BRP - Help?!

[megmog]

Hi all,

Looking for some guidance re. current waiting times and process in general.

My husband is South African, received his Permanent Residence in Oct 2014 (in his passport).

His passport expires in September this year, and the South African embassy has revealed that renewal takes up to (4!) months. we've got a very (10 year) belated honeymoon booked for December so time is of the essence!

We only realised recently that people are now being issued BRP's (I guess this came into place quite recently?) and we'd like to get one in case of any issues getting his old passport/visa back from the south african embassy.

So a few questions I could really do with answering..

- Is he able to apply for a biometric card, even though he already has Perm Residence in his passport?
- If so, which is the correct form to use? (NTL etc? it's all a bit confusing!)
- those that applied or received there's recently... how soon did you get your passport/docs back? we need his back asap to apply for passport renewal in May ideally.
- and how long did it take for the card to arrive?

Thanks so much in advance, this forum has been a god send in the past!

[petervang]

Hi Megmog, When you say permanent residence do you mean Indefinite Leave to Remain, Well if his passport shows ILR then he can travel with his new and old passports together. Upon entry into the UK he will produce both the Passport together to the IO. His new passport would be stamped with VIPP endorsement (Visa in Previous Passport).

For Travel purpose ILR in expired passport is OK. Recently UKVI had changed the requirement that for employment purposes ILR in expired Passport is not valid any longer, instead one must apply for a BRP, using a valid passport and NTL form.

Once your husband's passport is in, you may apply using one day service, though it may cost you a lot but if your application is straight forward you will be granted the approval letter and be given back all the passports on the same day and receive your BRP card within 5 days.

Postal application would normally take anytime between 3 to 6 months and its a lot cheaper to apply using postal services. Hope this info may be of some help to you.

Wishing you both a happy belated honeymoon may God bless you both.

Regards.

[megmog]

thank you very much for your reply.

When I say permanent residence, my husband was issued a permanent residence card in his passport via the EEA4 form. the renewal date is 2024 (note, it says renewal and not expiration... as I don't believe his status "expires" now? at least that is what I have read here.)

This what is confusing me though, I am not sure if this is the same as ILR and as such we should apply using NTL or if it is different and he needs to apply using TOC form?

Our reason for wanting to apply for the BRP before we renew his passport is because we dont really trust the south african embassy not to lose his current passport/visa in the process and that would be a disaster!

[ohara]

If he has something like this:



Then your husband has permanent residence under EEA regulations, I'm assuming as a family member of an EEA citizen (you). Nothing to do with ILR.

His permanent residence status will not expire but the vignette does. When he renews, he will be issued a separate biometric card as this is how permanent residence documentation is now issued for non-EEA family members.

I believe the current form to use is EEA(PR) and it costs £65. He will need to enrol biometric information.

[petervang]

Hi, Yes your Husband is a family member of an EEA National . You dont have to fill in NTL form as this is only for persons who have ILR and wishes to transfer the Visas into new Passport.

Once you get the new passport for your husband you can travel using the old passport together as his residential permit to stay in the UK is still valid. in the meantime I suggest you find out how to get his residential permit transferred to his new passport, but definietly its not NTL.

Good Luck

[ohara]

He does not have a residence permit, he has a permanent residence vignette under the EEA regulations.

These are issued as separate biometric cards now. From the EEA(PR) form:

Replace or renew your permanent residence document
You can also use this form if you have previously been issued with a document certifying
permanent residence or permanent residence card (or equivalent document) and want to replace
it because it has been permanently lost or stolen, or renew it because it has expired.

[megmog]

Thanks. Yes it looks like that above, it's essentially a sticker in his passport.

So, are you saying that he will not be able to apply for a separate biometric card until his current perm residence runs out in his old passport.. in 2024?

[ohara]

No idea. The vignette/card only confirms status, it doesn't grant or confer it, so you could possibly just apply for a PR card again using the same evidence as last time if you still have it, and see if they issue one.

It could also be worth phoning UKVI to ask first, but be aware their telephone advisers are notoriously unreliable.