Hello everyone!
I wanted to share my experience with the aforementioned instead of berating y'all with questions!
We were at Croydon Home Office - Lunar House this afternoon for my premium service for my ILR. We went there for my FLR 2 years ago, so not only can I share my experience today, but I can compare what it used to be like!
We arrived at 12:45 and went straight through security. The people there were absolutely lovely and efficient. I had a pair of scissors in my bag that were part of a Cath Kidston sewing kit, and the man who handled was a real gentleman about it. He didn't treat me like a criminal like they would do at an airport, but he took the kit and kept it safe for me to collect later.
Our appointment was at 1pm, so we went up to the 3rd floor where they handle the premium appointments. They have completely revamped the place! 2 years ago it was kinda grungy, rows and rows of seats on one side looking at all the grumpy case workers, and the updating screens weren't working properly. It was pretty unwelcoming; however, today it was bright and new, with an efficient new process and stations. The waiting area has been moved down the hall to a place they now call the coffee shop, where there is a costa coffe, rows of seats, tables and chairs, and a kids area for the little ones with a TV. The main hall had new desks and new areas for different things (biometrics, registration, collection). Very clean cut.
We had to wait in a short line to check-in officially. This is where they checked our booking and our payment. This put us in a queue to register our case. We went to sit down in the waiting room, and 10 minutes later we were called to a desk where we registered our case with a home office employee (this was not a case worker, as they keep them behind the scenes now, so you will not see a case worker on your visit). She took our passports and application to put some info into their system and register us for my biometrics. The system they were using actually went down while we were there! But, it was back up and running in about 5 minutes. She took all my original documents and put them in one plastic file, put my copies in another, and my application, passports and BRP in another. She rubber banded these 3 files together and gave them to take with me to biometrics.
She sent us down to the biometrics waiting area, and within a minute they called my number. Biometrics went how they always go: finger prints, signature, picture. The lady was really, really nice - she talked about her badly permed pom-pom hair. After she took those, I gave her my 3 plastic files. The biometrics person takes all your documents and submits them to the mysterious case workers they probably have tied up in their dungeon. This is when it is submitted for consideration and the long wait begins (1.5 - 2 hours she said when she took them).
We went back to the waiting area. The updating screens were top-notch, always up-to-date and extremely informative. You can see where your case is at each step of the way: awaiting registration, awaiting biometrics, awaiting consideration, under consideration, awaiting collection. Our case actually moved to the 'awaiting collection' stage in only about an hour, so the more straight forward your application is, the better!
At 3pm we collected my successful application and walked out the door!
Some things I noticed while there:
- If your application remained in the normal process, then your case number would just show on the screen at whichever stage it was and a computerised voice called you when needed. If they wanted to ask you questions, an actual human would call your number over an intercom to attend a certain desk for questioning.
About the Settlement Checking Service:It was the best £77 we have ever spent!
They are usually held at council buildings, and we went to Bracknell Forest. They gave us our own 'case worker', who was experienced with the whole ILR process. She walked us through the entire application and answered any questions we had. She identified what all the trick questions were and how to answer the tricky questions! She made sure all of our questions were answered how the Home Office wanted them to be answered.
She was absolutely fabulous. These were a few interesting things I learned:
- They always want to see rental agreements/ mortgages.
- It's always good to bring your marriage certificate regardless.
- The checking service is not allowed to take copies for you unless they are posting off your application for you. Supposedly this gives the applicant 'hope' that your app will be successful - the UKBA doesn't want to give anyone hope because it can be used against them if they refuse an app. She made me copies
- The constant 'how long have you lived together' questions are suppose to trip you up.
- The 'how long have you been living in a relationship' question is actually asking you how long you have been in the relationship. The word 'living' doesn't mean domicile, it means just being in a relationship. They are checking there haven't been any breaks in your relationship.
- Supposedly, they only have access to UK police records to check your background against. That is the impression she gave me!
- They prefer your passport photos in a clear plastic baggie! Not an envelope.
- Section 8, about public funds, is meant to trip you up as well. You should not be claiming public funds, so you should not have to fill any of these out, so don't let their presence fool you! However, if you have claimed funds, this won't mean refusal, it will mean you'll have to pay it all back.
- They will only allow up to a 5 month gap for your cohabitation evidence.
- They accept driver's licenses and payslips as proof of address.
- Be as open and honest as you can be. Explain every little discrepancy. Have someone read over your application so it makes sense.
I'm sorry for the long entry, but I hope that any of this information gives someone help somehow!
