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Topic: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?  (Read 1265 times)

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Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« on: March 03, 2014, 07:16:36 PM »
Hi everyone -- I'm looking for a bit of guidance. I just passed my 'Life in the UK' test this weekend and am a bit unsure as to the next steps in getting my ILR.

I'm a US citizen in the UK on a Spouse Visa which was issued on 21/06/12 (before the July 9 changes) and I entered the UK on 13 September 2012. My visa is valid until 21/09/14.

Here are my questions:

1) On what date can I actually send my ILR application?

2) Now that I've passed my 'Life in the UK' test, is there anything I need to do leading up to applying for ILR?

3) Do I have to get a biometric residence card before applying for ILR or do I schedule something once they've received my application?

4) Mine and my wife's situation's pretty straightforward. We both work and have income amounting to £34,500, we're not on any sort of benefits and have the letters and whatnot needed to show we've been living together since I arrived. Does anyone have any advice on whether or not we should be considering the in-person application option?

Thanks in advance for your help, everyone! This site's been tremendously useful over the past couple years!
« Last Edit: March 03, 2014, 07:20:53 PM by joeyd1230 »


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2014, 07:58:16 PM »
1) On what date can I actually send my ILR application?

The earliest you can apply is 28 days before the date you entered the UK in 2012.

So, if you entered on 13th Sept 2012, you can apply for ILR on 16th August 2014 and you have until the expiry date of your visa to apply.

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2) Now that I've passed my 'Life in the UK' test, is there anything I need to do leading up to applying for ILR?

You will need to provide 6 letters addressed to both of you, evenly spaced, covering the entire 2 years of your spousal visa.

So, you want one document in each name, for each 4-month period between Sept 2012 and Sept 2014. They can be jointly addressed or separately addressed, as long as you have each name on 6 documents (so, 6 joint or 12 separate, or a mixture of both).

There is a list of acceptable documents on the SET(M) application form for ILR.

You will also need to provide your most recent 6 months of payslips and bank statements to show your income.

Otherwise, all the documents you need to send are listed on the SET(M) form.

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3) Do I have to get a biometric residence card before applying for ILR or do I schedule something once they've received my application?

You won't get the residence card until the ILR is issued, because it IS your ILR visa.

If you are applying by post, you will receive a letter from UKBA after you have sent in your application, inviting you to book a biometrics appointment at a Post Office. You give your biometrics there, and then UKBA will process the visa.

If you apply in person, your biometrics will be taken on the day, at the in-person appointment.

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4) Mine and my wife's situation's pretty straightforward. We both work and have income amounting to £34,500, we're not on any sort of benefits and have the letters and whatnot needed to show we've been living together since I arrived. Does anyone have any advice on whether or not we should be considering the in-person application option?

If you can afford the in-person appointment, I would say go for it. You will get a same-day decision and your ILR visa (the BRP) will arrive in the mail within 10 working days.

Currently, if you apply by post, it's taking about 4 months for the ILR visa to be issued!


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2014, 10:29:10 PM »
Quick question: if I apply for ILR by post and it takes 3-4 months (is that the current waiting period?), does that mean I'm without my passport for that period of time?

If I do have my passport, what happens if I leave the country and try coming back in while the visa's still being processed?

I ask because I'm set to apply for ILR in early September and have a Thanksgiving trip to the US booked for late November -- so my wife and I are trying to decide if we have to do the in-person application so our plans aren't effected...


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2014, 06:00:16 PM »
If you can't submit any sooner than 16th August 2014, and you have flights for November, I would *highly* suggest you do the in-person application. It seems you have your ducks in a row, so you'll have your BRP in a matter of days.  I did my in-person last Friday, and my BRP was attempted delivery today (I was at work of course). From what I understand there's a solid 4 month wait going on for applications via post.
Immigrated July 24th.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2014, 10:14:58 PM »
During your in-person, do they keep your passport or do you leave with it?

My wife and I have a trip to Barcelona planned for 6 days after my possible appointment (18th August), but aren't sure if we're safe to schedule this date...


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2014, 10:28:01 PM »
I believe you get your passport back at the appointment, but you cannot leave the UK until you have received the BRP card in the post, which can take up to 10 working days after the appointment... because without it you won't have a valid visa to get back into the UK again.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2014, 10:32:25 PM »
Thanks -- so does that mean the visa currently in my passport becomes invalid? It says it's valid until September 21, but is that taken out or cancelled upon attending the in-person and (hopefully) being approved?


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2014, 08:54:31 AM »
You keep your passport. The vignette remains in your passport, but I don't know if border control would know whether or not you've passed your application for ILR. If their information is connected well - then yes, it would be invalid.

However, if your BRP is to be delivered, and you haven't received it - you risk letting it sit with the courier while you're on holiday. I don't know how long they hold onto things before returning it to sender. It could turn into a kerfuffle to get your BRP.

And there's no guarantee you'll get the in-person date you want, right on the 18th of August. You won't know which dates are available until you try to book. Sounds like a risky endeavor to book a holiday so close to your interview date, unless you have expendable income to blow on possible holiday rescheduling.  ;D
Immigrated July 24th.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2014, 09:07:18 AM »
Why can't you just book an appointment for after your trip to Barcelona? That way you can go to Barcelona, apply in person for ILR before September 21st, and then have your BRP well before your trip in November.

