ILR/SET(M) Success - PEO Solihull

Doesn't feel like almost 2 years since I posted FLR(M) success...

Anyway, my wife received her ILR on Monday from PEO Solihull. Fairly painless procedure. Yet again, they weren't interested in statements for savings accounts or payslips, just 3 months bank statements.

When it came to evidence, we put together 20 individual letters (all were in joint names) from 7 different sources:

* Gas and Electric (3 letters each - 6 letters)
* Water (2 letters)
* Council Tax (2 letters)
* Tenancy agreement (we live in private rented accomodation) (3 contracts)
* House Insurance (Year 1) - (2 letters)
* House Insurance (Year 2, change of provider) - (1 letter)
* Joint bank account (we just used this to pay food bills so we could keep our own accounts and have another piece of joint evidence) - (4 letters)

We clipped the evidence together, with the letters in chronological order and a front sheet with a table (months on the side and evidence type along the top) and ticks showing that the evidence was spread fairly evenly across the 2 years. The officer was pleased with this as "it made her life a little easier".

I was quite surprised at how thin the evidence ended up being (even so, I had every other letter we collected in a different folder in my bag, just in case! )

Interestingly, she asked whether we had applied for a COA and when we said "Yes", she said "Oh yes, I can see it on the screen". Not sure why the procedure is telling her to ask this at SET(M) stage...

She asked the standard questions, told us to pay at the counter. Unfortunately, as it was the last session in the afternoon and it was getting late, they didn't have time to print the visa itself. So they sent the passport back the next day using Special Delivery and it arrived this morning

I forgot to say yesterday, many thanks to John for his advice, especially two years ago, when we were waiting for the COA to arrive

Congratulations! Glad it worked out. and thanks for the comment. The PEO at Solihull ... where the ILRs were granted for my wife and step-daughter back in 2002!

Looking back at your earliest post .... this topic .... I see that your wife has been in the UK for a number of years. So now she has her ILR, is the intention for her to move on immediately and apply for her Naturalisation as British? After all, she is married to a British Citizen ... you ... so no need for the ILR to be held for any particular length of time.

And given she needed to provide a pass certificate from the Citizenship Test in order to get the ILR, of course no need for her now to take that test. Application immediately possible ... just ensure that she was physically in the UK exactly 3 years before BIA receive the application.

Oh yes, she followed all your advice. We have an NCS appointment booked in Northampton (I know it's not necessary, but she wants to hold on to her passport in case she needs to travel).

Also, as you suggested, she passed her Life in the UK test last year (why wait) before it became part of ILR, which turned out to be handy in the end!

And when the Naturalisation application will be submitted she will have been present 3 years ago.

Thanks again!

John, what a fountain of knowledge you are !!!
Just help me out, if you hold ILR/ILE do you still need to do the citzenship test or can you go on and apply for naturalization after I have completed my 3 years.Mine was granted in 2005. tick tick 1 year to go...
mads

Mads, back in February in a different topic you posted :-

I am on a south african passport (with a uk settlement visa) living with my husband who is british in the united kingdom

So you have your indefinite leave so once you have been in the UK for 3 years you can apply for Naturalisation (but see below). Actually the test is as simple as "the applicant was physically present in the UK exactly 3 years before BIA receive the application".

It is now the case that a pass certificate from the Citizenship Test (or for those of below-average language ability, a completion certificate from a combined ESOL?Citizenship course) needs to be submitted .... unless in respect of an ILR application or or after 02.04.07 such certificate was already supplied for that ILR application.

So Mads, in respect of jjustyy's wife, she has just got her ILR, so supplied the certificate to get that ILR, so she does not need to supply it again when making the Naturalisation application. However for you Mads, you have not yet done the Citizenship Test, so it is a requirement for you to enclose a pass certificate when you apply for Naturalisation.

You are South African. If you want to retain your SA Citizenship, I think you need to apply to the SA HC in London for permission to retain SA Citizenship when you apply for and get British Citizenship.

Fantastic, glad to hear it's all gone well!

thanks John
if you see my other post (on getting my daughter registered at the SA embassy for dual citzenship) it looks like I might be heading down to London anyways next year
I am in no hurry as my visa is valid until my passport expiry date which is 2015 but I think i might have to sell my house by then to afford the ever rising fees.
Might as well get it all over and done with.
mads

Hi,

My wife will be here in the UK for exactly 2 years in may 2008, i have in the meantime been collating all the sufficient evidence required to prove we share our lives together.

I noticed from the above post the mention of a "COA" can i ask what this is, also my wife is studying an ESOL course will this help in her application, and what other test does she need to complete?

Thanks in advance!!

Hi Shaffi,

Don't worry about the COA comment - a COA is a Certificate of Approval, which you need if you marry or register a civil partnership in the UK if one or both of you are from overseas. This is what we had done, so they were just checking this on the system.

According to the SET(M) application, ESOL is ok for the language requirement if it is either:

* An ESOL “Skills for Lifeâ€

Thanks for this info "JJUSTYY" i think the ESOL course my wife is doing is one u mentioned. sorry 1 more question what is the cost for ILR at present?

ta

The current cost is £750 by post and £950 same-day at a PEO.

a COA is a Certificate of Approval, which you need if you marry or register a civil partnership in the UK if one or both of you are from overseas

This is actually a matter of debate at the moment. The Home Office has recently lost a case in the Court of Appeal relating to whether the whole CoA regime is legal or not. But still no message on the HO or BIA websites about what they intend to do next.

John wrote:

a COA is a Certificate of Approval, which you need if you marry or register a civil partnership in the UK if one or both of you are from overseas

This is actually a matter of debate at the moment. The Home Office has recently lost a case in the Court of Appeal relating to whether the whole CoA regime is legal or not. But still no message on the HO or BIA websites about what they intend to do next.

It will be interesting to see what happens that's for sure...