ILR just granted - travel without new BRP?

Hi Everyone!

As of today my wife officially has ILR! We had a super priority appointment this morning and got the response by mid-afternoon.

We are due to travel to the US on 24th August, so would be cutting it close with regards to receiving her new BRP, which are informed should take 7 working days to arrive. She has her existing BRP, which we will of course return once we have the new one, however it would expire a few days before we return from the US.

I am aware of the one time entry visa if you don't have a BRP, however surely my wife would still be able to enter the country as a tourist? If in the worst case scenario the BRP arrives after we have left for the US, i presume having access to a scanned version of it might help?

Appreciate any help or thoughts!

Thanks!

Ideally you’ll have it before travelling.

Your biggest obstacle will be the airline not allowing her to board the flight without a return flight to the USA. 

On the UK side, she will be put in the pen and told off. 

If you decide to travel without it and are allowed to board the flight, be apologetic, polite, and patient with immigration. 

Thanks for the response!

We do have a return flight in the beginning on September. Apologies, i should have made it clear.

Okay, she’s flying UK to USA.  Then USA to UK, then returning to the USA in early September?  If so, they won’t need to see the BRP to allow her on the USA to UK leg as the airline will assume she’s a tourist.  They only need to see the BRP when the final destination is the UK (as the airline has to pay fines if a passenger is denied entry).

Just ensure immigration in the UK does NOT stamp her in as a tourist. 

Sorry, i think i have confused the matter more! Thought you were referring to a return ticket from the US.

We are flying to the US, then returning to the UK two weeks later. That is it.

If it comes to it, we will just have to fess up and apologise while she is in the pen, as you put it.

We are due to travel to the US on 24th August, so would be cutting it close with regards to receiving her new BRP, which are informed should take 7 working days to arrive.

Looking at the immigrationboards forum, it seems that most people applying for ILR have been receiving their BRP cards within 2-4 days of their visa being approved... so hopefully you will have it by the end of this week and won't need to worry about travelling without it.

Sorry, i think i have confused the matter more! Thought you were referring to a return ticket from the US.

I think what KFDancer was getting at was that when she tries to board the plane in the US to go back to the UK, if she doesn't have a valid BRP and also does not have a return ticket to come back to the US, they may not let her get on the flight home... because she won't meet the requirements to be allowed into the UK as a tourist (as she would need a return ticket back to the US to show she will leave within 6 months and is not trying to live in the UK).

Sorry, i think i have confused the matter more! Thought you were referring to a return ticket from the US.

We are flying to the US, then returning to the UK two weeks later. That is it.

If it comes to it, we will just have to fess up and apologise while she is in the pen, as you put it.

The pen is a non-issue, no big deal.  It'll be persuading the airline in the USA to print your boarding passes!  Sometimes the airline staff at check-in aren't overly friendly or helpful. 

As ksand says, hopefully you'll just have it before you travel.

I think what KFDancer was getting at was that when she tries to board the plane in the US to go back to the UK, if she doesn't have a valid BRP and also does not have a return ticket to come back to the US, they may not let her get on the flight home... because she won't meet the requirements to be allowed into the UK as a tourist (as she would need a return ticket back to the US to show she will leave within 6 months and is not trying to live in the UK).

Yup, this!

The UK will (begrudgingly) be able to see that she's legal.  The USA side will NOT have access to that information. 

My Mrs Bio appt was friday and BRP was with us on Tuesday, you just got to be in with ID when it arrives, they just give you a deleivery of 08:00- 20:00 which isnt great but you've just got to hang about.