T2 ILR Experience

[sacbmth]

Hi guys,

I'll become eligible to apply for tier 2 ILR based on five year route in a few days. My query is regarding pay rises during the last six months.

In my organisation, an annual pay rise is given to every employee in October and this is in the region of 1% - 2%. On top of that, another raise is given based on the performance but this is not applicable to everyone. In my case I was on £34,520 until October 2018 and I was given both the usual pay rise plus the performance based one raising mine to £36,200. So the new salary came into effect from November 2018 and my last three payslips reflect this. My question is, does this change in pay rise need to be informed to UKVI? My last cos was issued in March 2017 and I was being paid at £33,940 at the time but annual pay reviews plus performance based increments got me to £36,200 over a two year period. Although this is not a significant rise I'm a bit paranoid. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Sac

[srsw]

I think this should be ok as it's not a huge jump in salary. Also, if this is done as part of your company appraisal process (not just for you) then nothing to worry.

Having said that, it's up to HO to do further checks if they have any doubts.

Normal annual pay increases don't need to be updated in SMS, unless it's substantial in either direction.

[sacbmth]

Thanks @srsw for the input. I'm hoping it won't raise any concerns.

[sacbmth]

Hi guys,
Is it okay to submit just one letter from HR confirming my job details, soc code, required for the foreseeable future, absences from the UK and also saying that the payslips are genuine? I have seen here that people have submitted separate letters for each and wanted to clarify?
Thanks in advance.

[GMO]

Yes if it contain all the necessary info then one letter is fair enough . Good luck

[sacbmth]

Thank you GMO!

[jahan83]

Please keep us posted as I am on same boat.
Many thanks

[sacbmth]

Hi Jahan83,

I haven't applied for mine yet but I'll update as soon as I do.

[sacbmth]

Hi guys,

For ILR supporting documents, is it enough to print the payslip and stamp it by the finance department or do I need to get a separate letter to confirm authenticity of the document?

Many thanks.

[sacbmth]

Please keep us posted as I am on same boat.
Many thanks

Hi Jahan83,

My ILR has just been granted - if you are still waiting to apply here's my scenario...

Pay rise in October 2018 from 34,500 - 36,200 and I only sent my last payslip as evidence. However, my bank statement was for the last three months which showed the new salary being paid at the same amount. I've been receiving gradual pay progressions over a five year period so my last pay increase was only one of them. If you need any clarification feel free to reply to this post.

[sagarchhadva]

Please keep us posted as I am on same boat.
Many thanks

Hi Jahan83,

My ILR has just been granted - if you are still waiting to apply here's my scenario...

Pay rise in October 2018 from 34,500 - 36,200 and I only sent my last payslip as evidence. However, my bank statement was for the last three months which showed the new salary being paid at the same amount. I've been receiving gradual pay progressions over a five year period so my last pay increase was only one of them. If you need any clarification feel free to reply to this post.

Congratulations on your ILR!

Did you mention on your employer letter about pay increases? I am due to apply in the next week or so and have kind of same scenario.

[sacbmth]

Please keep us posted as I am on same boat.
Many thanks

Hi Jahan83,

My ILR has just been granted - if you are still waiting to apply here's my scenario...

Pay rise in October 2018 from 34,500 - 36,200 and I only sent my last payslip as evidence. However, my bank statement was for the last three months which showed the new salary being paid at the same amount. I've been receiving gradual pay progressions over a five year period so my last pay increase was only one of them. If you need any clarification feel free to reply to this post.

Congratulations on your ILR!

Did you mention on your employer letter about pay increases? I am due to apply in the next week or so and have kind of same scenario.

Thanks sagarchhadva.
No, there was no such mention. I'm not sure if HR really had to update SMS as the increases were annual, company wide ones.

[sacbmth]

Hi all,

First of all, thanks everyone for your help with answering my queries in the last couple of months; I've been granted my ILR this morning and thought of writing this post if it helps anyone.

Switched from T1 PSW to T2 General in 2014 and been with the same employer for the whole time. I was lucky enough to get a pay rise adequate enough to meet the salary threshold in October last year from 34,500 to 36200 although this was as a result of an annual pay review that was given to all employees. However, I was still pretty nervous as the increase could potentially raise concerns with the UKVI. Anyway, I applied in March after having completed five years on T2 and submitted the following documents.

