Lost passport with ILR (issued by Heathrow Immigration 2000)

I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Denise T wrote:I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Make copies of passports in the future

republique, now how does that help the poster now? anyway they did make copies which were lost when the house was flooded

Denise
Your 3 daughters must have been through school / work etc and these institutions might have made copies of their passports and stamps. Also if they have bank accounts the banks might also have a record of it. Also if they have been in and out of the county in the 9years, the immigration officials should have records of when they came in.

Is it the 3 having the problem (i am assuming the one with UK passport is ok) or just the 2

f2k wrote:republique, now does that help the poster now? anyway they did make copies which were lost when the house was flooded

Denise
Your 3 daughters must have been through school / work etc and these institutions might have made copies of their passports and stamps. Also if they have bank accounts the banks might also have a record of it. Also if they have been in and out of the county in the 9years, the immigration officials should have records of when they came in.

Is it the 3 having the problem (i am assuming the one with UK passport is ok) or just the 2

Yeah and my copies are also a pdf file. It helps because maybe they did make copies they forgot about or at least maybe they wont make the same mistake twice.
There is no threshold that comments need to meet your seal of approval so drop it.

f2k wrote:republique, now does that help the poster now?

It doesn't but he's a troll so it's in his nature (as his many postings and his "thin ice" status confirm).

Don't feed the trolls...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

MrBaboo wrote:

f2k wrote:republique, now does that help the poster now?

It doesn't but he's a troll so it's in his nature (as his many postings and his "thin ice" status confirm).

Don't feed the trolls...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

I am not a troll
Just because you don'tlike my comments doesn't make me one

Yeah and my copies are also a pdf file. It helps because maybe they did make copies they forgot about or at least maybe they wont make the same mistake twice.
There is no threshold that comments need to meet your seal of approval so drop it.

Classic!!!!!!
This one goes down in my annals of history!!!

Biggie.

I don't understand - you mean if ILR was granted around 10 years ago (or before), the Home Office has no record of it (i.e. the only evidence is the stamp in the passport?)

Would a subject access request help? it probably would involve a bit more searching of Home Office Immigration records than the persons you asked before did?, how about records from the British Consulate in your home country who issued the visas?

f2k wrote:republique, now how does that help the poster now? anyway they did make copies which were lost when the house was flooded

Denise
Your 3 daughters must have been through school / work etc and these institutions might have made copies of their passports and stamps. Also if they have bank accounts the banks might also have a record of it. Also if they have been in and out of the county in the 9years, the immigration officials should have records of when they came in.

Is it the 3 having the problem (i am assuming the one with UK passport is ok) or just the 2

Hi f2k,
It is the two daughters who have lost their passports experiencing the problems now. The daughter who still have her original passport is at uni, finishing her studies in a year.

I contacted schools, college, uni, doctors, etc. and all said that they do not keep copies of the visas.

The eldest daughter has been working since she arrived in the UK and none of her previous employers or the one employment agency she was registered with, has copies of the stamps in her passport. We also contacted the Local Jobcentre office who interviewed her and checked her eligibility to work in the UK. No copies were kept.

All 3 daughters have been travelling abroad over the 9 years and never had a problem coming back into the UK.

republique wrote:

Denise T wrote:I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Make copies of passports in the future

Hi republique,
Having "just a copy" is not good enough. My eldest daughter has copies as she was not resident in my home when the flood happened. She was told that it is not good enough as the copies were not certified by a notary public or solicitor and for all they know her copies could be falsified. In hindsight I agree, but we did not think of this before.

c1mth0g wrote:I don't understand - you mean if ILR was granted around 10 years ago (or before), the Home Office has no record of it (i.e. the only evidence is the stamp in the passport?)

Hi c1mth0g,
I came into the UK 6 months before the girls, and when they were to come through I believe that Heathrow Immigration interviewed them and with seeing the "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry" issued by the British High Commission in the country they came from, then stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".

I was told by Heathrow Immigration when I called them that this is an old system which is not used any longer and that it could be that a lot of the information is lost/expired/deleted when transferred into the new system.

Denise T wrote:

republique wrote:

Denise T wrote:I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Make copies of passports in the future

Hi republique,
Having "just a copy" is not good enough. My eldest daughter has copies as she was not resident in my home when the flood happened. She was told that it is not good enough as the copies were not certified by a notary public or solicitor and for all they know her copies could be falsified. In hindsight I agree, but we did not think of this before.

Of course certified copies are more probative but any copy is a start, because that means you have the identifying number of the visas and therefore can be tracked in the HO records.
You say that you have travelled and never been denied entry. Then it seems to me that you should get a SAR report and see what records the HO has on your movements and legal status.

Denise T:

Simple solution is to contact the Local BHC which issued the EC for your daughters and make a request for copies to be sent to you under the data protection act. I believe your daughters need to give their consent since they are over 18 years now. The danger is that, the records would have been "weeded" by now but at least there would be computer records of the kind of status granted to your 'kids' and this can be sent to the BIA with new passports for their current conditions to be transfered into their new travel document (via TOC Form).

Seondly, it would be wise for your daughters to make a SAB request each and with this info plus the one above, you can make your case to the HO for whatever purpose you desire.

Hope this helps.

The reason UKBA have no record of these persons' ILR is because they have not made any application or been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, so there will be no Home Office file. They came here with Indefinite Leave to Enter, which as the OP stated was endorsed by the Immigration Officer on arrival - if the system worked properly, there could be a record of Landing Cards confirming the arrival.
So if the OP contacts UKBA again she should ask for a search of Landing Card records, not of Home Office files. I guess the person who told the OP her daughters are "illegal" has little understanding of the law or knowledge of how things used to work.

