ILR for my mother - applied 7 months ago, but still no news.

[deepakmehtauk]

Hi guys,
Have just stumbled upon this website today. Hope you all can help & advice me.

I am a British citizen. My mother is 64 yrs old & an Indian citizen. She is a widow, with limited income & serious medical illness.
Hence I applied for her ILR as my dependant under compassionate grounds. ( I am aware of the rules for ILR - 65 yrs+, financially dependant, no relative to look after etc)

I made the application in the 3rd week of March. I received the acknowledgement letter within a week. I received a further letter about 4-5 weeks later to say that the application was valid, but it needed more consideration & hence it was being passed to the correct department blah,blah,blah...

Now, eveytime I call up the 0870 no, I am told that it is under "active consideration" & "no, we cant give you any idea about when we will reach a decision"

How long does HO usually take for such applications ???
We are really in a tight spot now. I want to take her abroad for some alternative therapy that might help her, but I cant.

Any help/advice would be great.

Deepak.

[sakura]

Hi guys,
Have just stumbled upon this website today. Hope you all can help & advice me.

I am a British citizen. My mother is 64 yrs old & an Indian citizen. She is a widow, with limited income & serious medical illness.
Hence I applied for her ILR as my dependant under compassionate grounds. ( I am aware of the rules for ILR - 65 yrs+, financially dependant, no relative to look after etc)

I made the application in the 3rd week of March. I received the acknowledgement letter within a week. I received a further letter about 4-5 weeks later to say that the application was valid, but it needed more consideration & hence it was being passed to the correct department blah,blah,blah...

Now, eveytime I call up the 0870 no, I am told that it is under "active consideration" & "no, we cant give you any idea about when we will reach a decision"

How long does HO usually take for such applications ???
We are really in a tight spot now. I want to take her abroad for some alternative therapy that might help her, but I cant.

Any help/advice would be great.

Deepak.

This was an in-country application? How long had she been in the UK and in what capacities?

[deepakmehtauk]

Yes, this was an incountry application.
She has been regularly visiting me as a visitor since 2001 ( she spends about 5 months & then goes to India for about 1-3 months. Once or twice she returned back within the same month from France or Switzerland) Currently she has a 5 yr visitors visa valid till 2010.

[ukstay]

Oh am so sorry to hear about that ! Maybe she is only 64 so they need to wait until she turns 65 to grant you the IRL? Sorry if I am talking rubbish but 7 months is a bit too much. Did anyone have the same experience with application had been " passed on to another department for further considerations " and got your passport back in within a reasonable time line ? If you withdraw your application now, can you reapply in future ? Anyone has any knowledge on this, please share. Am waiting for mine, but it has been only about 8 weeks so I guess I should not complain. Good luck deepak and best wishes for your mother's health !

[avjones]

These type of in-country applications can take much longer than 7 months, in my experience.

[ukstay]

Dear avjones, does it ( time line ) apply for all other types of in-country application ILR ? What do they mean by " further considerations " ? Isn't everything clear enough with the applications and information they have in the records ? Sorry if questions are inappropriate or too general as I understand each case should be looked at individually. Many thanks.

[avjones]

It depends.

I have a few judicial reviews pending where an application was made for ILR after completion of 4 years' Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR). In all those cases, the time to make a decision is now 18 months plus.

[deepakmehtauk]

Amanda,
On an average, how long do you think this sort of decisions take to be reached ? I am looking for a very rough guide so that i can make a few plans.
And how sympathetic are BIA in such matters usually ?

Thanks,
Deepak.

[avjones]

It's impossible to give an average - if pushed, I'd say a year.

Sympathetic? No. Almost never. Either she meets the rules or she doesn't.

[OL7MAX]

While I wish you all the best with your application I have to admit I agree with avjones, there's no sympathy. In fact, even if you meet the rules they'll often find an excuse to turn you down and make you appeal. Further, if she spent more than six months in any 12 month period here in the UK they may not look on current her application too kindly.

[deepakmehtauk]

thanks for your replies till now.

If she is refused ILR, will they cancel her 5 years visitors visa which is valid till 2010 ?

Deepak

[avjones]

It's possible, but not definite, that they might say she doesn't intend to be a genuine visitor.

[OL7MAX]

I know someone who made over 10 trips to the UK and never spent more than six months here in any 12 month period. She applied for ILR just like your mother (she was 65+) and was turned down. Subsequently, they refused her a visa because she had "demonstrated interest to live permanently in the UK" and was therefore an immigration risk from now on.

I doubt they'd revoke her visa but they could create problems at port of entry so I wouldn't suggest she return home without considering that.

I would get a good solicitor and prepare for battle. Don't give in and don't give up.

[deepakmehtauk]

Thanks.

When a visitor turns up at Mancchester airport for eg, & the immigration officer scans her passport, does he see all information held by BIA on his computer screen ?


Deepak.