10 years long residence applications

[kiwigirl25]

You can either take hope in what I'm about to say or dismiss it.

It appears that the UKBA have started processing my application. As some of you know I applied under the long term basis in mid-January. It is my 5 month anniversary this week. So it could be my news is an indicator to other January applicants that UKBA have reached their January "pile".

I received a bizarre e-mail from my former employers which I dismissed as it made no sense and filed it away to deal with later. Now I've put it in to context of my ILR application it makes complete sense. I may be reading something into nothing but my ex-employers shouldn't want anything to do with me as became history to them 6 months ago

[durian]

I fully agree that international students contribute significantly to the local economy. Some of our fees were just exorbitant! They can always say that it was our choice anyway My feeling is that 10 year student applications may be more difficult for caseworkers to process because it doesn't 'fit' nicely with the more prescriptive HSMP/work permit route.

[optimist_eternal]

Are we students (entire duration of stay in the UK under student visa category) applying under 10 year continuous legal stay ILR category children of a lesser God that we are, perhaps, accorded such step motherly treatment by the UKBA? When it comes to processing ILR aplications, we are, it appears, always relegated to being the last in the 'queue' (in the category of applicants applying under legal stay ILR in the UK).

What have we done to deserve being kept on tenterhooks for months on end?

Have we not paid thousands of pounds in tuition fees? According to 'Immigration and asylum statistics released - UKBA (August 2009)', International students contribute nearly £2.5 billion by way of tuition fees alone and their overall contribution to the UK economy may be to the tune of £8.5 billion.

10 years of continuous legal stay in the UK only to be then asked to wait endlessly after applying for ILR. In the eyes of the UKBA it appears 'all ILR applicants may be equal but some categories of ILR applicants may be more equal than the others'.

Would there be no hope of an early light at the end of the tunnel in the days to come?

[Beige]

Soz, angry day today.

I know not funny, but that was me last week. Its the helpless feeling that really gets me

[coolboyuk]

may be we should all get anger management therapy

another week is here , but nothing happening....................

[zara5]

I agree, a mistake on their part. They probably key the number in once and if it doesn't go through they don't bother to check if they've keyed it correctly. They don't care, we're only stupid foreigners whose lives that they have absolute power over. Do what they want that will delay our applications

Soz, angry day today. [/quote]

i know how you feel ! trust me i get more angry with each passing day. Its pathetic they can take so much money from us and not even give proper feedbacks.

[kiwigirl25]

Thanks powermatic
I have checked all card details and they are ok, I think my bank might have declined their transaction. Now I have sent application form again with cheque to address which case worker gave me in letter. So I hope this time they will be able to take payment and able to process my application, will see how long they take.

superstar,

hi..one of my friend's applied for an extension to his student visa. they said exactly the same thing to him. when he checked his details they were accurate. i guess its a mistake on their part.

I agree, a mistake on their part. They probably key the number in once and if it doesn't go through they don't bother to check if they've keyed it correctly. They don't care, we're only stupid foreigners whose lives that they have absolute power over. Do what they want that will delay our applications

Soz, angry day today.

[zara5]

Thanks powermatic
I have checked all card details and they are ok, I think my bank might have declined their transaction. Now I have sent application form again with cheque to address which case worker gave me in letter. So I hope this time they will be able to take payment and able to process my application, will see how long they take.

superstar,

hi..one of my friend's applied for an extension to his student visa. they said exactly the same thing to him. when he checked his details they were accurate. i guess its a mistake on their part.

[Beige]

RECEIVED APPLICATIONS (2010 Applicants):
london101 applied 8/01/10 received 15/04/10 WAITED FOR 13.6 weeks [7 year student + 3 years Work permit/Tier 1]
Sa applied 04/02/10 received 06/05/10 WAITED FOR 13 weeks [10 year Work permit + HSMP]
Osteophytes applied 27/04/10 recieved 08/06/10 WAITED FOR 6 weeks [7yr PFT + 2 yr WP + 1yr Tier 1]


STILL PENDING: under 10 years lawful SET(O)category

August 2009

sr applied 17/08/09 and is still waiting now: 42 weeks

December 2009

Cloudstar applied 18/12/2009 and is still waiting now: 25.4 weeks [10 year student]

January 2010

Beige applied 11/01/2010 and is still waiting: now 22 weeks [10 Year Student]
pv applied 20/01/2010 and is still waiting: now 20.7 weeks
chiko14june applied 20/01/2010 and is still waiting: now 20.7 weeks
coolboyuk applied 22/01/10 and is still waiting: now 20.4 weeks[10 Year Student]


Febuary 2010

danny58 applied 02/02/10 and is still waiting: now 18.9 weeks [10 year student]
yeezhexiang applied 08/02/10 and is still waiting: now 18 weeks
graham834 applied 09/02/10 and is still waiting: now 17.9 weeks
ILR-2010 applied 09/02/10 and is still waiting: now 17.9 weeks[10 Year Student]
ppman applied 12/02/2010 and is still waiting: now 17.6 weeks
DA375 applied 18/02/10 and is still waiting: now 16.5 weeks
aman5 applied 25/02/10 and is still waiting: now 15.5 weeks