Apart from that, the visa Central Record System should have a record of the visa issues in 1999, but only basic details, and it's extremely unlikely that the issuing office has kept the files or has any greater detail on record, but it's worth asking them.

Mr Rusty wrote:The reason UKBA have no record of these persons' ILR is because they have not made any application or been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, so there will be no Home Office file. They came here with Indefinite Leave to Enter, which as the OP stated was endorsed by the Immigration Officer on arrival - if the system worked properly, there could be a record of Landing Cards confirming the arrival.
So if the OP contacts UKBA again she should ask for a search of Landing Card records, not of Home Office files. I guess the person who told the OP her daughters are "illegal" has little understanding of the law or knowledge of how things used to work.

Apart from that, the visa Central Record System should have a record of the visa issues in 1999, but only basic details, and it's extremely unlikely that the issuing office has kept the files or has any greater detail on record, but it's worth asking them.

Mr Rusty, the BHC would not have the paper records since 10+ years is too far behind for them to keep these records but the basic computer records are kept. I have seen this based on an enquiry I made some time ago. These records plus the landing cards from a SAB request would help a great deal.

Unfortunately the landing cards would not have been kept as thry were only counted for statistical purposes.

UKBAbble wrote:Unfortunately the landing cards would not have been kept as thry were only counted for statistical purposes.

Certainly the case now, but in the days when the grant of Leave to Enter was imposed by the IO on arrival in the UK, the Landing Card was the only record of LTE, and for example where it was a child joining family I vaguely remember jotting the parents' details on the back. I'm sure such arrivals were recorded on the system, but maybe my memory's at fault.

Denise T wrote:I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Clearly a grossly irresponsible attitude towards document retention.

But the problem isn't with the Home Office, it's with your daughters, and they need to urgently consult with a good immigration solicitor.

I agree that approaching the Foreign Office is probably the best bet, as they should have records of the original application.

In particular - they must not leave the United Kingdom until this is sorted out. If they do, they could be stranded overseas. And they are also vulnerable to being fired by their employers if they cannot prove that they are legally in the United Kingdom.

Why on earth didn't they become British citizens at first opportunity?

There is one clue that might unlock all of this ... the daughter who has become a British citizen will certainly have had to supply a copy of her ILR status, which is now on file with the Home Office.

That might allow them to find records for the rest of the family.

jes2jes wrote:Denise T:

Simple solution is to contact the Local BHC which issued the EC for your daughters and make a request for copies to be sent to you under the data protection act. I believe your daughters need to give their consent since they are over 18 years now. The danger is that, the records would have been "weeded" by now but at least there would be computer records of the kind of status granted to your 'kids' and this can be sent to the BIA with new passports for their current conditions to be transfered into their new travel document (via TOC Form).

Seondly, it would be wise for your daughters to make a SAB request each and with this info plus the one above, you can make your case to the HO for whatever purpose you desire.

Hope this helps.

Hi jes2jes,
Thank you for your reply. I know that since that is where the application started, this should be my first point of contact requesting the EC to be re-entered into the girls passports. The BHC which issued the EC is in South Africa and I wasted many hours talking to someone on the other end of the line who was not interested in helping me. The worst of it all is that the telephone number now is a mobile number and the person that answers on the other end sounds like he had just awoken from a 100 year coma and is still in a state of "non comprehendo". The system in South Africa has changed for the worse (it was bad before) since 1999.
Not only did I phone, but wrote many letters and had no reply.
In short, it is sad to say, contacting the BHC agents in South Africa is a dead end. The system over there is very corrupt.

JAJ wrote:

Denise T wrote:I moved to the UK on spouses visa in 1999.

My 4 daughters from a previous marriage, followed 6 months later with a stamp in their passports issued by the British High Commission "Settlement Accompany Parent Single Entry".

On their arrival in the UK, Heathrow Immigration stamped their passports with "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period".
9 years on:
One daughter has recently applied & was successful in getting her British Passport.
Other daughter been studying at uni for past 4 years
Other daughter bought a home & mortgage advisor lost her passport
Other daughter had her passport lost/stolen

Our house was flooded last year and we lost all copies & other documents.

I have contacted Croydon Immigration office & they said there is no record of my daughters having Leave to Remain in the UK and that they are illegal.

I called Heathrow Airport Immigration and they said that they used to issue "Given Leave to enter the United Kingdom for an Indefinite Period", not any longer and it was an old system which proved to be unreliable and they can not find my daughters details on their systems.

Can anyone advise please?

Clearly a grossly irresponsible attitude towards document retention.

But the problem isn't with the Home Office, it's with your daughters, and they need to urgently consult with a good immigration solicitor.

I agree that approaching the Foreign Office is probably the best bet, as they should have records of the original application.

In particular - they must not leave the United Kingdom until this is sorted out. If they do, they could be stranded overseas. And they are also vulnerable to being fired by their employers if they cannot prove that they are legally in the United Kingdom.

Why on earth didn't they become British citizens at first opportunity?

Hi JAJ,
You are 100% right in saying that we were irresponsible. I was naive to trust that our status and details would be recorded into the system and readily available on request.

The only reason we did not apply for British passports sooner is that we, as a family, had to rebuild our lives from scratch and did not have the extra money to pay for this privilege.

I am aware of the implications when leaving the UK. I had one daughter leave for a holiday and on her return was held by Heathrow Immigration for 3 hours. I was interviewed by them for an hour, and based on the facts given, they released my daughter to re-enter the UK with a warning that she should get it sorted sooner than later. That is why I have joined this forum because on trying to do so, I found the feedback from SA BHC, UK Immigration, etc. to be contradicting.

I called immigration solicitors today and was told that, on the evidence given, they will be able to get the stamps in my daughters passports.