Counting the 28 days before 5 years

[zimba]

No one tracks returned BRPs. You can always say you sent it, Royal Mail loses thousands of letters every year, HO have no means to check if you really sent it.

The only way for HO to issue a fine, if they catch you using the BRP which was supposed to be returned. As long as you don't use it, there will be no issues.

While I don't doubt that's how it works in practice, unfortunately my brain would make me too paranoid to make something up about already having returned it I'd spend the whole time waiting for a response incredibly anxious.

This has no relevance to your ILR. There is no need to worry at all

[lolo2]

While I don't doubt that's how it works in practice, unfortunately my brain would make me too paranoid to make something up about already having returned it I'd spend the whole time waiting for a response incredibly anxious.

If keeping the card if affecting your wellbeing, then for your own peace of mind just cut the BRP in pieces and return it.

A friend of mine returned her well expired student BRP last year, after more than five years she completed studies and after getting ILR - no cover letters included, just the cut card. Nothing happened, no fines received whatsoever.

If you want to keep something to remember it, scan the BRP and keep it in your files.

[gjim83]

No one tracks returned BRPs. You can always say you sent it, Royal Mail loses thousands of letters every year, HO have no means to check if you really sent it.

The only way for HO to issue a fine, if they catch you using the BRP which was supposed to be returned. As long as you don't use it, there will be no issues.

While I don't doubt that's how it works in practice, unfortunately my brain would make me too paranoid to make something up about already having returned it I'd spend the whole time waiting for a response incredibly anxious.

This has no relevance to your ILR. There is no need to worry at all

There is a question in the SET(O) form

Do you have a BRP from a previous stay in the UK?

Answering "yes" then asks the question

Can you provide this with your application?

I guess I can just answer "yes" to both of those and wait for them to ask me about it. Or proactively just send attach a scan of both sides to the applkcation, but without any further explanation.

[gjim83]

If keeping the card if affecting your wellbeing, then for your own peace of mind just cut the BRP in pieces and return it.

A friend of mine returned her well expired student BRP last year, after more than five years she completed studies and after getting ILR - no cover letters included, just the cut card. Nothing happened, no fines received whatsoever.

If you want to keep something to remember it, scan the BRP and keep it in your files.

I am totally ambivalent to either keeping it or returning it. My last comment about being anxious was on the idea of lying to the HO, saying I sent it back when it wasn't true, and my overall question in this post with regards to my ILR application (which asks about this BRP) is what was the most advisable course of action.

Like I said in the past comment I think I'll just answer that I still have it and wait for instructions (if any) from UKVI.

[zimba]

No one tracks returned BRPs. You can always say you sent it, Royal Mail loses thousands of letters every year, HO have no means to check if you really sent it.

The only way for HO to issue a fine, if they catch you using the BRP which was supposed to be returned. As long as you don't use it, there will be no issues.

While I don't doubt that's how it works in practice, unfortunately my brain would make me too paranoid to make something up about already having returned it I'd spend the whole time waiting for a response incredibly anxious.

This has no relevance to your ILR. There is no need to worry at all

There is a question in the SET(O) form

Do you have a BRP from a previous stay in the UK?

Answering "yes" then asks the question

Can you provide this with your application?

I guess I can just answer "yes" to both of those and wait for them to ask me about it. Or proactively just send attach a scan of both sides to the applkcation, but without any further explanation.

ALL evidence submitted to UKVI will be digital. No physical document is taken from you. This has been the case since 2018. No need to be paranoid. All BRPs will be useless in just a few months anyway and UKVI is not trying to catch you.

[gjim83]

ALL evidence submitted to UKVI will be digital. No physical document is taken from you.

I am aware of that. I mentioned the question to put some background around why I was asking about old BRPs in the context of an ILR application.

Like I said, I will just answer "yes", and mention nothing else. If UKVI want something with this I'll let them inform me in due course when they respond to my application.

Thank you all.

[vinny]

keep it as a souvenir.

Yes. It may even become a valuable antique in the future.

