Returning Resident

[shah_pooja]

Hi

I got my ILR in May 2015 and left UK in Oct 2015.

I have been away for last five years and not visited UK until now. I would like to apply for returning resident visa. I plan to get a job and start working again in London

I do not have a home in UK. Is it easy to get the returning resident visa? And once one gets it, is there a time limit within which one needs to enter UK? Given the virus situation, I don't think I can enter London for next 2-3 months.

Regards

[vinny]

I think you need strong ties to the UK. Probably not easy.

[AmazonianX]

Hi

I got my ILR in May 2015 and left UK in Oct 2015.

I have been away for last five years and not visited UK until now. I would like to apply for returning resident visa. I plan to get a job and start working again in London

I do not have a home in UK. Is it easy to get the returning resident visa? And once one gets it, is there a time limit within which one needs to enter UK? Given the virus situation, I don't think I can enter London for next 2-3 months.

There isno assurance that you would have received it in the time frame you stated above.

Regards

[shah_pooja]

I see, so it may not be as easy as the website makes it out to be..unless I have strong ties, at the moment not strong ties.. but am thinking to give a try.

Also, the website does say that they process 100% applications within few months.. are we saying that it may take more than 3 months to get the reply?

Is there any validity period for the returning visa? If I get it?

[shah_pooja]

any suggestions please ?

[secret.simon]

Also, the website does say that they process 100% applications within few months.. are we saying that it may take more than 3 months to get the reply?

Few months can mean many things. And yes, applications from abroad, especially for long-term residents, take much longer. For instance, British passports for British children born in the sub-Continent can take six months to a year. So, I would not expect a three month turnabout for a Returning Resident application.

Is there any validity period for the returning visa? If I get it?

We don't have that many Returning Residents reporting their status on these forums, so the best we can do is guess. If we look at spousal visas, the applicant is generally issued a visa to enter the UK within 30 days and then to collect the BRP with that status from a specified post office within another timeframe. So, yes, there will likely be timeframes involved.

What are the strong ties that you have to the UK?

[vinny]

Is there any validity period for the returning visa? If I get it?

Six months.

[shah_pooja]

thank you everyone for the help.

So I see the validity is six months.

I don't have immediate family in UK, have very close friends and first cousin and his family in UK.

[shah_pooja]

hi, i have another question- do we need to submit our passport when applying for the returning resident visa? It is a bit tough to understand whether originals need to be submitted or otherwise.

Also how do I check if I need to submit the TB report?

[shah_pooja]

giving up the passport in covid times would be too risky?

[Frontier Mole]

You will have to submit your passport.
You will also need a TB certificate as your normal place of residence is India.

As others have stated a returning resident visa is not an easy route. Given the time outside the UK and little in the way of ties to the UK your chances of success are very slim. No harm in trying though.

[shah_pooja]

Thank you. Submitting the passport may be bit tricky in current situations.

I agree, no harm to try, my friend is very optimistic though.

[Frontier Mole]

No passport - no application.
While I applaud your friends optimism, I would council you to expect a refusal more than a grant. Expect the worst and hope for the best as they say.

[shah_pooja]

thanks.. I do agree, I am taking it with a grain of salt, and not putting all my eggs in one basket.

The thing is I am currently in HK, and if I give my passport and for some reason I have to travel I shall get stuck. More so as my HK visa is until 31 March.. and no cue by when the UK folks will give the decision.

[Frontier Mole]

Certainly not before your HK visa expires....

[shah_pooja]

I see.. I think my friend lives in an eutopia.. where he says I shall get an answer in a month or two.. but he is far away from the reality looks like. Thank you so much.

Maybe I shall reqeust a refund of what I can and then apply from India or once I have a longer HK visa.

[Frontier Mole]

Pre COVID your friend may have had a point... at the moment very little is moving at a pace in immigration world

[Jammersone]

Hi

Just to give you a litte bit of hope. I applied for a returning resident visa after 18 years and it was granted. It took about 9 days and the process couldnt have been simpler. I applied on 24 Feb 21 and received visa on 5 Mar 21. I dropped off my docs at the TLS contact center at my biometric appointment and they scanned everything in and sent it off to UKVI. They keep the passport locally - so you can cancel at any time and get your passport back if you need to. In my opinion the Uk passport office is awesome and really efficient - although I might be a bit biased considering they gave me my visa ......

[vinny]

Hi

Just to give you a litte bit of hope. I applied for a returning resident visa after 18 years and it was granted.

What strong ties to the UK did you have?

[Jammersone]

I sent my UK Marriage Cert, Daughters UK Birth Cert, NI Card, UK Drivers License, Daughters UK University Acceptance letter, UK Bank Account Statements, sale agreement for a flat that we bought in 1998 and subsequently sold - that was to show that we were settled before we left - and a motivation letter for my extended absence. I had also been back in 2017 for a holiday on a vistors visa and luckily this did not affect the application. My wife and 2 children all hold British Passports - so I guess that was a major factor as well.

[ssm1009]

I sent my UK Marriage Cert, Daughters UK Birth Cert, NI Card, UK Drivers License, Daughters UK University Acceptance letter, UK Bank Account Statements, sale agreement for a flat that we bought in 1998 and subsequently sold - that was to show that we were settled before we left - and a motivation letter for my extended absence. I had also been back in 2017 for a holiday on a vistors visa and luckily this did not affect the application. My wife and 2 children all hold British Passports - so I guess that was a major factor as well.

Hi,
My wife and daughter are also in similar situation like yours. I am British Citizen, due to my employment, my dependant wife and daughter had to remain outside Uk for last 10 years. Now I am applying for the returning resident based on my citizen ship and their expired ILR. I am supporting using India marriage cert, wife's uk NI card, daughter UK birth cert, my employment in India and now new UK job employment letter, my passport copies with their application.

In addition to this, I want to write motivation letter explaining absence. Would you be able to share your sample?

[jc12345]

Hi,
I wanted to give everyone some hope as well. I applied for the returning resident visa and was granted it. I lived in the UK for 5 years as a child due to my father's job and obtained an ILR. We moved away from the UK for 26 years, but I recently married a British Citizen. I applied for the returning resident visa and was granted it within 5 days. My strong ties to the UK are through my in-laws who are British Citizens and who live in the UK. I provided my education certificates to show the reason why I could not return to the UK. I thought my application had a very slim chance of getting approved, but my advice to everyone is that even if there is a slim chance, try it as you'll never know!

[vinny]

Great news!

[jitraj]

Hi,
My mother (79 year old) overstayed by 2 months (over 2 years) due to Covid in India,
She holds ILR since 2004 and visited UK, stayed between 3 -12 weeks to fulfil condition of presence in UK every 2 years.
Now due to covid and travel restrictions, she couldn't make it in last 2 years and ILR seems lapsed (not expired)
Will she be able to fly UK with same ILR(any questions asked at Airport?) or she needs to apply Returning resident form?

[vinny]

If she has been absent for more than 2 years, then 19 forces her to apply for a returning residents visa.