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Any opinions / suggestions welcome,

This is the situation, my girlfriend has been in the UK since Jan 2000, most of the time on student visas and most recently (Jan 09) as my dependant (Tier1 General). All in all she is eligible to apply under the current 10yr Long Residency rule and we want to go ahead as soon as possible.

The problem is the following - she arrived in the UK on a child passport where first two 6-month visas were attached (1year in total), a year later this pasport was exchanged for an adult one (child passport was retained by the embassy) - we do not have any proof of those visas/passport now, even a photocopy (only have a letter from a UK bank confirming that the bank account was opened on in March 2000).

Since than she has been extending her visas into her adult passport (fist was issued on 20 Dec 2001) - only 1 visa was issued outside the UK (dependant).

When it came to completing the application - they ask for all passports/other proof, which we are missing for the 1st year in the UK. We contacted the national embassy for a copy of the passport, British Embassy in the home country where the first visa was issued, but no luck thus far (I get the feeeling that they either do not have the previous records / cant' be bothered to help). We have send a request for SAR - again god knows how long that's gonna take and what do they have on file - and whether this will be accepted by the Home Office. We are currently not decided either:

1) Go ahead as it is + include explanatory letter with any little proof we have - risk of loosing £840 if this proves not to be sufficient
2) Wait/hope that SAR will come pretty soon (hopefully no new rules is introduced over the next 1/2month) - again if the information is there whether it will be sufficient for the caseworker
3) Wait till the end of the year until 10yr period is covered in the current passport - creates even more uncertainty


Thanks in advance for your help

Correction from Dec 2000, thus it would come to 10yrs in Dec 2010

Since than she has been extending her visas into her adult passport (fist was issued on 20 Dec 2000) - only 1 visa was issued outside the UK (dependant).

sticagus wrote:Correction from Dec 2000, thus it would come to 10yrs in Dec 2010

Since than she has been extending her visas into her adult passport (fist was issued on 20 Dec 2000) - only 1 visa was issued outside the UK (dependant).

I would say wait for the SAR file, because she can't apply until November 2010, you can only apply under 10yrs category when reaching 9yrs11months, any time less than that will automatically be refused.

So see if the SAR file come back before November, most likely it will,
don't worry about the first passport,cos in SAR HO has the landing card info of your wife's first arrival date in the UK, assume all other conditions satisfied, your wife's case should be pretty straightforward, do not worry too much.

thanks ILR-2010 for the response. The situation is that she is already eligible (technically) for the ILR as she's been here since Jan 2000, however we do not have proof of visas for the first one year - one would assume/hope that Home Office would have all the visa letters/document copies/landing cards/etc at their fingertips.

I understand that we have no excuse not even to have a copy of visas, however it is unfair to ask for something HO have on their files and can easily check/verify.

Anyways, looks like we have to give some time for SAR file to arrive, nothing received within the next month, might just go ahead and apply

sticagus wrote:thanks ILR-2010 for the response. The situation is that she is already eligible (technically) for the ILR as she's been here since Jan 2000, however we do not have proof of visas for the first one year - one would assume/hope that Home Office would have all the visa letters/document copies/landing cards/etc at their fingertips.

I understand that we have no excuse not even to have a copy of visas, however it is unfair to ask for something HO have on their files and can easily check/verify.

Anyways, looks like we have to give some time for SAR file to arrive, nothing received within the next month, might just go ahead and apply

if I were you, I would get the SAR and if there is no proof in SAR that she had a visa from jan 2000 to Dec 2000 then don't apply and wait it out till december 2010.

If there is going to be new rules, I doubt the government will announce it AND implement it on the same day. so, if the government announces new rules, before december 2010, I would then and ONLY then take a risk and apply (with strong evidence to back up her case)

Joh, thanks, I appreciate your response.

I would've thought that there are other people on this forum were in the same situation - would be good to know how did they go about it

many thanks

sticagus wrote:Joh, thanks, I appreciate your response.

I would've thought that there are other people on this forum were in the same situation - would be good to know how did they go about it

many thanks

well my friend got his SAR file for 10 year long residence and he used to get his visas in the airport when he arrived. (you can't obviously get one in the airport now! except a tourist one) Anyway, when he got his SAR he found that way back in march 2000, the UKBA had kept his landing cards and on it, they wrote that they had given him a visa. And that was his basis for evidence. it was only from around 2002, they had stopped given out visas in the immigration hall in the airport and they didn't keep a good record of it either.

however if you applied in the UK or at an embassy, they should have good records.

Thanks Joh, good to know, we'll wait for the SAR file to arrive - (hopefully with all the visa information on the file )