07/12/11- appli'n is valid but there are further enquiries

Hello Folks,

I had applied for ILR (work permit – 5 years) through Same day service Via a Solicitor.

My solicitor who had collected following documents from myside :-

1) Passports you and your dependents
2) Two passport size photographs for each applicant
3) Signed SET O form
4) Letters from Home office for your previous leave to remain in the country( eg work permit letter or HSMP approval letter)
5) Life in UK test document
6) Pay slips of last 6 months of applicant
7) Bank statements for last six months
*) Marriage certificate or any birth certificate if applicable
9) Tenancy or mortgage document
10) P60/ P45 for last five years or any other proof of work in last five year
11) Letter from Employer confirming current employment
12) Explanation of any stay of more than 90 days outside UK

Finally he got an appointment for 7th Dec 2011. He had presented my case on same day.

I was hoping with all documents which I had submitted its going to a happy path But-- Unfortunately – yesterday my solicitor has just received a letter from UKBA saying :--

“Your application is valid but there are further enquiries that need to be made on your case & as such your application has been passed to a team where in further enquiries will be made”

I spoke to my solicitor about this & he say’s this might be a scenario where in UKBA is making sure that company where I am currently working in still requires me as their employee & UKBA is going to contact my company for details.

AND HE SAYS - THIS MIGHT TAKE BETWEEN 3 to 6 MONTHs

In my case – I have stayed outside UK for a period of 121 days (Not on UK pay role) – However for this I had received a company reference letter which clearly stated that I was working for same client & for the same work assignment But from India for period o[/b]f 121 days.


Could you pls share your views on following queries?

Ø Is this a normal scenario?

Ø What are the chances of success & failure rate in this scenario?

Ø Are there any people out there who has undergone similar situation & got their ILR?


I will look forward to all your views..

Hello "stillhopeful_PBN"

Sorry to hear your case.

You are on the same boat I have been through for the last 3 months. Read my posts, you will get an idea of what will happen.

Your success depends upon how strong your company letter is for your absence period. I only see 121 days out of the UK is the only reason UKBA has kept your application with them. I had 115 days out of UK and same like you I have worked for my UK company from India, submitted all my payslips, bank statements to show that I was on UK payroll but still the case worker refused my ILR. Went on to appeal, luckily the appeal was allowed by the immigration judge. Still waiting for my visa to be issued though.

Read my posts you will understand what was the process I went through. Read the replies for my posts from "jami" and "sushdmehta", they were/are very very helpful.

I hope you will get the ILR without going through the ordeal that I have gone through.

Wishing you the best. If you need any more assistance, reply me back.

Regards...
Santosh

Hi Santosh...

Many thanks for your reply.

Are you saying you had received same letter from UKBA which I got?

One more thing to clarify - for those 121 days I was not on UK payroll Does that make my case more complicated?

What initial response you got from UKBA?

According to you - appox how many days I need to wait - or it will take to receive next response from UKBA?

Yes I got the same reply as yours. I applied on my own at Croydon PEO, and after going through application, the case worker gave me the same letter as yours and exactly after a little more than a month, I received a refusal letter stating that I have got an absence of 115 days at a single stretch and they refused my application. Following is the timeline

7 September 2011: Applied at Croydon PEO, received a letter as "application valid but needs further enquiries"

2nd Week of October 2011: Received refusal from UKBA with a right of appeal as my visa expired in 2nd week of September 2011.

Engaged a solicitor at this point and he sent my appeal form to FT-Tribunal on 12 October 2011.

Appeal heard on 10 Nov 2011 at Angel Square, London AIT Tribunal

Determination order received on 28 Nov 2011 in which judge allowed my appeal.

Now I am waiting for home office to send me the letter asking for my passport for visa endorsement as my appeal is allowed. I think this will take a further 6-8 weeks before the visa can be issued.

Hope this helps.

Regards...
Santosh

One more thing that I forgot to mention regarding the employer's letter.

The employer's letter must mention following reasons

Why you were sent overseas to work
What was the reason, compelling circumstances for you to go
How it would effect your employer's business if you do not work overseas
Your company's pay policy while you were working overseas
How long you were working and in what capacity

The letter must include all the above information.

If you need any more information, please reply back.

Regards...
Santosh

Thanks Santosh. Very useful information..

I am now realizing - I should have gone on my own to submit the documents instead of going through a solicitor...

You have mentioned that - you hired a solicitor for appeal -- May I ask how much was his fees?

I just hope that UKBA accepts my company ref letter...& in a months time..will get some positive response

If the employer's letter that you already submitted has all the information that I have mentioned, you should come out smiling.

As for the solicitor, charges vary from one firm to other but probably you are looking around a couple of thousand pounds but again search for a good solicitor who has experience in this area.

Regards...
Santosh

Yes I will let you know once I receive response..

Do we get money £1350 back (At least some % of it) if request is refused?

Aah you're kidding!

As usual we will not get anything back even if it is refused, that's the way it has been as far as I am aware

Hi, santoshganpath,

I am very interested to know if your employer letter have all above information and still the case is not been granted sucessfully?