[zxyzhgp]

lol, no one I know actually returned old BRP cards. And only one friend of mine knows we need to return it but he still did not do it

If you search it online, there are some cases where people sent their card to home office but lost it due to second class mail delivery.

[zxyzhgp]

ALL evidence submitted to UKVI will be digital. No physical document is taken from you.

I am aware of that. I mentioned the question to put some background around why I was asking about old BRPs in the context of an ILR application.

Like I said, I will just answer "yes", and mention nothing else. If UKVI want something with this I'll let them inform me in due course when they respond to my application.

Thank you all.

I got ILR recently and I do not remember this question. And from my experience, there is no impact because o f that

[gjim83]

lol, no one I know actually returned old BRP cards. And only one friend of mine knows we need to return it but he still did not do it

If you search it online, there are some cases where people sent their card to home office but lost it due to second class mail delivery.

When I first moved to the UK the immigration solicitors advised me to disclose ALL driving fines I had EVER received... I had a few minor ones from way back in the 2000's that had even been purged from my home country's records and they still said I should make an estimate about the date because according to them the Home Office has some agreements with several countries to share this type of data and if I fail to disclose something it could have impacted my application. Since that was my first interaction with UKVI/HO that made me REALLY paranoid about the level of scrutiny in these dealings

Anyway, I submitted my application today and didn't mention anything about the BRP, now the wait starts

[gjim83]

keep it as a souvenir.

Yes. It may even become a valuable antique in the future.

that's what I think I'll do

[zimba]

lol, no one I know actually returned old BRP cards. And only one friend of mine knows we need to return it but he still did not do it

If you search it online, there are some cases where people sent their card to home office but lost it due to second class mail delivery.

When I first moved to the UK the immigration solicitors advised me to disclose ALL driving fines I had EVER received... I had a few minor ones from way back in the 2000's that had even been purged from my home country's records and they still said I should make an estimate about the date because according to them the Home Office has some agreements with several countries to share this type of data and if I fail to disclose something it could have impacted my application. Since that was my first interaction with UKVI/HO that made me REALLY paranoid about the level of scrutiny in these dealings

Anyway, I submitted my application today and didn't mention anything about the BRP, now the wait starts

That was not your interaction with UKVI. That was you, paying someone who gave you terrible advice

[gjim83]

That was not your interaction with UKVI. That was you, paying someone who gave you terrible advice

I agree on the "terrible advice" bit. I did not pay for that service, my employer did. And I think you're splitting hairs about whether it was the interaction with UKVI or not; it was a process in which UKVI were involved. I'm sure you understood what I meant.

[zimba]

That was not your interaction with UKVI. That was you, paying someone who gave you terrible advice

I agree on the "terrible advice" bit. I did not pay for that service, my employer did. And I think you're splitting hairs about whether it was the interaction with UKVI or not; it was a process in which UKVI were involved. I'm sure you understood what I meant.

UKVI will be involved in any visa application anyway. It was the advisor who claimed (without any basis) that mountains of irrelevant paperwork need to be sent to the UKVI or else hell will break loose. Indeed this is the trick of the advisors/lawyers to give the client an impression that the process is overtly complicated to justify their large fees. If it all looks simple they cannot justify it, so they need the client to believe this

[gjim83]

UKVI will be involved in any visa application anyway. It was the advisor who claimed (without any basis) that mountains of irrelevant paperwork need to be sent to the UKVI or else hell will break loose. Indeed this is the trick of the advisors/lawyers to give the client an impression that the process is overtly complicated to justify their large fees. If it all looks simple they cannot justify it, so they need the client to believe this

Although I agree with that being a shady tactic, that is a non-sequitur to what I meant about how my initial visa affected my approach: the first time I had to deal with UKVI for a resident visa (I didn't need tourist visa) I was given advice which, regardless of how wrong it was, it was given by someone who I expected to be a subject matter expert, and it left a lasting impression of being subject to excessive scrutiny when dealing with UKVI. I had never applied for a UK visa before so I obviously had no experience to base myself off.

It's unreasonable to expect people to simply rationalise these concerns away, especially when large amounts of money and your immigration status (ie. mid to long term life plans) are on the line. That's just not how the vast majority of human brains work.