IRL through Ancestry - Questions

[thedudeintheuk]

Hello All

I am getting ready to go for my ILR along the ancestry route. I am currently waiting for a new passport from South Africa, but there appears to be a delay. Currently taken over 4 months.

It occurred to me that the forms state you need a valid passport (nowhere does it mention how valid) and my current passport is only going to expire in January next year. I am planning on booking and going into the Premium service center, so will not be posting in my application. I also have a BRP card for my ancestral visa.

The question is can I use a passport that is going to expire in less then 6 months to apply for an ILR, I do have the paperwork from the South African High Commission showing I have applied for a new passport.

Thank you in advance, I have looked and looked and can find nothing solid on the above.

[CR001]

Your passport must be valid at the time of application. There is NO requirement that it must be valid for X months in the future!!

[thedudeintheuk]

Thank you for the prompt answer and that makes my life a lot easier and lifts the last piece of stress next to going through the process on the day

[thedudeintheuk]

I am currently applying for my ILR through ancestry and have run into a few questions I am struggling to find the answer to. I extended my ancestral visa in 2014, so have now been here 9 and a half years. Silly but that is how it worked out. I have a BRP which I got when I extended my VISA. I have been trying to work out the following;

- Absences, the last time I left the UK was in 2013 more then 5 years ago, do I still need to list the previous and very short trips out the country? Last outside the UK April 2013.

- I have noticed that none of the supporting documentation I provided for my VISA appears to be required (Birth and marriage certificates). As best I can tell in fact providing 3 payslips and 3 months bank statement is about all the documentation I need, as per the documentation section of the form. Is this the case, from reading previous posts people still seem to supply all that supporting documentation regardless.

- I have seen a few posts on that advise not to provide excessive amounts of documentation. So do I give them everything I have, all ancestry evidence, payslips, P60's, bank statements and anything else associated with it, or stick to what is asked for, which is bank statements and payslips.

My main issue is that my South African passport is expiring in January, and while I applied for a new passport in April, I have yet to receive it, and currently all attempts to find out what is going on with it result in people not knowing or being able to help me. From what I can tell on the Set (O) form if you do not have a valid passport, providing evidence you have been attempting to renew it and the old passport should be enough (Reasons beyond my control), more so as the passport is merely expired and not completely lost.

I am attempting to get an appointment at a Premium Service Center, but currently that is a serious task and appointments appear to be hard to come by so am considering posting in my application. I called the home office and asked if I could use a passport with that much time left in a postal application and they said it would not be an issue. I would be interested to know if their is any additional advice on this.

Thank you for your help in advance

[thedudeintheuk]

I have managed to get a booking for a PSC on Friday, I will be sure to take all the documentation I need and have just in case. This also eliminates the concerns around passport expiry and posting in an application.

I am beyond nervous about this, anxiety is through the roof and suspect it is all silly as I have everything I need and more.