ILR application for Tier2 PBS DEP - Police Registration

[Maxim88]

Hi all,

We are about to complete an application for my wife's ILR (5 year PBS DEP), and I would appreciate your advice on a question regarding her police registration certificate. We applied for her Tier 2 PBS extension in Feb 2020 and received the BRP in March 2020. By the time we received the BRP the country was about to go into lockdown. We went to the police station in our city and were told they suspended the service of updating certificates due to Covid. We emailed and received an automated reply to say that they suspended the service until further notice, and that we should not worry about not being able to register on time, etc. We emailed them again in November and received a reply saying that the service was being suspended once again due to restrictions.

Bottom line - we were unable to update her policer certificate since last March, or since she received a new BRP. We have records of contacting them twice and being told the service is temporarily suspended due to Covid. Technically, we could have tried doing it in the summer, but it never crossed our minds.

We are planning to submit her ILR application next week, and it is unlikely that the certificate will be updated by the time she submits her biometrics as restrictions continue to be in place.

Will this be an issue when applying for her ILR?
Could they delay the process until the certificate is updated?

thanks.

[zimba]

No need to worry. Add the evidence with a covering letter

[Maxim88]

Thanks Zimba,

I have some further questions from the application which I hope to get some guidance on:

1) "Have you had any absences from the UK during any leave granted since 11 January 2018?" - the applicant had an absence from the UK during 2018, but this was on a previous visa/leave. She had no absences since her new leave which was granted in 2020. I am a bit confused about the wording of the above question - should we include her 2018 absence in the application, even though it was during her previous visa/leave which was granted in 2016?

2) This one is about finance; it says "Do you or anyone else who is part of this application receive any public funds?" - according to the question, i should say no because my wife (who is the applicant) is not claiming any public funds. But it further says "Include details for your partner or child if you have one." - again, does this mean including partner or child even though they are nor part of the application?

3) I am an ILR holder and I registered our child as British after my ILR. Afterwards I filled an application for Tax-Free Childcare. I remember that it specifically asked that only one in the family has to have settled status to be eligible for it. When filling this application I had to give my wife's details, including her national insurance.

Is this Tax-Free Childcare an issue for my wife's ILR application? I got a little concerned and after searching this forum I did not find any conclusive answer as to whether this is an issue.
Any advice/experience would be very helpful.

[zimba]

1) No. That only applied to any visa issued after 11 Jan 2018
2) Yes
3) No. Government funded early education and childcare is not classed as a public fund for immigration purposes

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Thank you! Can I just clarify regarding your response to question 2 - you said "Yes" - what does this mean?

Basically, should the answer to the question about whether my dependant receives public funds be yes or no? If Tax-Free Childcare is not classes as public funds (and we don't claim any other benefits/funds as a family), then I assume the answer to this question is no. Is this logic correct?

many thanks.

[zimba]

You asked does this mean including partner or child even though they are nor part of the application?
You are NOT using public funds so answer NO

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Many thanks for your response. Sorry if I am being persistent and perhaps overthinking this, but I read several posts on this forum where some people say Tax-Free Childcare is not an issue if one parent has ILR and the other has NRPF on their visa, but others say it is a bit dubious. For instance, there is the following post where one of the admins says there is a bit of debate and uncertainty about the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and who can claim it (claiming-benefits/no-public-funds-child ... 87353.html).

Basically, I have an ILR and I have filled the childcare application, but my wife has Tier 2 Dependant and NRPF condition. Is her application for ILR likely to be affected by me having applied for the tax free childcare scheme? Is it something we have to declare in her application, or even pay back to HMRC what we received, before applying? I would appreciate your help here. Many thanks.

[zimba]

Tax-free childcare is NOT the same as child benefit.

As Tax-Free Childcare is not classed as a public fund for immigration purposes, a parent who has no recourse to public funds can be included in an application.

https://www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk/informat ... e-sections

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Thank you for this link, it answers my concerns about the tax-free childcare quite clearly. Is this NRPF link (and the organisation itself) a trustable source? Is there a guidance or another source this can be corroborated with, to ensure that this thing won't be an issue in my wife's application?

Another quick question - should we include details of our baby (copies of her birth certificate + her British passport) as additional evidence that our relationship is genuine, and more generally to strengthen my wife's ILR application (that she is a mother of a British child, etc.)?

thanks!

[zimba]

Yes. NRPF network was literally set up to deal with this subject. Extra evidence related to the baby is not needed

[Maxim88]

Zimba, thanks for your guidance on this.

I have a quick question about application for naturalisation/citizenship. This is for myself. Do you have to provide the original birth certificate for this application (is birth certificate mandatory)? Or would a national passport suffice? I am not eligible to apply as I have been on ILR for over a year, but I seem to have lost my original birth certificate and I don't think I will be able to get a duplicate from the UK (I have to travel to my home country for this). Can I still apply without the birth certificate?

many thanks

[CR001]

Zimba, thanks for your guidance on this.