Thanks.

hi
sorry to hear your problem, May i know which PEO your solicitor went to? i thought that if we go through solicitor it gives little bit boost to your chance to get success, if not then what is the purpose of paying extra couple of thousand pounds on them?
all please share your experince of your solicitor or comments.
thanks,

You may want to ask your solicitor why they submitted your application at a PEO when it should have been obvious to a legal professional that with your days of absence this wouldn't be considered a 'straightforward' application.
PEO staff simply don't have the authority to make the decision on the day.

Hi ra_one_2011...

My Solicitor went to Croydon PEO. Even I had something in mind while applying via Solicitor -- as they will be experts & will have a good relation with UKBA officials.. But anyways...its turned out to be wrong in my case...

To be honest he did't had much discussions with me...just asked me to pay 50% of amount & once paid...He had asked for all documents. There were few corrections in documents & he had asked me to resend those... I did it..I have paid close to thousand pounds to my solicitor for same day service.

Then he confirmed everything is fine...& will give you "GOOD NEWS" on 7th evening ...

Unfortunately Good News is still pending..

Hi Casa,

My Solicitor initially mentioned number of absent days are more than 90 (One stretch) - But after receiving company ref letter explaining my absent period - he said...application is valid & should be approved on same day...

Hello Casa

Initially, I just took a letter from my employer explaining that I was on UK payroll while away from UK for 115 days. It also explained where I worked and on what position I worked. But it didn't contain the compelling reasons and why I was required so long. Because before applying, I was not aware that we need to mention all this information.

After my application is made and before my refusal, I posted another letter containing all this information to UKBA but still they chose to refuse.

So, I had to go through the appeal process.

Hope this helps,

Regards...
Santosh

hi stillhopeful_PBN,
Thanks for your reply, could you tell me what exactly happened after your solicitor submitted your application at croydon. say he submitted at 9:00am assume that case worker started work on your application, did your solicitor left PEO and returned only in the evening and come to know about your application issue.
your input will really help me to determine my mind on hire solicitor or not to.
thanks
ra_one_2011

Hi ra_one_2011

Thats correct on 07th Dec he has appointed booked @ 09:00 Hrs. He has submitted document & same day evening he got letter saying Its requires further enquiries..

So, I would suggest - you can consult a solicitor if your case is complicated (Consultation fee would be less that actual feed when you hand your case to a solicitor).. Upon consultation..You can go yourself & submit documents...instead of going via Solicitor...

P.S -- Its just my view...I might be totally wrong here..

By the way - Is your application is straight fwd or any complexities involved?

You can consult a legal professional for just a document check and then submit the application yourself.

" I think " my application is straight forward, 2years HSMP + 3years tier-1 General, have Police certificate to show no offences been done in past.
only worry is for my student visa which i renewed in 2004 and didn't finish my study that time and worked.
i have spoken to couple of top lawyers and they advised me that ukba need to consider only your last 5 year for ILR they shouldn't bring up your student visa issue. but there is still chance that they might raise it. that's why i think if i hire solicitor my file get quick approval without any complication.so what do you think STillhopeful_PBN & casa?
My question to all-
Do HMRC answer UKBA about any individual without that person's authorisation?
Manythanks.

Having a solicitor submit your application doesn't give it any priority..it's not any quicker. If you choose your legal advisor carefully it should ensure you submit a valid application with the correct documents.
When you sign the visa application form you give the UKBA authority to check whatever official information they consider necessary. Also bear in mind that the UKBA have shared access to all other Government departments...which includes HMRC.

ra_one_2011 wrote:Do HMRC answer UKBA about any individual without that person's authorisation?
Manythanks.

When you sign your application, there is a declaration that says that you are allowing UKBA to verify all the documents, you have supplied. This includes all the external agencies, school, colleges, your work places and all the Govt agencies. HMRC is one of them. So They can check that.

For your student time question, please note that you have not stayed illegal at any time of your stay in UK, (Have you?). One of the main requirment is that applicant should not be in a breach of immigration law at any stage of his stay. So you should be fine. Moreover, when you go for ILR, you have to show your five year stay in a qualifying category for ILR. Since you were in HSMP and Tier 1 General, so you will not have any problem.

If, for some reason, the breakdown of your leave in UK is HSMP, Student and then Tier 1 General. Then you were not qualified for ILR as it breaks the 5 year requirment i.e. For the last five years, applicant should be in a category that leads to settlement.

So you are safe and have no fear, whatsoever coming in your mind.

thanks for valuable input to Zahid & casa
I am going to apply ILR on bases of 5 year of HSMP +Tier-1. i never been illigal over stayer or break any other immigration rule but worked more than 20 hours on student visa in 2004.that's worrying me.
i have bought house and got uk born child, would it create any positive effect on my application or on Appeal Judge if I get rejection?

Don't worry too much...Just give it your best shot. You will be alright. They are more concerned with your current history...

All,

UKBA is introducing fees for Appeals from December 19, 2011. This applies to any refusals that are made on or after December 19.

Read this link

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... ppeal-fees

Regards...

Thanks Santosh... Thats useful read..