ILR success in Croydon

[GenX]

Hi All

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for guiding and helping me through out my ILR application journey. Without this forum it would have been impossible for me to even think about applying ILR. I got my ILR successfully in Croydon.

Here is my experience.

My appointment was at 9.10 am so I reached there at 8.40. After the airport like security check in I was asked to go to one counter in ground floor itself. In this counter the lady asked me for my passport , checked my application and then issued me a reference number which she said will be used to track my application through out the day till decision is made.

After that I went to third floor and was asked to pay the fees upfront. After paying the fees I was asked to wait there for my number to be called. After 15 minutes of wait my number was called and another lady checked my application and said she is registering some details in the system

I was then asked to go for my biometrics. The gentleman who did my biometric took all my documents (original and photo copy) and asked me if I would like to wait here in the cafeteria or would like to go out of the building. I opted to wait.

It was a loooooooong wait of 2 hours and then finally my number was announced . In the cafeteria there are screens where you can see the status of your application.


Here are the documents I have submitted
Original
1. Passport
2. BRP
3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.
4. employer letter having salary, cos number, soc code, role, my address,date when I came to UK, I am required for another year etc.
5. original work permit, all the UKBA tier 2 ict approval letters
6. 12 months salary slips
7. Life in the UK test certificate
8. appointment email copy
9. 12 months bank statement
Evidence of maternity -
a) Child birth certificate,
b) husbands salary slips
c) husbands bank statement
d) marriage certificate
e) letter from employer confirming maternity dates

I gave the photocopy of every original document. For passport I gave the photocopy of front page, back page and all the other pages having visa stamp or any other relevant stamps.

I did not gave any annual leave letter neither I selected any option in the application where it asks for the absence evidence

I did not give HMRC employment letter or P60.

The SOC code I used was as per new SOC guidelines after 6th April 2013.

My employer letter did not have the statement that my salary is as per SOC code requirements

There was no interaction with CW and all other staff was very friendly.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

[onabanjo]

Hi All

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for guiding and helping me through out my ILR application journey. Without this forum it would have been impossible for me to even think about applying ILR. I got my ILR successfully in Croydon.

Here is my experience.

My appointment was at 9.10 am so I reached there at 8.40. After the airport like security check in I was asked to go to one counter in ground floor itself. In this counter the lady asked me for my passport , checked my application and then issued me a reference number which she said will be used to track my application through out the day till decision is made.

After that I went to third floor and was asked to pay the fees upfront. After paying the fees I was asked to wait there for my number to be called. After 15 minutes of wait my number was called and another lady checked my application and said she is registering some details in the system

I was then asked to go for my biometrics. The gentleman who did my biometric took all my documents (original and photo copy) and asked me if I would like to wait here in the cafeteria or would like to go out of the building. I opted to wait.

It was a loooooooong wait of 2 hours and then finally my number was announced . In the cafeteria there are screens where you can see the status of your application.


Here are the documents I have submitted
Original
1. Passport
2. BRP
3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.
4. employer letter having salary, cos number, soc code, role, my address,date when I came to UK, I am required for another year etc.
5. original work permit, all the UKBA tier 2 ict approval letters
6. 12 months salary slips
7. Life in the UK test certificate
8. appointment email copy
9. 12 months bank statement
Evidence of maternity -
a) Child birth certificate,
b) husbands salary slips
c) husbands bank statement
d) marriage certificate
e) letter from employer confirming maternity dates

I gave the photocopy of every original document. For passport I gave the photocopy of front page, back page and all the other pages having visa stamp or any other relevant stamps.

I did not gave any annual leave letter neither I selected any option in the application where it asks for the absence evidence

I did not give HMRC employment letter or P60.

The SOC code I used was as per new SOC guidelines after 6th April 2013.

My employer letter did not have the statement that my salary is as per SOC code requirements

There was no interaction with CW and all other staff was very friendly.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Congratulations and enjoy your ILR . Thanks for the detailed experience.

[sheraz7]

Many thanks for sharing your experience.

[syed_ILR]

Hi All

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for guiding and helping me through out my ILR application journey. Without this forum it would have been impossible for me to even think about applying ILR. I got my ILR successfully in Croydon.

Here is my experience.