I have a quick question about application for naturalisation/citizenship. This is for myself. Do you have to provide the original birth certificate for this application (is birth certificate mandatory)? Or would a national passport suffice? I am not eligible to apply as I have been on ILR for over a year, but I seem to have lost my original birth certificate and I don't think I will be able to get a duplicate from the UK (I have to travel to my home country for this). Can I still apply without the birth certificate?

many thanks

Please ask your citizenship questions in the citizenship sub forum. These questions are not trelaven to an ilr topic or the ilr sub forum!!

british-citizenship/

[Maxim88]

Yes. NRPF network was literally set up to deal with this subject. Extra evidence related to the baby is not needed

Hi Zimba,

Coming back to this question about whether tax-free childcare has any negative affects on my wife's ILR application, I was on the phone with HMRC and got some conflicting information - the agent said the tax-free (as well as the 30 hours free childcare scheme) is a public fund. I know I have been told in this forum this is not the case - are the agents there misinformed?

Basically, is this tax-free childcare scheme something I need to disclose in my wife's application (through cover letter) or not? I am really confused.

thank you for your patience and guidance.

[zimba]

HMRC agents do NOT know much about immigration rules. Of course, according to them, all childcare benefits are public funds. The definition for immigration purposes is quite specific. DO NOT confuse the two as you have been avised on this

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Thank you for this.

Will the people making ILR decision know which benefits are not public fund for immigration purposes (in case they find out that her name/details are included in the application for tax-free childcare which i made)?

I know that i received answer on this already, but my final question is - should we apply confidently for my wife's ILR without doing anything regarding the tax-free childcare scheme, or should we address it beforehand or declare it in the application/cover letter to avoid any potential future issue?

I know I am probably overthinking this and perhaps keep asking the same question, but when in such state an unbiased external view is of immense help; so I would appreciate one final guidance on this.

many thanks

[zimba]

Are you asking if immigration caseworkers know the rules ??! That is the whole point of their job. You are really overthinking this

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Many thanks, this really helps. I hope immigration caseworkers won't have the same knowledge as HMRC agents.

I have recently seen some posts in this forum about certain changes in immigration rules and as a result certain PBS dependents no longer able to apply for ILR - does this apply to Tier 2 PBS dependents (i.e. my wife's case, she completed 5 years on PBS dependent visa in February 2021, and her visa which we extended last year is still valid until 2023 which is why we haven't rushed with ILR application).

many thanks

[zimba]

NO such restrictions apply

[Maxim88]

Dear Zimba,

Many thanks for your patience with my queries, I appreciate this indeed (even though I have never met you!).

Can I please ask what is the list of documents needed/recommended to provide for my wife's ILR application as a PBS Tier2 dependent? The online application only mentions the basics (passport, BRP, police registration certificate) but I am sure more is needed/recommended.

thanks

[zimba]

Dear Zimba,

Many thanks for your patience with my queries, I appreciate this indeed (even though I have never met you!).

Can I please ask what is the list of documents needed/recommended to provide for my wife's ILR application as a PBS Tier2 dependent? The online application only mentions the basics (passport, BRP, police registration certificate) but I am sure more is needed/recommended.

thanks

Cohabitaion documents, LIUK, English langauge

[Maxim88]

Hi Zimba,

Thank you. I am just checking my wife's ILR SET(O) application and have the following quick questions before the submission; I appreciate your quick responses on these:

1) In which category you are applying for ILR - there are only 2 options available for dependents: (a) Tier 1 or Appendix W dependent and (b) Skilled worker or Tier 2 dependent. To be sure - ours is (b) - is that correct? For info - I (the partner) got ILR via 5 year route on Tier 2 General.

2) In section on partner's immigration status - there is no option to select ILR (which is my current status). Only option relevant to us is Tier 2 General Visa - is this the one we select (even if it is not my current status)?

3) Is asks for partner's sponsor licence number as shown in CoS - is this needed given that the partner has ILR? If so, I may need to ask my employer.

4) It asks whether the applicant has the partner's National Insurance number and HO reference number - should we provide these or the fact that the partner already has ILR and provides their BRP number is enough?

5) Is asks whether the applicant has VAF or GWF number for partner - VAF is number of entry clearance and GWF is number of application from abroad - does this apply to us at all? The partner doesn't have either, but only has a BRP number (for ILR) - should we provide BRP number (again) instead in VAF section?


many thanks again.

[zimba]

1) Correct
2) Correct
3) Enter your old CoS number
4) BRP number is enough
5) Ignore that

[Maxim88]

Zimba, thank you so much. Final questions before we submit the SET(O) for my wife:

1) In gov.uk website (when checking eligibility for settlement for partners), it says your partner may qualify if all of the following apply, and one the conditions is "you have enough income to support yourselves and your dependants" - should we just provide last couple of bank statements where salary comes to prove income? I did not think finance was a requirements, is this new or finance was always part of it?

2) To satisfy that our relationship is genuine and that it will continue to be so, is it fine to include birth certificate (and British passport) of our child as an additional document/evidence (along with other documents showing co-habilitation)? Can this do any harm?

many thanks

[zimba]

1) There is no financial requirement
2) Only send cohabitation documents

[Maxim88]

Thanks Zimba,

Why not include our child's doc too as further proof, will this do any harm?

Is there a requirement for our cohabitation documents to be within 30 days? For instance, we get utility bills every quarter and last one is more than 30 days ago; will sending the latest bills suffice?

many thanks