Thanks to this forum, I was able to immigrate to the UK in June 2004 under the old 1 + 3 system Timeline June 2004: 1 Year HSMP, entered UK and started cohabiting with my then girlfriend, now wife, an Irish citizen living in England since 2000 June 2005: 3 year FLR extension to HSMP July 2007: Marri...

I have a colleague (UK citizen, Indian Citizen overseas) who is returning to Chennai, India for personal reasons. He has been given the opportunity to retain his current position (as a software developer at a major bank) if he can figure out how to work remotely legally. Is anybody in this forum fam...

Whilst recognising the factor of saving £750, do you appreciate that if you switch to the EU route that your UK immigration clock will be reset back to zero? I hadn't realized that. This is very useful information! What would happen if I switched to a work permit? As I understand it, this would no...

I am a US citizen who entered the UK on a 1 year HSMP in June 2004, got a 3 year FLR in June 2005 and married an Irish citizen in August 2007. My FLR expires in June 2008. I have been continuously employed and continuously living with my (now) wife since entry. I qualify for the Tier 1 visa, but I'd...

I'm a US citizen living in the UK (on HSMP/FLR, soon to be ILR) I married an Irish citizen last year and live with her in London. We have no current plans to move to the US, but may in a year or two and would like to avoid the issue of having to wait for visas at that time. Is it possible to apply f...

In my case the payslips I get from my company are PDFs, I printed them out and included them along with my bank statements, appointment letter and year end summary of earnings and and got an approval with no delay, so I don't think there should be any problem in your case. As always, good organizati...

Vayu, You'll need to fill out the FLR (IED) from http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/documents/all_forms.html The guidance says no sooner than 5 weeks, but http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/schemes_and_programmes/hsmp/highly_skilled_migrant.html? still ...

I believe you will be classified as an overseas student until you get settled status (ILR) which you can qualify for only after 4 years. It's best to check with the particular institutions you wish to study with as they will know the law better as it applies to their program. Here is an example from...

10 May 05 Sent application via royal mail special delivery 11 May 05 application received 12 May 05 payment deducted 18 May 05 received passport with residency permit with 3 year LTR (3 years from date of HSMP expiry) and original documents I included short cover letter saying which documents applie...

The Home Office averages 33 applications processed per day (including weekends and holidays) your application will take a bit over 7 months to process. You can get a personalized estimate at the "Processing Times Estimator" on the spreadsheet at http://home.earthlink.net/~another_michael/hsmp.xls

Sorry for the long delay. Please post in this topic if there are any updates you wish to make.

The Los Angeles office asked for the documents plus a photocopy and kept the photocopy.

In case anybody was wondering... I'm around, but my employer and the internet cafe I use don't allow outbound FTP to update my web site and I haven't gotten around to getting a computer yet. I am still keeping my local copy up to date and I'll get it out before too long. Otherwise things are going v...

I'd say as straightforward as possible, referencing the sections for which each document is relevant (also order the documents in this order). You can see my covering letter (which was part of a successful application) at http://home.earthlink.net/~another_michael/hsmp.doc

Best of luck.

One of my banks (Wescom Credit Union) was able to change my address to the UK and I've received my statements on time at my UK address (they apparently mail them from Germany). For my other bank and credit cards I am using a relative's US address and getting all of my statements online. It's actuall...

I'd recommend Carphone Warehouse (all over London or online) I got a Vodaphone pay as you go phone for £40 and the clerk was very helpful.

According to the projections from my spreadsheet http://home.earthlink.net/~another_michael/hsmp.xls you can expect a decision around 3 July plus mailing time.

My website is down temporarily (it was free from my previous employer and I need to start paying for it... I'll have it back up by the end of the week).

In other news, I've landed in London and hope to have a job quite soon.

My estimate if you applied today would be 22 weeks processing time. See the "Processing time estimator" tab on the excel spreadsheet in the sticky topic.

I would say you can expect the decision around 3 July + mailing time. See the "Processing Time Estimator" tab of http://home.earthlink.net/~another_michael/hsmp.xls

I took 3 months of bank statements as requested. My bank statements showed £9000 for this month and £4000 the previous two months. The officer didn't ask any questions regarding the statements.

What is enough is going to vary from location to location and from interviewer to interviewer. As I noted, in my case I filled out the VAF1 and included in there the requested details about where I'd be staying. I brought along the accomodation letter and some additional documentation not related to...

1 year, starting 17 June 2004, expires 17 June 2005

I'm going to be staying with a friend, so I chose that option.

The accomodation letter (which I did include in the original HSMP application but was not asked to show for the EC interview) says: To Whom it May Concern: Michael C___ will be residing with me at: 8 H____ W_____ London E3 ____ from the time of his entry into England until he moves into his own flat...