Just thought that I would share with you all our success at the Liverpool PEO for the wifes Set (M) application.
Firstly I would like to thank members of this forum who have at times provided supportive posts and good advice which without, we really would have been pulling our hair out!! Although the UKBA website contains all the information we need in order to apply, we all know its not written in plain English.
Anyway this is our story.........
The wife arrived in the UK in November 2008 on a spouse visa which would expire in February 2011.
As soon as the wife arrived I made it my priority to do the following:
- have her listed on the electoral register at the local coucil.
- registered at the doctors
- bank account opened in her name
- N.I number applied for
- Driving License applied for
- Water bill transfered in to her name.
All the above were completed in about 4 months and from this date onwards the wife began to recieve letters in her name.
At the same time I was also saving letters in my name.
After collating all the evidence i was now faced with organising it and presenting it for the application. I purchased 2 plastic ring binders and 2 sets of section/chapter dividers ( can't think what they are called).
The documents were submitted as follows in sections:
Section 1
This section of the file contained
- The completed application form
- Life in the UK pass letter
- Both passports and photocopies
- Copy of marriage certificate
- Both driving Llicences (although not required)
- Statutory declaration declared by my father in the presence of a solicitor stating that my wife and I live in his property free of charge and will be able to do so till such time we decide to move out (cost me £25 at the solicitors for a quick letter. well worth doing if you still live with parents like us)
Section 2
This section of the file contained all the wifes proof of cohabitation with myself. The wife had quite a few letters so I decided to include 1 letter for each 2 months of the wifes time in the Uk. Basically 1 letter for January and February 1 letter for March and April 1 letter for May and June and so on and so on for the whole 2 years to present.
Section 3
This section of the file contained the wifes bank statements for about the last 20 months.
Section 4
This section of the file contained our proof of finances which was my bank statements for the last 2 years and the last 6 months pay slips
Section 5
This section contained letters in my name presented in the same format as section 2 for the last 2 years
The second ring binder was an identical copy of the above, but only this time this was all photocopies.
So the appointment was booked online for 1300 hours.
We arrived at the PEO office at 1130 hours well advance in order to find parking and not have to rush. The Liverpool PEO is on Water street which is a one way street with parking only on a meter for which you will need a small mortgage
There is a car park a short distance away from the PEO. If you drive to the end of water street and turn left and then take your first left and then first left again, there is an under ground car park called Beetham Plaza (cost me £6.50 for 5 hours). The car park is only a 5 min walk from the PEO.
As we were early we decided to go for a coffee and a pass some time.
So we arrived at the PEO at 1230 hours and had to go through airport style security which was straight forward. You are directed to a reception area where they check you off on their reguster to make sure you are there on the right day. You are then given a ticket number (looks like a raffle ticket) and asked to wait in the booking in room.
So we sat in the booking in room along with other people who were applying for whatever and after about 15 mins were called to the window. At the window we were met with a smile and big scouse HELLO!!
The lady asked us for the application form Life in the UK pass letter, photographs and how we were going to pay. This information was checked and we were then given another number and told to make our way to th next floor to make payment.
Once upstairs payment was made and we were told to wait in the waiting area till our number was called. At 1320 hours our number was called, so off we went to the window to submit our papers. Again we were met by a smiley face and were thanked for presenting the documents in an organised fashion along with a complete set of photocopies. All I did was to explain to the lady how the files had been arranged and what they contained. We were then told to go and take a seat and she would review the documents and call us back once she had done this.
So off we went and sat back in the waiting area. This was the most stressful point of the day. Knowing that our fate was now in the someone else's hands and we had no control over anything is not an easy thing to deal with!!!!
At 1415 hours 55 minutes after submision our number was called. My heart sunk as I thought it had been rejected. All I could think was, there is no way they could have made a decision so quickly. Having read previous posts members were stating that they generally had to wait about 2 to 2.5 hours.
Well on arrival at the window it was good news. we were informed that they were happy with everything and would be awarding ILR. Our documents were returned and we were told to go back to the booking in room where we would be able to collect the wifes passport, which would be ready in about 20 minutes.
So off we went back downstairs to collect the passport. Again, we were called back to the counter and the passport with ILR stamped was returned.
We left the PEO at I think 1500 hours. All in all the whole process took less than 2 hours.
Although we submitted many more documents than neccessary. My thought process was ITS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
I hope our experience is of benefit to someone out there. We wish you the best for your applications.
Any questions please ask us.
