ILR_10 year long residency_Eligible?
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:41 am
Hi all,
I have been in the UK since September 2003 and I wanted to apply for ILR based on the 10 year residency rule. I meet all the requirements although I have one problem with my application. This is what happened:
I had a student visa that was due to expire on 31.October.2010 and I wanted to apply for a post study visa. I filled out my application form, but I had to wait around for the bank statement for a couple of weeks. I sent my application on 04.October.2010 (was received by 5th). On 1st or 2nd November (don't know the exact date, but there is a stamp on my paperwork for 29.October) I got my documents back saying that my application was 'invalid' for filling out the wrong application form. Turned out during the time I was waiting for my bank statement they had brought out a new version of the form which made my application invalid. (in my defence the two were the same word by word apart from a sentence or two in the 'guidance notes' at the beginning which didn't even apply to me). I was advised to leave the country since my visa was already expired and reapply from my home country. I booked an appointed on 7th November for the earliest time slot which was 17th November, and left the UK on 11th November (10 day overstay after visa expired). I attended my appointment and submitted the document on 17th Nov and it took til 31.December.2010 to get issued a visa. My passport got to me a week or so after and I left my home country on 22nd Jan to come back to the UK with a valid entry clearance.
This means I was out of the country for 72 days (less than the allowable 180 days at one time) but I didn't have a valid visa for that period. I couldn't have done anything to make the process faster.
Do you think this has broken my 10 year period?
Many thanks in advance.
I have been in the UK since September 2003 and I wanted to apply for ILR based on the 10 year residency rule. I meet all the requirements although I have one problem with my application. This is what happened:
I had a student visa that was due to expire on 31.October.2010 and I wanted to apply for a post study visa. I filled out my application form, but I had to wait around for the bank statement for a couple of weeks. I sent my application on 04.October.2010 (was received by 5th). On 1st or 2nd November (don't know the exact date, but there is a stamp on my paperwork for 29.October) I got my documents back saying that my application was 'invalid' for filling out the wrong application form. Turned out during the time I was waiting for my bank statement they had brought out a new version of the form which made my application invalid. (in my defence the two were the same word by word apart from a sentence or two in the 'guidance notes' at the beginning which didn't even apply to me). I was advised to leave the country since my visa was already expired and reapply from my home country. I booked an appointed on 7th November for the earliest time slot which was 17th November, and left the UK on 11th November (10 day overstay after visa expired). I attended my appointment and submitted the document on 17th Nov and it took til 31.December.2010 to get issued a visa. My passport got to me a week or so after and I left my home country on 22nd Jan to come back to the UK with a valid entry clearance.
This means I was out of the country for 72 days (less than the allowable 180 days at one time) but I didn't have a valid visa for that period. I couldn't have done anything to make the process faster.
Do you think this has broken my 10 year period?
Many thanks in advance.