Post
by gtx2010 » Sat May 19, 2012 8:22 am
PEO Expirience at Solihull - ILR Success - 18 May 2012
Hi All,
First of all a big thanks to this forum which helped me to get all the necessary guidelines for my wife's ILR application.
We booked appointments online 6 weeks (42 days) earlier for 18 May 2012. There was plently of appointment in every PEO location when you book appointments online 42 days before your appointment date. Thats the earliest you can see the appointment slots for your desired date.
We had some confusion about what is the earliest we can apply for ILR using Set(M) form. It is no more than 28 days earlier than your 2 year residency completion date in the UK even if you are making application at PEO for same day premium service. So we booked appointment 25 days earlier than actual 2 year residency completion date.
We booked the appointment for 10:00am at Solihull PEO.
We arrived at Solihull at 9:30, Parked at John Louis Parking which is only less than 2 min walk from Solihull PEO.
Arrive at PEO at 9:35, security check took 10 minutes, also they checked that application form is the latest valid form. This is very important, alwasy check that you are using the latest form, double check the form day before your appointment, they tend to change the form every now and then. They also gave us a ticket with a number and barcode for biometrics. Don't lose it! You will need it at the counter, for Biometrics and collecting approval letter and documents.
They called for our ticket at 9:50, we went to the counter and submitted our application to caseworker. She asked for application form, photos and passports and life in the UK test certificate. She also notified that LIUK test pass mark was 100%, she seems to be very impressed. She went through passport checks and asked when the photos were taken, we mentioned that it was taken last week. Then she asked for documentation for cohabilation proof. So this is the fun part, we had a 12 pocket folder with various documents and we had a list printed on a sheet containing information which pocket contains what document and from which month and year etc. So it was very easy for her to pick few documents from the folder. At 10:00, she said ILR is approved, pay the fees in next counter and wait for biometrics.
We paid fees at 10:05 and went to waiting room for biometrics.
At 10:10 we were called for biometrics and done in few minutes. After Biometrics, we were asked to come back in about 1 hour and 30 min time to get the approval letter and documents.
We went outside had some food and came back after about 30 min, and the letter was ready.
We got out of PEO at 10:45.
Very important part is to organise your documents so that they are very easy for caseworkers to find. First impression is the best impression. I organised the documents in differrent pockets with numbered tabs. For example, proof of finances in one pocket, proof of accommodation on one pocket, council tax bill in one pocket, gas bills in one pocket, electricity bills in one pocket, BT bills in one pocket, Water bills in one pocket, other documents in one pocket etc. Also make sure that you organise the documents in order by date starting latest on top. Then prepare a list sheet with what documents are in which pocket of file. Make sure to add month and dates for documents.
Thanks again to this forum for all the help. If you need any more information about our PEO ILR application experience, don't hesitate to ask.