Phew!! Beth just messaged from work having checked her emails at lunchtime. She received an email at 9.36 this morning confirming her application for ILR was successful. What a huge relief five years five months from the start.
In terms of the process then,
Followed advice on here to wait until 1am when super priority option is released, before paying for that and submitting application. We went on to book slot straight away which meant acting fast as slots were disappearing by the second. However, after securing super priority application, others have waited until 9am the next morning when new slots become available for a less frantic and late night booking experience.
In that speed booking there were still quite a lot of different options. A lot to process so it's worth writing down beforehand all the times you can do, factoring in variable distances and any special options you're looking to book like document checking for example.
What we booked was a slot in Croydon, Bedford Point - 90 minutes away from us, which had option for scanning and uploading docs and for express. We didn't really know what express meant but at this point we were just wildly clicking in an early hours frenzy.
Information for anyone going to Bedford Point in Croydon, there's on-road parking if you turn right where the one way system directs you as you approach Bedford Point with a 2 hour limit. (There's multistorey carpark nearby as well). The two hours might be enough if you have express appointment - we arrived an hour early and it took 40 minutes once Beth went in.
There was a queue out into the street at the entrance and express basically means queue jumping! If you have booked this, you need to let one of the security people know when you get to the queue. Beth went there 15 minutes before her appointment time and was taken through quite quickly. Without the express it looked like the queuing time was around 30 to 40 minutes on a Friday morning/ lunchtime. There's a newsagents right by Bedford Point and a pub next door (no dogs allowed even outside seating in the unlikely event anyone reading this will also be going to Bedford Point with wife and dog along for the ride)!
The appointment itself was very straightforward. Passport checked, fingerprints and photo taken as usual. The documents were all uploaded and there was no 50 page limit that I had worried about (that limit must mean 50 pages per document). The document scanning service includes doc checking so everything was checked e.g., to make sure addresses were included.
The disadvantage of going on a Friday is that you're more likely to have to wait til the Monday, which we did. She was out of appointment by 12.40 on Friday and her email came through at 9.36 this morning.
Good, right, I think I have imparted all our knowledge now. Onwards to citizenship... There's no emoticon that fully expresses this level of
'phew'.
Thank you for your magnificance UK yankee forum.
Em
