ILR Visa in expired passport - trouble opening bank account

Hi everyone! Long time since I’ve been here, hope everyone is ok.

I received the stimulus check a couple of weeks ago, (totally out of the blue, thanks Uncle Sam) but I’m having trouble cashing it. I’m with a building society that doesn’t take international checks so I am in the process of opening an account elsewhere. Unfortunately the new bank isn’t recognizing my ILR visa, which is one of the in passport types, issued in 2003.

I’m going to take them some info from UK immigration as evidence that my visa is still valid (it is, and I’ve been in and out of the country at least a couple of times each year with no problem at border control) but despite lots of searching I can’t find anything about pre-2006 visas. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Hi everyone! Long time since I’ve been here, hope everyone is ok.

I received the stimulus check a couple of weeks ago, (totally out of the blue, thanks Uncle Sam) but I’m having trouble cashing it. I’m with a building society that doesn’t take international checks so I am in the process of opening an account elsewhere. Unfortunately the new bank isn’t recognizing my ILR visa, which is one of the in passport types, issued in 2003.

I’m going to take them some info from UK immigration as evidence that my visa is still valid (it is, and I’ve been in and out of the country at least a couple of times each year with no problem at border control) but despite lots of searching I can’t find anything about pre-2006 visas. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

It's valid for travel but not for right to work.
https://www.gov.uk/transfer-visa

I’ve had the same employer for 13 years and I’m not required to show them additional proof as time passes so I’m not too bothered about that.

The bank are not asking for proof of eligibility to work, just that I have leave to remain 🤷🏽‍♀️

I’ve had the same employer for 13 years and I’m not required to show them additional proof as time passes so I’m not too bothered about that.

The bank are not asking for proof of eligibility to work, just that I have leave to remain 🤷🏽‍♀️

Why not take the path of least resistance and get yourself a shiny new BRP or better still, citizenship?
The check is valid for one year.

Why not take the path of least resistance and get yourself a shiny new BRP or better still, citizenship?
The check is valid for one year.

Thanks Larabee. I don’t mean to sound grumpy, I’m just vexed at the bank.  I just don’t understand how my documents are fine for border control but not a bank.

I hate to spend the money for a duplicate visa and I feel strange about taking citizenship. I took the life in the UK test ages ago but got cold feet. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense! There is something about using my stimuli check  to pay for citizenship that appeals, though.

Thanks Larabee. I don’t mean to sound grumpy, I’m just vexed at the bank.  I just don’t understand how my documents are fine for border control but not a bank.

I hate to spend the money for a duplicate visa and I feel strange about taking citizenship. I took the life in the UK test ages ago but got cold feet. I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense! There is something about using my stimuli check  to pay for citizenship that appeals, though.

Yes, it's kind of poetic really. 

I’ve had the same employer for 13 years and I’m not required to show them additional proof as time passes so I’m not too bothered about that.

The bank are not asking for proof of eligibility to work, just that I have leave to remain 🤷🏽‍♀️

There is a Facebook Group for Americans in the UK.  I’ve personally seen about 30 people lose their job suddenly when their employer realised that it was illegal to employ someone with ILR in an expired passport.  Unfortunately the problem with no getting citizenship, is you MUST continue to follow the immigration rules and comply with them.  The law that made it illegal to use ILR in an expired passport was brought in 6 years ago.  And if your employer suddenly let you go, you’d have no recourse at an employment tribunal.

It’s 100% okay to not want to get citizenship.  But you do need to get a BRP.  Thank Uncle Sam for giving you the funds to do so!

https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/replace-visa-brp

If you want to check we aren’t feeding you bullshit:

https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work

I hate to spend the money for a duplicate visa and I feel strange about taking citizenship.

As KFDancer said, you're going to need to do one or the other, because even if your employer doesn't need further proof of right to work, if you are ever asked to prove your right to work for any reason in the future, you currently have no legal proof, because ILR in an expired passport is no longer acceptable proof of right to work.

As per the Right to Work Checklist on the UKVI website, the only acceptable documents for proving right to work if you hold ILR are:

5. A current Biometric Immigration Document (Biometric Residence Permit) issued by the Home Office to the holder indicating that the person named is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
6. A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.

You neither have a current BRP nor do you have a current passport with ILR sticker... therefore right now, you have no legal proof of right to work.

