ILR journey begins

Getting ready to begin the IRL paperwork trail; here's my first set of questions.

I'm presuming I'll be using set (M) as I'm married to a UK resident.  Do we have a quick link to this?

I see/read about BIOS again.  Is this the usual go to post office for them to take the photo as I did for 2nd 2.5 yrs?

I'm reading about the need for additional passport sized photographs signed on the back of both myself & partner.  Are these really needed? 

Ta

Getting ready to begin the IRL paperwork trail; here's my first set of questions.

I'm presuming I'll be using set (M) as I'm married to a UK resident.  Do we have a quick link to this?

Yes, it’s form SET(M):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-settle-in-the-uk-form-setm

I see/read about BIOS again.  Is this the usual go to post office for them to take the photo as I did for 2nd 2.5 yrs?

No, the entire application process has changed since then.

Biometrics are no longer done at the Post Office and instead you have to book and attend a biometrics appointment at a UKVCAS centre:
https://www.ukvcas.co.uk

Also, everything is done online now and you do not need to mail anything anywhere, not even your passport or BRP card - it is all scanned and uploaded to UKVCAS.

The new application process is:
- gather all your documents

- complete the online application

- submit the application and pay for the visa... at this stage you may be offered the chance to purchase the Super Priority service for £800 which gets your application processed within 24 hours of biometrics

- wait for an email with a registration code for the UKVCAS site

- register and create a UKVCAS account

- book biometrics at a UKVCAS centre... be prepared to pay at least £70-£110 for an appointment... there are supposed to be free appointments available but due to Covid I don’t think anyone has managed to find one in the last 10 months. You can also add extra services to your appointment such as document scanning and checking (the £70 appointments at Enhanced centres already include both).-

- upload your documents to the UKVCAS site

- attend biometrics

- wait for visa to be processed (you will get an email) and new BRP card to be mailed to you

- once you have it, return old BRP card to UKVI by mail

I'm reading about the need for additional passport sized photographs signed on the back of both myself & partner.  Are these really needed? 

No, these have not been required since about 2018.


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Couple more questions, please.

1)  Am seeing a few different answers for the payslips/bank statements so wondering which to use.  We're over the base requirement at end of year according to P60.
      A) 6 months worth
      B) 7 months worth
      C) 12 months worth

2) General "proof" paperwork. 
      A)  Is it 2 years or 2.5 years?  Begin at beginning of 2018?  Or Mid year 2018?
      B) Timeframe spacing?   3 months apart? 4 or 5 months?

3)  General paperwork amount. 
      A) 6 from 3 sources each again? 
      B) There's isn't a lot of joint statements but will include what we have.

4)  What's the timeframe now for getting the UKVCAS appointment?   Are they backlogged?  Looking to go to Liverpool mid to late Aug.

Ta x

Couple more questions, please.

1)  Am seeing a few different answers for the payslips/bank statements so wondering which to use.  We're over the base requirement at end of year according to P60.
      A) 6 months worth
      B) 7 months worth
      C) 12 months worth

Which financial category are you applying under?

If it’s Category A (been with current employer more than 6 months and earning over £18,600 all that time), you have to send 6 full months of payslips/bank statements, which normally means having to send 7 months’ worth to cover every single day of the 6 months.

If it’s Category A (been with current employer LESS than 6 months and/or earning £18,600 for LESS than 6 months), you have to send 12 full months of payslips/bank statements, which normally means having to send 13 months’ worth to cover every single day of the 12 months.

2) General "proof" paperwork. 
      A)  Is it 2 years or 2.5 years?  Begin at beginning of 2018?  Or Mid year 2018?
      B) Timeframe spacing?   3 months apart? 4 or 5 months?

For ILR, it’s 2.5 years (spacing every 5 months).

3)  General paperwork amount. 
      A) 6 from 3 sources each again? 
      B) There's isn't a lot of joint statements but will include what we have.