UKBA recommend that you do not make any travel plans until you have your BRP.

If you travel after the appointment, but before you get the BRP, you will have already had your ILR approved (and your spousal visa will be cancelled) but the actual visa will not have arrived yet.

So, when you return to the UK and go through immigration, what will you do if it comes up on the system that your spousal visa is not valid... but you don't have a valid ILR visa to show them?

I personally would not risk it, and to be honest, this is something that ought to have been considered when booking your holidays... especially as you will have known for the last 2 years when your spousal visa was going to expire and that you would need to allow time to apply for ILR in August/September 2014.

I can't find it on the new version of the UKVI website, but the old version had a page detailing what happens on the day of the in-person appointment. At the bottom it said:

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Issuing your biometric residence permit

If your application is successful, UKBA will send your biometric residence permit to you by post within 7 working days. They will not issue it to you on the day of your appointment. You are advised not to make any travel arrangements before you receive all of your documentation.

A law website that deals will immigration still has a copy of what used to be written on the old UKBA website, if you're interested in what happens at the appointment:
http://www.findlaw.co.uk/law/immigration_emigration/other_immigration_law_topics/uk_border_agency/30408.html


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2014, 10:58:11 AM »
Thanks for the replies KSand and KMW!

Why can't you just book an appointment for after your trip to Barcelona? That way you can go to Barcelona, apply in person for ILR before September 21st, and then have your BRP well before your trip in November.

UKBA recommend that you do not make any travel plans until you have your BRP.

We booked our holiday to Barcelona a few months back without anticipating there being absolutely no in-person appointments available from September 1 to 19. I registered for the UKBA site yesterday and checked those dates and there was nothing available for some reason. When I search for dates from 1st to 19th September, this is the message I get:

"We do not have any appointments available for your preferred dates and locations.

If you have not reached your limit for the number of times you can search, you can change your preferred dates and location and search again.

If you have been unsuccessful in finding an available appointment, please do not call our contact centres. They do not have any additional appointments available to them."


Does this seem right? I'm not sure why all appointments would be booked for this time frame...

I personally would not risk it, and to be honest, this is something that ought to have been considered when booking your holidays... especially as you will have known for the last 2 years when your spousal visa was going to expire and that you would need to allow time to apply for ILR in August/September 2014.

We booked our holiday a few months back, thinking we'd either apply by post (but have decided against due to the long wait time) and thinking that we'd be able to get an in-person sometime during the three weeks after we return to the UK, if necessary.

The only period of time that I'm seeing on my searches for in-person dates are for the week before our Barcelona holiday...

I'm going to try calling the help line number listed to get a clearer picture of the situation and to find out why there are no dates in September. If it turns out our assumptions mean having to reschedule our trip, so be it. A very costly, but necessary lesson.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2014, 11:14:17 AM »
Does this seem right? I'm not sure why all appointments would be booked for this time frame...

Appointments are only released 6 weeks (42 days) in advance. So at the moment, you can only book an appointment up to the last week of August.

If you check back again in the next couple of weeks, you should be able to book for September.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2014, 11:17:03 AM »
I'm not sure if it's changed and I could be remembering wrong, but they used to only release appointments 6 weeks in advance. If that's still the case, the earliest you could book now would be 27 August (6 weeks from today). If you want an appointment between 1-19 September, you'll have to wait until at least next Monday to try and book.

x-posted with ksand
July 2012 - Fiancée Visa | Nov 2012 - Married
Dec 2012 - FLR | Nov 2014 - ILR | Dec 2015 - UK Citizen


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2014, 12:22:35 PM »
Thanks TravelingFrog -- you're right!

I just got off the phone with a UK Visa advisor (on the 0300 123 2241 number) and she said the dates don't appear until six weeks ahead of the date you're searching -- which means I can log on and reschedule my appointment to September 1 on July 22. She also said that, so long as I reschedule at the same centre, there's no fee or penalty for changing the date.

All in all, a huge relief. Just wish it had been clear on the website that dates only appear six weeks ahead -- would've saved my wife and I a whole lot of stress last night and today...


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #13 on: July 18, 2014, 03:10:52 PM »
I'd like to add a major correction to the statement I made above.
I just got my BRP today, and I was going to put it with my passport. I looked at the vignette in it - there's a stamp now on it: Leave Superseded by BRP.
I did not notice that before.

So once you do your in-person application, your spousal visa is completely invalid.
Immigrated July 24th.


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Re: Passed 'Life in UK' test -- next step in road to ILR?
« Reply #14 on: July 18, 2014, 03:27:34 PM »
I'd like to add a major correction to the statement I made above.
I just got my BRP today, and I was going to put it with my passport. I looked at the vignette in it - there's a stamp now on it: Leave Superseded by BRP.
I did not notice that before.

So once you do your in-person application, your spousal visa is completely invalid.

That's good to know - thanks for posting that, kmw5 :).

I assumed that would probably be the case, but it's good to have definite confirmation of it :).


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