March 2010

Geostar2010 applied 09/03/10 and is still waiting: now 13.9 weeks [10 year STUDENT]
Powermatic applied 09/03/10 and is still waiting: now 13.9 weeks [10 year STUDENT/STUDENT dependent]
mala applied 29/03/2010 and is still waiting: now 11 weeks


April 2010

zeddie applied 05/04/10 and is still waiting: now 10 weeks [7 year STUDENT/ 3 year WP/Tier 1]
Devonian applied 22/04/10 and is still waiting: now 7.5 weeks


May 2010

Superstar applied 10/05/10 and is still waiting: now 5 weeks [10 year STUDENT]
sam_lam15 applied 11/05/10 and is still waiting now: 4.9 weeks
durian applied 29/05/10 and is still waiting now: 2.3 weeks [4 years student + 6 years various]

June 2010

Hrushiuk applied 01/06/2010 and is still waiting now: 1.9 weeks [6year student/4 year WP]
Sticagus applied 07/06/2010 and is still waiting now: 1 weeks [9 year student + 1 year Tier 1 dependant]

[superstar]

Thanks visa4ukonline
I have already sent my application with cheque so lets see how it gose this time.

Hope everything goes well for you. All the best.

thanks verymuch

[visa4ukonline]

Thanks visa4ukonline
I have already sent my application with cheque so lets see how it gose this time.

Hope everything goes well for you. All the best.

[superstar]

Thanks visa4ukonline
I have already sent my application with cheque so lets see how it gose this time.

[visa4ukonline]

hi every 1
ok today i received my passport in post and i was sure that they cant stampe it in less then 5 weeks because my payment wasnt gone thorugh. when i opend the envelope it said same that they cant process it because payment didnt go through. now they have asked me to send them my application form again to liverpool address not the application form's adddress.

could anyone put some light, that which payment mathod is good to pay now because i am not going to pay again with credit or debit card.

regards

Postal order for sure. You cant go wrong with it. Yes its a bit expensive but could have saved you the lost 5 weeks already. So dont take any more risks and simply go for the postal order.

[superstar]

Thanks powermatic
I have checked all card details and they are ok, I think my bank might have declined their transaction. Now I have sent application form again with cheque to address which case worker gave me in letter. So I hope this time they will be able to take payment and able to process my application, will see how long they take.

[powermatic]

hi every 1
ok today i received my passport in post and i was sure that they cant stampe it in less then 5 weeks because my payment wasnt gone thorugh. when i opend the envelope it said same that they cant process it because payment didnt go through. now they have asked me to send them my application form again to liverpool address not the application form's adddress.

could anyone put some light, that which payment mathod is good to pay now because i am not going to pay again with credit or debit card.

regards

now you can pay with postal order or with cheque if you have a cheque book
There is also a posibility that you wrote down a wrong card number in the application form or wrong expiry date for example... did they return your form? check that what you wrote down was correct if you have one or if you made a coppy of it.

[superstar]

hi every 1
ok today i received my passport in post and i was sure that they cant stampe it in less then 5 weeks because my payment wasnt gone thorugh. when i opend the envelope it said same that they cant process it because payment didnt go through. now they have asked me to send them my application form again to liverpool address not the application form's adddress.

could anyone put some light, that which payment mathod is good to pay now because i am not going to pay again with credit or debit card.

regards

[powermatic]

Beige,
thanks for updating the list - can you please correct my waiting time to 13 weeks please as one week was missed. Please do it when you will be adding someone new next time - Thanks in advance
so, next week I will try to call UKBA - wish me luck...

Sorry about that, its all updated now . Good luck with the UKBA!!

Thanks

[powermatic]

well, let me tell you my friends about myself in short...
I am writing here on behalf of my husband - he made application for ILR. we both came to UK as students. He studied for the first 4 years and then the rest 6 he was on the dependent visa - was allowed to work full-time, was actually working really hard. He did not hide a single penny from the governent and made all relevant Tax contributions. Now, he is currently really well established in the UK, and will have no difficulty in settling in the UK permanently, and , certainly, now that I graduated from my university too, we have no plans to claim benefits.
In addition, he applied for HSMP, which was approved in the UK but we decided it was not worth it to go back home to get the actual visa stamped, so although it was approved innitially, he never applied for the actual stamp. Now knowing that those who have a combination of one status plus work permit or HSMP get faster response, I really regret that we did not apply for visa to be stamped. But all I was trying to say is that he is well qualified and has a very good work experience - It is a real shame that we are made to wait this long... we used to go home every summer for a month, and, in addition, my cousin is getting married in August... it is really sad that we currently cant make any travel arrangements

[Beige]

I'm just fed up with having to continously speculate about the way they process applications. I just don't think its fair to keep people waiting for endless periods of time without giving specific reasons why.