My appointment was at 9.10 am so I reached there at 8.40. After the airport like security check in I was asked to go to one counter in ground floor itself. In this counter the lady asked me for my passport , checked my application and then issued me a reference number which she said will be used to track my application through out the day till decision is made.

After that I went to third floor and was asked to pay the fees upfront. After paying the fees I was asked to wait there for my number to be called. After 15 minutes of wait my number was called and another lady checked my application and said she is registering some details in the system

I was then asked to go for my biometrics. The gentleman who did my biometric took all my documents (original and photo copy) and asked me if I would like to wait here in the cafeteria or would like to go out of the building. I opted to wait.

It was a loooooooong wait of 2 hours and then finally my number was announced . In the cafeteria there are screens where you can see the status of your application.


Here are the documents I have submitted
Original
1. Passport
2. BRP
3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.
4. employer letter having salary, cos number, soc code, role, my address,date when I came to UK, I am required for another year etc.
5. original work permit, all the UKBA tier 2 ict approval letters
6. 12 months salary slips
7. Life in the UK test certificate
8. appointment email copy
9. 12 months bank statement
Evidence of maternity -
a) Child birth certificate,
b) husbands salary slips
c) husbands bank statement
d) marriage certificate
e) letter from employer confirming maternity dates

I gave the photocopy of every original document. For passport I gave the photocopy of front page, back page and all the other pages having visa stamp or any other relevant stamps.

I did not gave any annual leave letter neither I selected any option in the application where it asks for the absence evidence

I did not give HMRC employment letter or P60.

The SOC code I used was as per new SOC guidelines after 6th April 2013.

My employer letter did not have the statement that my salary is as per SOC code requirements

There was no interaction with CW and all other staff was very friendly.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Congrats mate!

Can you or someone throw some light on the photocopy thing please. I have 12 months bank statetment which is literally more than 150 pages long!!! Do I need to copy all the pages or just the ones where my salary is credited.

[Kevin24]

Congrtulations GenX. Enjoy your ILR.

[wordable]

Congrats GenX!

[dk2011]

Many Many congratulations!

[dk2011]

One quick question regarding photocopy . I have work VISA for countries other than UK as well on my passport . Do i need to provide photocopy of those pages also?

[onabanjo]

Hi All

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for guiding and helping me through out my ILR application journey. Without this forum it would have been impossible for me to even think about applying ILR. I got my ILR successfully in Croydon.

Here is my experience.

My appointment was at 9.10 am so I reached there at 8.40. After the airport like security check in I was asked to go to one counter in ground floor itself. In this counter the lady asked me for my passport , checked my application and then issued me a reference number which she said will be used to track my application through out the day till decision is made.

After that I went to third floor and was asked to pay the fees upfront. After paying the fees I was asked to wait there for my number to be called. After 15 minutes of wait my number was called and another lady checked my application and said she is registering some details in the system

I was then asked to go for my biometrics. The gentleman who did my biometric took all my documents (original and photo copy) and asked me if I would like to wait here in the cafeteria or would like to go out of the building. I opted to wait.

It was a loooooooong wait of 2 hours and then finally my number was announced . In the cafeteria there are screens where you can see the status of your application.


Here are the documents I have submitted
Original
1. Passport
2. BRP
3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.
4. employer letter having salary, cos number, soc code, role, my address,date when I came to UK, I am required for another year etc.
5. original work permit, all the UKBA tier 2 ict approval letters
6. 12 months salary slips
7. Life in the UK test certificate
8. appointment email copy
9. 12 months bank statement
Evidence of maternity -
a) Child birth certificate,
b) husbands salary slips
c) husbands bank statement
d) marriage certificate
e) letter from employer confirming maternity dates

I gave the photocopy of every original document. For passport I gave the photocopy of front page, back page and all the other pages having visa stamp or any other relevant stamps.

I did not gave any annual leave letter neither I selected any option in the application where it asks for the absence evidence

I did not give HMRC employment letter or P60.

The SOC code I used was as per new SOC guidelines after 6th April 2013.

My employer letter did not have the statement that my salary is as per SOC code requirements

There was no interaction with CW and all other staff was very friendly.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Congrats mate!

Can you or someone throw some light on the photocopy thing please. I have 12 months bank statement which is literally more than 150 pages long!!! Do I need to copy all the pages or just the ones where my salary is credited.