1. Stamped payslip (most recent one) with an accompanying letter from finance on letter-headed paper
2. One letter from HR to include job details, soc code, required for foreseeable future and absences from the Uk
3. Bank statement printed at the branch for a specific period I requested and stamped on every page. I decided to cover a three month period as I've been getting the same pay since 2018 October
4. Life in the UK test pass certificate
5. Degree certificate
6. Scanned all pages of my passport and uploaded prior to appointment but at Sopra Steria they scanned again the pages where there were stamps.
7. Current BRP
8. Consent Declaration
9. Covering letter (optional) as I had to explain why my spouse wasn't applying with me. Saves the hassle for caseworker to come back to you if you have dependants who aren't applying with you at the same time.

A quick note on the Sopra Steria website - it's rubbish!! If you have an adblocker there's a good chance the cookie acceptance popup won't display meaning you won't be able to proceed. I wasn't aware of this until I decided to disable the adblocker and refreshed the page. And looking up for a centre was a nightmare on this website. There weren't any availability for me in the closest three locations and they won't allow you to search by town name only by postcode so I ended up googling for postcodes near Cardiff, Reading etc to look up for availability in other nearby places! Unbelievably shocking user experience there. However, the staff in the Sopra Steria centre were very friendly and they took me in one hour before my actual appointment time as I got there a little early. Only documents they asked for was the passport and the confirmation with QR code but they checked if other uploads were there very briefly. I didn't pay for any extra services and my appointment was a free one as well.

So, two days after biometrics submission I received an email saying the application has been successful now awaiting my BRP card. Good luck to everyone applying/awaiting a decision.

[sacbmth]

Scanned and uploaded the supporting docs prior to biometrics appointment. Scanned in colour although guidance says you to do in grayscale/b&w. I only saw the guidance after I've scanned all docs so couldn't be bothered. They were all below 6mb(individually) so no issues with uploading.

[rahne]

Congrats for getting ILR..

in the salary section, what did you mention for the question "Weekly hours worked"?

Thanks in advance

[sacbmth]

Congrats for getting ILR..

in the salary section, what did you mention for the question "Weekly hours worked"?

Thanks in advance

Mine is 37 hours, this is mentioned in my contract as well as last COS.

[rahne]

Wow thanks.. It solves one of my problem as well..

I mentioned £36000 as annual salary and weekly worked hours as 37.5. Hope this is OK?

So, have you mentioned your annual salary as £36200 ?

[sacbmth]

Wow thanks.. It solves one of my problem as well..

I mentioned £36000 as annual salary and weekly worked hours as 37.5. Hope this is OK?

So, have you mentioned your annual salary as £36200 ?

This should match the figures in your employer letter so please check that as well. If you are unsure of your working hours check with HR. Yeah, my annual salary is 36,200 and I entered that in the application.

[rahne]

Thanks,

Yes, I have checked in the contract and also the same working hours (37.5) in the CoS (that was given in Tier 2 Extension).

[sacbmth]

Thanks,

Yes, I have checked in the contract and also the same working hours (37.5) in the CoS (that was given in Tier 2 Extension).

Yup - that's what I did too. Good luck with your application.

[rahne]

Hi,

one more question... my employer is going to increase the salary by 5% in the coming year as part of annual appraisal process but I am going to apply for ILR in the May or in June.. do you see any problem here?

[sacbmth]

Hi,

one more question... my employer is going to increase the salary by 5% in the coming year as part of annual appraisal process but I am going to apply for ILR in the May or in June.. do you see any problem here?

Don't see why that would be a problem as you've already met your threshold for ILR. Are you planning to apply after this pay rise?

[rahne]

Yes, That's what I am planning too... as in my company annual appraisal process happen in March and increment in April (I have received email that the pay raise by 5%)... and I am planning to apply for ILR in May or June..

Do you see any problem ?


also

How to easy/difficult to get appointment ?

[sacbmth]

Yes, That's what I am planning too... as in my company annual appraisal process happen in March and increment in April (I have received email that the pay raise by 5%)... and I am planning to apply for ILR in May or June..

Do you see any problem ?


also

How to easy/difficult to get appointment ?

Hmm not entirely sure if I know the answer to the first one. If you've been getting the 36,000 pay for a while now then HMRC records should reflect it so in theory you should be okay especially cause you've met the threshold.

Re: appointment it wasn't the easiest of things as I couldn't find any appointments for two weeks in my closest centres so I had to search centres elsewhere and only found one free appointment within ten days.