Do i qualify for ILR under HSMP Judicial Review Category?

[cheerfulkhan]

Hi All,

I would like to post my case here and seek your expert opinion to ascertain whether i qualify to apply for ILR under the judicial review scheme.

I applied for HSMP initial application in March 2006 from abroad. I got the HSMP approval letter on 23rd March, 2006. I then applied for Entry Clearance in April 2006 and received it on 22nd April, 2006.

The leave to remain was given to me for 2 years because laws had changed fom 3rd April, 2006, but the point to be noted here is that i applied for initial application before 3rd April, 2006 and i received my HSMP approval letter under the laws in place before 3rd April, 2006. I landed in the UK on 21st June, 2006.

After lapse of 2 years, i applied for extension in April 2008 and got automatically switched to Tier 1 (General Migrant). I got the extension for 3 years.

Now looking at the judicial review guidance document, as per my judgement i find myself under the category "Migrants who will soon have completed four years' continuous residence in the United Kingdom in a qualifying category" but i still want to reconfirm if it is true or not. I need to ascertain whether i should apply for ILR after completion of 4 years(which is April 2010) or 5 years (which is April 2011).

To clear the air in my head, I called the home office enquiry center and the call center lady told me that i dont qualify because i had entered the UK after 3rd April, 2006. She said it doesn't matter if you had received the approval letter or the EC under the old laws or not, but it all depends on the day you actually enter the UK. i am not convinced with her response as there is no mention of such clause in the Judicial review guidance document. When i asked her why haven't you written in the guidance doc, she said we have yet to update it so take our word and ignore the doc.

I am very confused here and dont know what to do. On the top of it, my wife has to apply for dependent visa in September and i am not sure which category is she going to choose while applying. Does it has to be the category under the transitional arrangement (because i think i qualify for Judicial review scheme) or tier 1 general migrant? There is a great different of Fee for each category.

Kindly help.

Regards,

Naveed

[f2k]

Chances are if you call again and speak to someone else you will hear a different point of view.

Anyway the UKBA policy talks about .....

If you applied to the HSMP before 3 April 2006, received an approval letter and came to or stayed in the United Kingdom on the basis of that letter
You are eligible to settle in the United Kingdom when you have completed four years' continuous residence in relevant immigration routes. You do not need to meet the 'Knowledge of language and life in the UK' requirement as part of your settlement application.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... -09-policy[/b]

[cheerfulkhan]

Thanks mate. Does it mean i should go ahead with applying for my ILR in april 2010? I am thinking to apply in person which way i will be able to explain my case and show the reference to the UKBA guidance.

[bani]

Thanks mate. Does it mean i should go ahead with applying for my ILR in april 2010? I am thinking to apply in person which way i will be able to explain my case and show the reference to the UKBA guidance.

Yes, you qualify! It's the date of application that counts (according to HSMP Forum, this has been discussed there and point made clearly by them). In fact you got your approval letter before 3 April so it's very clear "joined the scheme" before the date they changed. You should apply for ILR in 2010.

[cheerfulkhan]

Cheers Bani for reassuring. My first step would be to apply for my wife's dependent visa from abroad in the transitional category. I will show the approval letter along with her application. If she gets the dependent visa, then it means i definitely qualify under this scheme. If not, i will still apply in person in April 2010.