Making photocopies is an optional issue and not a requirement. The UKBA will make photocopies of all documents you present to them before decision is taken , its their responsibility to make copies. The cost of service is inclusive of photocopies.
However, I will strongly suggest to make copies of all documents you present to them for your keep. It does not matter if you intend to opt for postal application or going for PEO service.

[GenX]

One quick question regarding photocopy . I have work VISA for countries other than UK as well on my passport . Do i need to provide photocopy of those pages also?

I would suggest to copy that aswell and give it to UKBA. I also did the same. I had visa for other countries so I took the photocopy and gave it along with other pages like where there was a stamp of my husbands name etc.

[onabanjo]

One quick question regarding photocopy . I have work VISA for countries other than UK as well on my passport . Do i need to provide photocopy of those pages also?

I would suggest to copy that aswell and give it to UKBA. I also did the same. I had visa for other countries so I took the photocopy and gave it along with other pages like where there was a stamp of my husbands name etc.

Yes you are right , the case worker may ask If you have photocopies and if you say NO but meet the requirements,you will have your ILR approval and they will make copies themselves because you have paid for it.If you were asked if you have photocopies and you hand them over to them but you fail to meet the requirement, my guess is as good as yours what will be the outcome. The point am making is if you must make photocopies for UKBA, please make another for yourself. Good number of people have attended PEO interview with high expectation that they had straight forward applications/cases with the intention of getting same day approval only to be given either additional documents required,further enquiries , additional information required letters etc.
Even on this forum, people have faced these problems .
I went for PEO interview with no photocopies for my case worker and this was based strictly on my lawyer advice who advised that the photocopies i made should be kept for my personal record.Also, UKBA occasionally misplace applicants documents and your copies will be handy to trace it if such happens .

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

[GenX]

Thanks all, I got my BRP card today almost after a week.

[Kevin24]

One quick question regarding photocopy . I have work VISA for countries other than UK as well on my passport . Do i need to provide photocopy of those pages also?

I would suggest to copy that aswell and give it to UKBA. I also did the same. I had visa for other countries so I took the photocopy and gave it along with other pages like where there was a stamp of my husbands name etc.

Yes you are right , the case worker may ask If you have photocopies and if you say NO but meet the requirements,you will have your ILR approval and they will make copies themselves because you have paid for it.If you were asked if you have photocopies and you hand them over to them but you fail to meet the requirement, my guess is as good as yours what will be the outcome. The point am making is if you must make photocopies for UKBA, please make another for yourself. Good number of people have attended PEO interview with high expectation that they had straight forward applications/cases with the intention of getting same day approval only to be given either additional documents required,further enquiries , additional information required letters etc.
Even on this forum, people have faced these problems .
I went for PEO interview with no photocopies for my case worker and this was based strictly on my lawyer advice who advised that the photocopies i made should be kept for my personal record.Also, UKBA occasionally misplace applicants documents and your copies will be handy to trace it if such happens .

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

Every thing you have mentioned is really true. I took 2 sets of Photocopies of all the Originals I carried. CW did not want any of them. As she asked for only few documents and she was very happy to take the photocopies her self. I was very happy with that did not argue.

[dk2011]

[quote="GenX"]Hi All

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for guiding and helping me through out my ILR application journey. Without this forum it would have been impossible for me to even think about applying ILR. I got my ILR successfully in Croydon.

Here is my experience.

My appointment was at 9.10 am so I reached there at 8.40. After the airport like security check in I was asked to go to one counter in ground floor itself. In this counter the lady asked me for my passport , checked my application and then issued me a reference number which she said will be used to track my application through out the day till decision is made.

After that I went to third floor and was asked to pay the fees upfront. After paying the fees I was asked to wait there for my number to be called. After 15 minutes of wait my number was called and another lady checked my application and said she is registering some details in the system

I was then asked to go for my biometrics. The gentleman who did my biometric took all my documents (original and photo copy) and asked me if I would like to wait here in the cafeteria or would like to go out of the building. I opted to wait.

It was a loooooooong wait of 2 hours and then finally my number was announced . In the cafeteria there are screens where you can see the status of your application.


