Post
by jimin95 » Thu Apr 20, 2017 4:26 pm
Today, my sister and I have just been granted ILR! Big thanks to vinny who has been so patient in answering my questions. Worrying wouldn't really do a person any good. I spent so much time worrying and had so many sleepless nights because I kept looking for something to worry about.
Our PEO appointment is on the 20th not 28th. We misheard our solicitor and thought that he booked us on the 28th (twenty-eighth vs twentieth), but thankfully our solicitor's colleague (who went with us to apply in the PEO) called us on the day before the appointment to confirm stuff and we just had enough time to get to the bank, print bank statements and get those stamped. (We already ordered bank statements and those haven't arrived yet). He called at around 4:15pm, we only had 45 minutes left before the bank closes. We were really lucky. We also had to find taxi who will bring us to Sheffield (as we booked a taxi that'll take us to Sheffield on the 28th). It was so chaotic but everything went into place.
Our appointment was at 9am, but we arrived at 8:15. We were waiting for our solicitor's colleague because he has our other documents (passports, brps, life in the uk etc) but he arrived at exact 9am. Outside the Sheffield PEO, he had to arrange and check all our documents, so by the time he finished it was already 9:15 lol. So we went through the security procedure, and waited for the registration. The lady at the registration bit asked why we were late and guess what our solicitor's colleague told the lady, "traffic because they came from Banbury". Lmao we were outside since 8:15 and he was the one who arrived late. Anyway, we finished with the registration at around 9:25 and was called for biometrics at around 10:45. Our number was called at around 11:20 for the results and we were granted ILR. Finally, my sister and I will be able to apply for loan when we go to university. We're finally able to study here! I'm so relieved.
Oh and I've just seen the letter on why we were refused during our first application (we haven't had the chance to see the actual paper because all this time they were with our solicitor). It wasn't about the usage of "false documents" like what I was originally worrying and stressing about. It was because our application was sent in September 2016, but the school letter we provided as our proof of address was dated in July 2016 (more than a month old), so that's the reason why they maintained their decision when we applied for admin review. (1st refusal: missing documents; 2nd refusal (admin review where we supplied the "missing documents"): outdated documents were used). I read so much stuff and cases about paragraph 320 and the reason we were refused was this simple. I was already preparing myself for the worst case scenario.
Anyway, all is well now. We're going to apply for British Citizenship next year. I hope everything goes well. Once again, thanks to everyone who has taken their time to reply not only to me but also to other people who are in need of answers. Even a simple reply works wonders and eases our minds a little bit.