I would like to share my experience with those who are still in the process of applying for ILR.
I have added some things which I hope will help others (some of which I was not sure of when I applied).
I applied for my ILR based on 5 year route married to a BC.
I entered the UK on a spouse visa on the 5th of May 2014, I submitted and payed online for my application on the 12th of April 2019 (this is considered my date of application to the Home Office). This is within the 28 day rule.
You can start your online application at any time and log back in to change/update details. Once you submit and pay, you cannot change your application, so make sure you have checked all the information and that you are eligible to apply!
The online form is generally straight forward although there were some things I wasn’t sure about.
It asked how long I had I been living in the UK, for this I put 4 years and 11 months. Not the full 5 years because at the time of my application I hadn’t been in the UK for 5 years yet.
Regarding the financial requirement I selected ‘Not the same amount continuously, above the financial requirement amount’. Both my husband and I had received annual increases in the last 6 months. Because of this I was asked to provide 12 months bank statements and 12 payslips. I also put the lowest amount earned during those 12 months as it was above the financial requirement anyway.
There was a declaration within the online form, which my husband had to fill out and sign as my spouse.
A checklist of documents was provided at the end (you can print this out at a later stage).
There were two options for payment, I chose the super priority.
After payment I was then directed to Sopra’s (UKVCAS) website, where I had to create an account and book an appointment for bio metrics. There were no free appointments at the Croydon office for over 3 weeks so I paid £100 to attend a Saturday appointment.
Once I logged in I could upload my documents under different categories.
Mandatory documents for xxxxxx
Proof of identity/Travel History
Proof of application
Optional documents
Other
Residence in UK
Finances
Proof of Business
Life events
Medical information
Sponsors/Employment
Educational
Suggestion is to keep the documents under 6MB. I submitted 37 documents in total.
My bio metric appointment took a total of 15 mins. Photo, finger prints and signature are done via a self-serve machine. Staff are at hand to help. Do yourself a favour and upload ALL your documents before the appointment, it will save loads of time. I took all my originals with me in case something needed to be re scanned. The staff at UKVCAS work according to a checklist. The lady handling my documents asked me to confirm the documents I was submitting and then ask if she could submit to the Home Office.
I did notice that on my checklist that there was no mention of my English language requirement. I think this is a system issue with the online application process. So make sure you submit your English requirement, as it is definitely a requirement. I also uploaded the family declaration form (which was not on the checklist) to give the Home Office permission to carry out any checks on the information I provided. I signed the 1st part and my husband signed the 2nd part.
I paid for priority service, but as I attended the bio metric appointment on a Saturday, my application would only be looked at the following working day. In most cases this will be a Monday but where there is a bank holiday it will be Tuesday. For example, a Saturday 11:30 appointment will be deemed as attended on Monday at 11:30 and the decision completed and dispatched within 24 hours.
I received an email with approval the same day my application was being considered. So it was less than 24 hours.
Permit delivered by DX Delivery, two days later.
One last note, every application is different and everyone will have varied experiences.
I hope my post will help someone.
Best of luck to all those still in the process.
