Hello everyone I had applied for ILR at Solihull PEO on the 18th of December and my application was approved. I had prepared my application following the discussions and suggestions in the forum. I was very careful in my preparation as the revised version of the application form and new rules were applicable from the 13th of December; however the members were kind enough to share their experiences which were a great help.
Visa details as follows:
HSMP: 7.1.2008 to 7.1.2010 (entered UK 13.1.2008)
Tier 1 (General) : 26.1.2010 to 26.1.2013. Applied for renewal on 29.12.2009. Acknowledgement was dated 31.12.2009.
Following is the list of documents which I had prepared.
1) Set (O) form (12/2012): with a copy
2) Payslips from 1st November 2011 to 31 October 2012. These were online copies certified by the payroll department as being true copy of the original. (Stamped and signed): with a copy of each.
3) Bank statements for last 12 months. (From 22nd November 2011 to 21st November 2012): with a copy
4) Current and old Passport (which had my HSMP visa): with a copy of all pages which had any details/ stamps.
5) Degree certificate: I had completed my MBA after my Tier 1 (General) extension in 2010: with a copy
6) LIUK pass letter: with a copy
7) Two Photographs with name written on the back.
9) Current Employer letter detailing (with a copy)
a. Position, date of joining and that am based in the UK.
b. Annual salary with the allowances which are paid to my UK bank account.
c. taxes and NI are paid in the UK
d. Frequent travel is part of my job requirement.
e. List of absences of 190 days which included Annual leave – 62 days, Compassionate leave – 4 days (my father had passed away in 2008) and 124 days business travel.
f. Is in support of my ILR.
10) Personal letter to Case Worker, Solihull explaining my reason for compassionate leave, attaching my father’s death certificate with a translation in English: with a copy.
11) Two copies of HSMP approval letter. (I do not have the original). Tier 1 approval letter with a copy. Tier 1 application acknowledgement (with a copy) to cover the period from 7.1.2010 to 26.1.2010 while my extension was being processed by the Home Office and my passport was with them.
12) Additional copies of payment slips.
13) PEO appointment e-mail print out.
Supporting documents:
1.) P-60: 2007-2008
P-45: 2008-2009 (Changed Job)
P-60: 2008-2009 (Employers copy certified by the Employer): I have misplaced the original
P-60: 2009-2010
P-60: 2010-2011
P-60: 2011-2012
A copy of all the above
2.) HMRC employment history since 2008 and a separate letter for 2008-2009 for which P-60 was missing. A copy of both
3.) Disclosure Scotland basic checks and ARCO subject access check with a copy of each. Both had come out clean. A had received 3 points and paid £60 pounds for a FPN in September 2011. No conviction as did not have to go to court. Deposited the fine and the counterpart for endorsement within the required time.
4.) Driving licence and counterpart with a copy.
5.) Certified salary slip for November 2012 with a copy
6.) Temporary bank statement on Bank Letter head for the period from 22 November till the 14th of December. My statement is published on 22nd of each month and salary is credited in the account on the 26th of each month. (With a copy).
Other documents which I had prepared just in case:
1.) All documents submitted for my initial HSMP.
2.) All documents submitted for my Tier I extension.
3.) The remaining salary slips of the last five years certified by the employer.
4.) The remaining bank statement of the last five years.
5.) Property and Mortgage papers of the property in UK.
6.) A few council tax, utility and insurance papers spread over the five years.
The timeline is as follows:
My appointment was at 10:00.
09:35 reached the PEO after parking at the John Lewis car park.
09:45 called in. The gentleman at the front desk checked the version of the form and then checked my name against the appointment list. While I was undergoing the security check like at an airport he issued me a token and asked to wait in the waiting area after the checks.
10:00 Security check completed
10: 30 Called for the appointment. The caseworker was a very pleasant lady. After the usual courtesies she asked me under which category was I applying. Then she asked me for my passports (which are taped together) and the form. She saw my visa page entered something in her computer and told me the name of my employer and asked if I still worked for them. Then she went through all the pages of the passport looking at all my visas and remarked that I travel a lot.
Then she asked me for the Life in the UK test certificate, checked something on the computer and told me that I had answered all questions correctly.
Then she asked me for the salary slips and the bank statements. She counted all the salary slips and the bank statements and checked them carefully. She checked the salary entry in the bank statements and cross checked them with the salary slips. I had underlined the salary entry in the bank statement with a pencil and she was pleased with it. She then calculated the annual salary adding each of the monthly salary using a calculator and cross checked with the amount I had mentioned in the form and was satisfied.
She asked for my degree certificate, checked it and returned it to me. MBA degree from the UK.
Then she asked me for my employer letter. I know this is not required for Tier 1, however since I had already prepared it, I gave it to her. I advised her that the list of absences is attached to the employer letter. She saw the list of absences and remarked it is 190 days. I explained it included all the business trips, annual leave and the compassionate leave. She read the letter carefully and looked at the absences and said that all most all of it was within Europe and of very short duration. On many of these business trips I travelled in the morning and returned the next evening, which were listed in the absences but number of days out of UK was marked as nil. There were many where I had returned the day after, so absence from UK was 1 day. She took some time to go through these and after sometime looked satisfied. I took a sigh of relief.
She asked for the photographs and enquired when it was taken. (14th December).
She went through the rest of form and then said that she required sometime to do some checks and that I should wait patiently. I told her that I have the Disclosure Scotland and ARCO certificates which were clean, but she was not interested. She said the UKBA do their own checks.
After sometime she came back and asked me for a copy of the following:
1) Life in UK test
2) Salary Slips-12 months
3) Bank statement- 12 months
4) Employer letter with list of absences.
5) Copy of the first page of my passport which has the details and a copy of the initial HSMP stamp page.
Then she handed me back my passport, payment slips but kept the original of all the above and the application form and told me that my application would be approved if my Biometric checks came out fine. (I had mentioned in my form that my biometrics were done during my initial HSMP endorsement in India in December 2007 though I was not issued a biometric card- I do not know if there is any relevance). She explained the procedure from then on.
11:00- Payment slip presented at the payment counter. The gentleman checked with the card and said since I have signed pin in not required and to wait in the waiting area / get my biometrics done till the payment is confirmed.
11:20 Called for biometrics which took about 10 minutes, the lady advised to wait in the waiting area till she confirms that the Biometric information is properly saved
11:50 Advised by the staff in the waiting area that the payment has gone through and the biometric information is properly saved and that I should return at 1400 hours.
I went out, had lunch and roamed around in the touchstone mall nearby and came back at 1350.
1400: Went in and the gentleman at the front desk asked for my token. He returned my originals and photocopies. The only document which was kept was a copy of the employer letter, list of absences and the two pages of the passport and of course the form. I was also given the generic approval letter and advised that the BRP will reach me within 7 working days.
20.12.2012: Applied for Citizenship through the Nationality checking services as my spouse is a British Citizen, having received Citizenship earlier this month after 12 months of ILR.
21.12.2012: Received my BRP. All details noted to be correct.
Apologies for the rather long post, but I wanted to explain everything in details if it may benefit someone.
Thank you all the members of the forum for the guidance. Another journey towards Citizenship has just started.
- FAQ
- Login
- Register
- Call Workpermit.com for a paid service +44 (0)344-991-9222