Here are the documents I have submitted
[b]Original[/b]
1. Passport
2. BRP
3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.
4. employer letter having salary, cos number, soc code, role, my address,date when I came to UK, I am required for another year etc.
5. original work permit, all the UKBA tier 2 ict approval letters
6. 12 months salary slips
7. Life in the UK test certificate
8. appointment email copy
9. 12 months bank statement
Evidence of maternity -
a) Child birth certificate,
b) husbands salary slips
c) husbands bank statement
d) marriage certificate
e) letter from employer confirming maternity dates

I gave the photocopy of every original document. For passport I gave the photocopy of front page, back page and all the other pages having visa stamp or any other relevant stamps.

I did not gave any annual leave letter neither I selected any option in the application where it asks for the absence evidence

I did not give HMRC employment letter or P60.

The SOC code I used was as per new SOC guidelines after 6th April 2013.

My employer letter did not have the statement that my salary is as per SOC code requirements

There was no interaction with CW and all other staff was very friendly.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.[/quote]

Hi GenX ,
Could you please share the format of letter provided by bank confirming salary is getting credited every month? Did it mention about start month ?
Thanks

[Sahib]

Hi Genx, Congratulation on success of your ILR and thanks for sharing your experience.

3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.

Regarding above, can you please let us know;

1- Name of your bank?
2- How did you get the latter from bank, what did you say to them and does the letter includes 12 entries with dates and salary amounts?
3- Do the letter include your name alongwith full address, bank account and sort code?
4- Appreciate if you can please share letter format

[GenX]

Hi All,

My bank is HSBC. I went to the branch and told them that I want to apply for ILR hence I need a letter from the bank confirming that my employer has submitted my salary every month in the account with the bank. The lady told me that they don't do this normally and will issue a letter as a one of case. I told her that this is not new and many of my friends have got this letter and submitted it to the UKBA. She issued me the letter easily without any fuss.

Here is the content of the letter

Name of the account holder
address of account holder

Dear XYZ(account holders name)

I can confirm that your salary has been mandated to your account from ABC(name of the employer) , paying in at least one credit a month since DD/MM/YYYY ( date since my first salary transaction started) to present date (DD/MM/YYYY - use current date here)

Yours sincerely

Sign of the HSBC employee
Her name

[Sahib]

Thanks for your reply Genx, was this on official bank stationary or on a plain paper and then bank employee stamped and signed the letter? I am asking because original stationary will be in coloured + will also have bank logo.

Seniors: Can such letter be submitted as a 2nd evidance of salary for ILR application? i.e. instead of monthly statements (where someone is struggling) just submit this letter so the case worker can match & verify salary slip with this letter?

There are some people on forum struggling to get duplicate bank statements, if they can get such letter from branch and submit with application; will/shall this be acceptable?

[GenX]

Thanks for your reply Genx, was this on official bank stationary or on a plain paper and then bank employee stamped and signed the letter? I am asking because original stationary will be in coloured + will also have bank logo.

Seniors: Can such letter be submitted as a 2nd evidance of salary for ILR application? i.e. instead of monthly statements (where someone is struggling) just submit this letter so the case worker can match & verify salary slip with this letter?

There are some people on forum struggling to get duplicate bank statements, if they can get such letter from branch and submit with application; will/shall this be acceptable?

Hi, the letter was on official HSBC letter head with proper logo.

[Sahib]

Thanks GenX

[goldfish]

3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.

Why did you need this letter - I would have expected the bank statements would show the salary credits so the letter would not add anything?

[dk2011]

[quote="goldfish"][quote="dk2011"]3. letter from bank confirming that I have received salary every month from the employer.[/quote]

Why did you need this letter - I would have expected the bank statements would show the salary credits so the letter would not add anything?[/quote]

You are right. Bank statement would show the salary credit but i have leaves spread out in last five years and in that case need to carry statement for last five years just in case employer doesn't provide letter regarding confirmation of paid leaves.
Please let me know your view on this.

[Sahib]

My understanding is, HO requires two sources as a proof to confirm salary creidts, one source will be salary slip and 2nd will be bank. I think this is a good idea to get a letter like this but not sure if all banks will provide such letter; like people have mentioned Barclays don't even provide an exact image for duplicate statements. Some people have different salary figures every month but if bank provide such letter with 12 lines to confirm yearly salray figures that i think should be enough to use as an alternative to bank statements, if required.

Seniors: plesae shed some light, i think this will be interesting/informative to know.