Hello all,
I have been member of this forum God knows how many years and I think this is the only forum which has proved time and again very helpful regarding different immigration queries and getting first hand experience of others users who are on the same immigration route. Ever since I got the British passport (it's been more than 2 years now) I have been less active but for last one month or so I have been scanning this particular thread as my wife had her FLR-M appointment today at Solihull PEO (2nd extension - 5 yr route). (**By the way hats off to a gentleman above who fought his case for almost 3 years! You sir are man of steel**)
I thought to share our experience and give something back to this forum for the benefit of other users. I am glad to share this that her extension has been extended up until Sept 2018 and I think she will qualify for ILR in May/Jun 2018. The whole procedure took in total approx. 4 hours. The staff at Solihull PEO was very nice and co-operative and I said to myself that why all these years I applied for my HSMP, Tier-1, Tier-1 extension, ILR etc. etc. through post and went through painful months and months of thinking what would be the outcome of my application. This was my first PEO experience and I would recommend to anyone out there who thinks his/her application is straight forward and all documentation has been provided as per related immigration rules then go Premium...I can't find any other reason to go by post unless you want to save some bucks (at the expense of headache) or you don't want to face Home office staff
?!?
Anyways, back to Solihull PEO. We arrived an hour before our appointment as I was a bit scared getting there late and they turning us back home. However, they will not let you in 10 mins before your appointment so be ready to kill your time by walking around town centre. We went through security (Airport style security, everything was thoroughly checked- even my wallet) and we were asked to wait in a waiting area (not too big, good enough for 15-20 people). My wife was then called and they confirmed fee has been paid and she has IHS reference etc. (Health surcharge). After like 10 minutes we were called at a counter where one of the case worker quickly scanned through our documents, forms and took photocopy of both passports. He then asked a mobile number in case they want to contact us and I provided mine. We were then asked to wait again. After like 10-12 minutes she was called to enrol her biometrics which also took 10 minutes. We were then told that our case is under consideration and will take couple of hours or more so we can go out if we want (to be honest there is not enough space to wait while new applicants are coming so its always better to leave otherwise they will ask you to leave
).. As we were feeling hungry we left and had our lunch etc. there is a John Lewis store nearby and we killed half of our time wandering around the 3-storey good ol' John Lewis. There is a cafe as well. I think we can now act as good salesman for JL as we are very well aware of about half of their catalogue ..
After spending like 3 hours we got a call but not on my mobile (which I provided the case worker) but on wife's phone
.. They asked to come back to the office. We rushed back, went through security and were then asked to wait. After like 5 minutes they asked to go to one of the counters where a case worker was waiting for us. We went to the counter where a lady case worker handed us our documents back and confirmed her visa has been extended and BRP will arrive in 5-7 days (almost all documents were returned except my company letter which was addressed to Home office). They will keep all letters which are addressed to them.
Now just to briefly list what we submitted:
- Passports, 2 wife photos, 1 my photo
- 11 photos of Wedding and some 20 odd photos of last 3 years with family, together etc (not sure if you need to submit these photos but i just did no harm in submitting)
- Marriage certificate (again maybe not necessary if you are going for extension but I didn't want to take any risk)
- Tenancy agreement (latest) with a letter from Letting agent confirming that we both are living at this address from so on so date and that the property is fit for x number of people
- Council Tax Bills (Both names)
- HSBC Bank statements for last 3 years (Join acct.)
- Water Bills for 3 years (Both names)
- Wife's NHS appointment letters
- Letter from GP confirming the registration status of both of us and our address
- Wife's dental appointment letters
- My dental appointment letters
- DVLA license wife
- Wife use to do shopping from an online clothes shop - attached all receipts of that shop as they had our address on it
- Electoral letters and postal cards both mine and wife
- Electric, gas, Sky, TV license, HM Revenue tax summary letters (my name)
- P60s
- Bank statements = 8 months (6 months are enough though)
- Salary slips = 8 months
- Letter from Company HR confirming my job title, salary, position and joining date etc.
- Letter from my Company Manager
- Cambridge ESOL PET test result (this was accepted today as it was accepted earlier in her previous application..otherwise it won't be accepted for new case)
Note: Regarding Bank statements if you get your statements every month by post like I do then there is no need to get them stamped. Also, if your salary slips come by post no need to get them stamped.
That was it! I did struggle initially to submit co-habitation letters for my wife as she does not have her name on so many things as she does not work and most of the DDs are set on my account. But, I think whatever we submitted today was enough to satisfy the case worker that we are in a genuine relationship. I will stress though to submit as many documents as possible to satisfy this requirement as this seems to be an important one.
Alright guys, I will take a break now up until Mid 2018
N.B: Any questions please do ask as I will visit this page for next few days and would be happy to help!
Not all those who wander are lost...