In regards to citizenship, I get that you might not be comfortable with taking it, but maybe think about it from an immigration POV:

- With ILR, your right to live and work in the UK is dependent on you always continuing to live in the UK. If you were to move back to the US or to another country for more than 2 years, you would lose your ILR forever.
Which means, if you ever wanted to move back to the UK after more than 2 years away, you would have to go through the ENTIRE visa process again and it's much, much harder and more expensive now than when you went through it... for those married to a UK citizen, it means 5 years of visas (spousal visa, FLR(M) visa, ILR), at a cost of around £10,000 over the 5 years (though this is likely to increase in future)

- With citizenship, you will have the right to live and work in the UK for the rest of your life. End of story.
You can live anywhere else in the world for as long as you like, but UK citizenship will give you the right to return to live in the UK at any time for the rest of your life. Not to mention, UK citizenship would also give you the right to vote in the UK.

Unfortunately the new bank isn’t recognizing my ILR visa, which is one of the in passport types, issued in 2003.

Under the Immigration Act 2014, they can't open an account for you because you coud be using an invalid ILR. stamp and might be in the UK illegally.

Banks and building societies must not open a current account for those in the UK illegally. They must carry out an immigration check and notify the Home Office and in some cases they will be required to close accounts.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-status-checks-guidance-for-banks

You can thank all the dishonest people for that and for the rule of needing a BRP for work. You only have to look on the forums to see people using an ILR stamp in an old passport that they know is invalid. e.g. they know they never had ILR and that the ILR stamp was put in their passport in error, or they have resided outside the UK for more than two years in a row and they know their ILR has ended.

By needing a BRP for an ILR stamp, UKVI can check their records to see if if you hold ILR. If you have,  they issue you with a BRP and you can then use that to prove your settled status in the UK for things like bank accounts, to prove you are allowed to work in the UK etc. For those UKVI find do not hold ILR, they refuse a BRP and write to the applicant with their findings.

Thanks everyone, I genuinely didn't realise I needed to update anything and now I'm freaked out!

I was under the impression that ILR was permanent - I've not had any letters or anything to say I needed to do anything differently. I even spoke with my employer a few years ago to check they didn't need anything from me (I freaked out about the 10 year end date on my ILR sticker, which just turned out to be the period between which you need to enter the UK) so I suspect they don't know.

I opened a new account with a building society last year and I have a savings account with this particular bank so it's all a bit of a mystery as to how I've gone wrong.

I'm going to fill in form AN. Wish me luck!

Just to be bloody minded - any idea why the bank is actually seeking proof of right to work when they say they are looking for proof of right to stay in the UK? Because by all accounts my visa still provides right of abode.

Not saying I'm not going to apply for naturalisation - I'd hate to lose my job and not be able to get another - but I do feel quite strongly that the bank is overreaching.

Thanks everyone, I genuinely didn't realise I needed to update anything and now I'm freaked out!

I was under the impression that ILR was permanent - I've not had any letters or anything to say I needed to do anything differently.

ILR is permanent, as long as you continue to live in the UK and do not leave for more than 2 years. If you leave to live somewhere else and do not return to live in the UK within 2 years, your ILR automatically becomes invalid.

From the Returning Residents guidance:

More than 2 years’ absence
A person who has been absent from the UK for more than 2 consecutive years, will automatically lose their indefinite leave as a matter of law. This is set out in paragraph 20 of the Immigration Rules and in Article 13 of the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 (LTERO).

I even spoke with my employer a few years ago to check they didn't need anything from me (I freaked out about the 10 year end date on my ILR sticker, which just turned out to be the period between which you need to enter the UK) so I suspect they don't know.

This is a fairly new rule - it may have come in after you last talked to your employer about it.

It's not that your ILR has 'expired' (it won't have, because it is permanent), it's that the rules for what documents employers can accept as legal proof of right to work have changed, and now an ILR sticker in an EXPIRED passport can no longer be accepted. Therefore it is a requirement to get a BRP if you are employed in the UK and hold a temporary visa or ILR.

Just to be bloody minded - any idea why the bank is actually seeking proof of right to work when they say they are looking for proof of right to stay in the UK? Because by all accounts my visa still provides right of abode.

Not saying I'm not going to apply for naturalisation - I'd hate to lose my job and not be able to get another - but I do feel quite strongly that the bank is overreaching.

The bank won’t accept it imply because it’s in n expired passport.  I worked at a bank in the US, and we let accept expired passports or drivers licenses.  Considering they are a lot more strict around banking here, I suspect it’s as simple as that.

And yeah, ILR is permanent, but they can keep moving the goal posts, which happens from time to time.

Hi OP,  I don't have much to offer except to say I am in a similar position. My visa extension is still in process with the delay from Coronavirus, and my brp looks expired although my legal rights have been extended through the visa application. My bank won't take the US check either, and no other bank has been willing to open an account with me with an expired brp. Since we have till next year to cash the check, we are just waiting until the new brp is issued, and we will open a new account then. It's infuriating, especially as I'm in the vulnerable group and have not been furloughed. I find it incredibly bizarre that I can't deposit a governmentally guaranteed check in my own bank! I know that there are others in this position too.