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ILR Success at Croydon PEO on 12/03/2012

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:34 am
by niks06
Hey guys got my ILR approval today based on 2 years HSMP and 3 years Tier 1. Been a silent reader of this forum and the forum has been really helpful to me. I applied along with 2 dependants (Wife and Daughter)

My appointment was for 12:45 pm and I arrived there at 12.00!! I was only let in at 12:15 which was 30 minutes before the appointment. Next was the usual search, metal detector and all that jazz. Then at ground floor a guy checked that i was using the appropriate form for my application type and confirmed a few details.

I was then given a ticket number and was asked to pay for my application on the 1st floor. Payment went through qucikly without problems (I called my bank a day earlier to ensure there were no problems). After waiting for about 15mins on the same floor my ticket number was called and i went in to see the guy at counter 10. Nice friendly guy, he checked my application again, entered some details on his computer, then asked for photos & passports. Again entered some details. After about 5 minutes he gave all documents back to me and advised that he was only checking that my application was valid or not. (Do not see the point of this exercise as this has already been done on the GF). I was aksed to wait in the sitting area for my Biometrics to be taken. Time now 1:10pm

Then after waiting for about 25 minutes my number was called and we went to provide out Biometrics. Biometrics were taken to 1st Floor and are only taken at counters 1-5. Nice and easy process. Took only 10 minutes. We were then asked to wait on the 1st floor. It was around 1:50 pm by now.

Then comes the worse BIT. There was no process followed as the token numbers after me were called before and we were just kept waiting. At around 3.15 pm there was an annoucement that their computer systems were down and hence there was a 60 minutes delay. Still the waiting game countinued.

At 3.55 pm my number was called and we were asked to go to counter 28. Over there a lday said that she wasn't the caseworker but was only collecting the documents on behalf of the caseworker. I was asked to submit all my documents and was told that it will take around 2 and a half hours. But after waiting for around 3 and half hours at 7:30 pm my number was called and I was told that my ILR has been granted and that the Biometrics will be sent to my home within 7-10 working days.

I submitted the following documents along with photocopies for each document.

Application Form
Passports - Me and Dependants
Passport Photos
LIUK test result - Me and Wife
12 months payslips
12 months bank statements
HSMP approval letter
P60 for last 4 years
Letter from employer for employement status and history
My Original Degree certificate
Cohab documents for Me and my wife
My daughters Birth Certificate
I provided a spreadsheet showing my total absences in detail. I had a total of 63 days absent in 5 yrs. All personal holidays


Feel free to ask any questions....

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:32 am
by linkers
Congrats niks06: the time they took to process your application is shocking but I am glad that you got the good news in the end.

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:03 pm
by niks06
I agree - The main thing is that I got it in the end.

Do you needed to take your wife and child with you?

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:51 pm
by jalal.din
When applying for the settlement do you needed to take your wife and child with you? can you postpone the biometrics of family for some later date or earlier date? If no can they leave right after the biometrics are done?

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 2:02 pm
by linkers
jalal.din: since 29th Feb 2012, all dependants need to attend PEO for biometrics. I am sure once Biometrics are done, dependants can leave but main applicant needs to stay to collect Passports and the decision letter.

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:52 pm
by yvr_1978
Congrats Niks06.
Can you please tell your Entry clearance date and UK entry date.
That will help people who have gap between Entry clearance and UK entry.
Thanks in advance.
YVR

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:03 pm
by Smam
Hi Niks06

Lots and lots of heartiest congratulations to you on getting your ILR.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience on the forum.

Just one question how many days earlier did you applied to get an appointment at the croydon office cause every one is saying that croydon is the busiest PEO in the whole UK and its the biggest PEO as well.

Many thanks and waiting for your reply.

Good luck for the future.

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:23 pm
by sunil.suneel
Congrats niks06 !

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:56 pm
by linkers
Smam, the earliest you can book a lot is 42 days in advance.

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:12 am
by niks06
Congrats Niks06.
Can you please tell your Entry clearance date and UK entry date.
That will help people who have gap between Entry clearance and UK entry.
Thanks in advance.
YVR

HMSP Entry clearence date - 5th March 2007 and I was already in the UK on a different visa.

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:14 am
by niks06
Hi Smam

I booked my appointment at the beginning of Feb 2012. This was the only appointment available for around 4-5 weeks.

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:13 am
by sanyamkaushik
Hi,
Could you please mention what was your intial HSMP EC stamped and when did you enter UK.

Im in similar situation (HSMP + Tier 1). Got EC on 30 April 2007 but entered country on 26 June 2007. Want to confirm whether I can apply for ILR or shall I go for Tier 1 extension.

Format of Absences spreadsheet

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:10 am
by bluebird2011
Niks06

Can you please send me the template for absences spreadsheet @
naeemamin@hotmail.co.uk

Regards

Employer Letter

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:11 am
by bluebird2011
Niks06

Can you also send me format of 'Letter from employer for employement status and history' at the same email address i.e naeemamin@hotmail.co.uk

Regards