registered with the companies house?
4. Is your accountant approved by the Home Office?
5. How often do you take dividends?
6. Are you claiming net or gross dividends for the earning calculation?
7. Do you have any contract letters?
8. How do you pay the NI & tax contributions? From personal account or business account
9. Do you have personal tax return statements?
10. Can I see your company accounts?

For all the originals he wanted to know whether I had photocopies. I had copies for a few but he was happy to take copies himself for items that I didn’t have copies for
He also gave me an opportunity to handle additional documents that I felt are useful for the case. Once I handed all the documents he said it would take about an hour for him to evaluate all of them. He said Yes when I asked whether I could leave the building & come back after an hour. Hence i went out and spent an hour in the shopping centre/high street across the road
I came back after 45 mins. Had to go through security again & went back to the 2nd floor and sat close to the counter that was evaluating my case.

He took another 20 mins after I came back. Called me & said that he was happy to extend my stay for another 3 years. He handed back all originals & asked us to sign the extension sheets after we review the details. After that he handed the extension letters & said the BRP would come in about a week. The case worker was very friendly & calm throughout the process

I was in the office at 7:50 AM & my approval letters were ready by 10:45.
Please PM me if you have any questions

[strangerinblack]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier1 General
2. Date of PEO Appointment : Nov 22,2012 @ 10.00 am
3. Number of dependants: 0
4. Employment: Employed
5. Date of expiry of current leave : Feb 2, 2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : Feb 2, 2016
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Cardiff
9: Approval letter: Decision made in 3 hours. Received same day.
10. BRP Received on: Nov 26, 2012

Good luck to you all !

[trek]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1 (General) BRP
2. Date of PEO Appointment for Extension: 13.11.2012
3. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 05.01.2012
4. Date of expiry of the new visa : 05.01.2016
5. Payment mode : Debit Card
6. Name of PEO Applied : PEO Croydon

Decision Taken in 30 mins.

Was Informed the BRP will reach by 7 working days.
Recieved BRP in 3 days (with Incorrect validity date)
Recieved Corrected BRP in 13 days.

For details on BRP correction please refer following link
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?p=742180#742180 [page 2]

Regards,
Trek

[slider143]

Hi all,
1.Tier1 gen
2.peo@ belfast 07.12.12:employed&self-employed
3.current visa expires jan4 2013
4.new visa expiry jan4 2016
5.payment debit card
6.belfast decision made in 1 hr -approved

[svuk]

1. Current vignette HSMP / Tier 1 : Tier 1 (G)
2. Date of PEO Appointment : 8-Dec-2012
3. Number of dependants: 1
4. Employment: Salaried employment
5. Date of expiry of current leave (visa) : 18Feb2013
6. Date of expiry of the new visa : 18Feb2015
7. Payment mode : Debit Card
8. Name of PEO Applied : Glasgow
9: Approval letter: Given on the same day after 60min waiting
10. BRP Received on: still waiting