How can an application be in process for longer than 14 weeks? What sort of processing is that?! It makes sense if they have a lot of cases to deal with but why can't they tell you that? Moreover how they can they process applications that have been recently sent to them as opposed to applications that have been sent ages before without giving good reason. They just tell you each application is dealt with on an individual basis. That would make sense if one application was complicated but another wasn't. When they're both straightforward, it makes you begin to wonder whether its a case of one caseworker being daft and another having common sense.

Sorry for this rant! But I think the whole situation just really got to me today. Its soo annoying because even when you speak to the staff they just give you stupid answers. They might as well shut down their progress enquiry centers, they get paid to read of their computers. It makes more sense for them to deal with applications, maybe that way peple won't have to wait for unreasonable amounts of time! Arggghh!!

[kiwigirl25]

I tried doing that, but my uni admin told me they cannot discuss any communications made between them and the UKBA; even though I tried to explain I didn't care about the content of their conversation. So annoying!

I'm lost for words.

I think it could potentially be because those with work permits/other work visas can show that they are contributing to the economy, paying taxes e.t.c. They may be worried that people still studying will start applying for benefits or something.... Just my opinion really.

I'm also really starting to think there's a 'luck factor' involved.

But you have contributed to the economy. You've paid full tution fees; you buy goods & services and pay bills; you hold a UK bank account ... all these items are taxed. Also most universities rely on foreign students tution fees to keep afloat. They certainly do in NZ. I know you personally don't work but the other students here do.

I think it's luck. Whatever unit your application gets assigned to, unfortunately it looks like ours got assigned to the busiest or ...erm... the slowest

[durian]

Thanks for the welcome Beige.

I think it could potentially be because those with work permits/other work visas can show that they are contributing to the economy, paying taxes e.t.c. They may be worried that people still studying will start applying for benefits or something.... Just my opinion really.

I'm also really starting to think there's a 'luck factor' involved.

I think you're right. Luck plays a role in which caseworker we get. The way I see it, whilst they all work according to the same guidelines, there will be slight variations on how they are interpreted. With an organisation such as the UKBA, I think it's not far-fetched to think that there may still be slight variations on the interpretation of the guidelines, eg based on who the caseworkers were trained by etc.

Hope I get a reasonable one! My visa doesn't expire until 2012 but I applied now as I don't want to get caught out by any unexpected changes that may be introduced before then.

[faismala]

To the 10 year students that are still waiting:

It seems to me that UKBA contact the universities and colleges you attend to gain clarification of your status. So have any of you who are still waiting made contact with the uni admin office to see if UKBA have contacted them?

I tried doing that, but my uni admin told me they cannot discuss any communications made between them and the UKBA; even though I tried to explain I didn't care about the content of their conversation. So annoying!

Further to powermatic's point about students waiting longer than work permit applicants, I'm trying to work out exactly why that may be. Just a thought....

I think it could potentially be because those with work permits/other work visas can show that they are contributing to the economy, paying taxes e.t.c. They may be worried that people still studying will start applying for benefits or something.... Just my opinion really.

I'm also really starting to think there's a 'luck factor' involved.

What if someone has applied for ilr after 4- 5 months after their course finishes, which is pre tier 4 .Do ukba still check to the college/uni that if i have studied there because i did not study in the college in which i got extension instead, i studied directly in the uni ,because in 2008 u can change your education provider , by sending ukba a letter that u r changing the college or uni(although u dont get any acknowledgement). One of my friend got ilr in 2008, the college said nobody contacted them from ukba about my friend studies.So,people plz tell me Do i need to start another course or what? and can i work full time ornot?

[Beige]

To the 10 year students that are still waiting:

It seems to me that UKBA contact the universities and colleges you attend to gain clarification of your status. So have any of you who are still waiting made contact with the uni admin office to see if UKBA have contacted them?

I tried doing that, but my uni admin told me they cannot discuss any communications made between them and the UKBA; even though I tried to explain I didn't care about the content of their conversation. So annoying!

Further to powermatic's point about students waiting longer than work permit applicants, I'm trying to work out exactly why that may be. Just a thought....

I think it could potentially be because those with work permits/other work visas can show that they are contributing to the economy, paying taxes e.t.c. They may be worried that people still studying will start applying for benefits or something.... Just my opinion really.

I'm also really starting to think there's a 'luck factor' involved.

[kiwigirl25]

To the 10 year students that are still waiting:

It seems to me that UKBA contact the universities and colleges you attend to gain clarification of your status. So have any of you who are still waiting made contact with the uni admin office to see if UKBA have contacted them? There is a possibility that they either; have and sent a response; have and haven't replied yet (that way you can hurry them along); or haven't therefore your application is still pending.

Further to powermatic's point about students waiting longer than work permit applicants, I'm trying to work out exactly why that may be.

Just a thought....

[Beige]

Beige,
thanks for updating the list - can you please correct my waiting time to 13 weeks please as one week was missed. Please do it when you will be adding someone new next time - Thanks in advance
so, next week I will try to call UKBA - wish me luck...

Sorry about that, its all updated now . Good luck with the UKBA!!