Yes, 6 items in each name from at least 3 sources. They do not need to be joint, but if they are not joint you need 1 document each for each 5-month period, dated as close to each other as possible (I.e. if one person’s document is dated end of July the other person’s document should also be end of July, or as close to that date as possible).

4)  What's the timeframe now for getting the UKVCAS appointment?   Are they backlogged?  Looking to go to Liverpool mid to late Aug.

Not sure how it’s looking at the moment, but I think most people lately have managed to get an appointment for within about 2-4 weeks of applying online.


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Thanks ksand24,

Yes been with company more than 6 months.  Yes earn more than £18,600 in 12 months & yes earned more than that for every year been with them.  Will have 7 months printed out once we print out this Aug one as it covers July.

Counting back on all the calendars for paperwork I come up with:  2021=Aug & March, 2020=Oct & May,
2019= Dec, July, Feb, & 2018=Sept & April.  Does that look right?

I don't know if I'm asking this right.  Can I substitute a month +/- if I have absolutely nothing for the specific month?  I know we can use the joint bank acct but not for every needed date but I'll call it source 1.  We have separate monthly statements of other things which I'll call source 2.  But what if my partner has a source 3 for July 2019 but I only have something in June or Aug? 

I know we have to do 7 months worth of bank statements to prove employment cheques deposited.  Are they wanting a full years worth or full 2.5 years worth of anything else paperwork wise?

Thanks ksand24,

Yes been with company more than 6 months.  Yes earn more than £18,600 in 12 months & yes earned more than that for every year been with them.  Will have 7 months printed out once we print out this Aug one as it covers July.

Great .

Just to note that if you are printing them out yourselves from online banking, all the statements must either be:
- stamped by the bank on EVERY page
Or
- accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming their authenticity

Counting back on all the calendars for paperwork I come up with:  2021=Aug & March, 2020=Oct & May,
2019= Dec, July, Feb, & 2018=Sept & April.  Does that look right?

You only go back 2.5 years, so that’s from February 2019 to August 2021.

So, just working it out myself, you will need 1 document in each name from each of the following months:
February 2019
July 2019
December 2019
May 2020
October 2020
March 2021
August 2021

I don't know if I'm asking this right.  Can I substitute a month +/- if I have absolutely nothing for the specific month? 

Yes, but you will also need to write a letter explaining why you don’t have anything for the correct months.

Alternatively you can adjust the months slightly... as long as you apply during August you can always use January 2019 to July 2021 instead:
January 2019
June 2019
November 2019
April 2020
September 2020
February 2021
July 2021

I know we can use the joint bank acct but not for every needed date but I'll call it source 1.  We have separate monthly statements of other things which I'll call source 2. 

Remember, you may have a number of sources, not just 3 - it depends what types of documents those ‘other things’ you mention are... they may count as several sources, not just ‘Source 2’.

For example, each of these is a different source:
Source 1: bank statement
Source 2: water bill
Source 3: electricity bill
Source 4: council tax bill
Source 5: HMRC letter
Source 6: NHS letter
Source 7: building society statement
Source 8: tenancy agreement
Source 9: phone bill
Source 10: TV licence
Etc.

But what if my partner has a source 3 for July 2019 but I only have something in June or Aug? 

In that case you would include the document in your name that is closest to the July date and include in a letter explaining why you have nothing for July 2019.

I know we have to do 7 months worth of bank statements to prove employment cheques deposited.  Are they wanting a full years worth or full 2.5 years worth of anything else paperwork wise?

No, you provide:

Finances:
Most recent 7 months worth of payslips and bank statements

Accommodation:
If you rent:
Most recent tenancy agreement
Most recent council tax bill
If you own:
Land Registry document
Most recent annual mortgage statement
Most recent council tax bill

Cohabitation:
- 2.5 years of documents showing you have lived together the whole time


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I've completed & submitted my IRL application & have booked the BIOS appt.  I've saved/downloaded the application & printed out the paperwork my partner needed to sign.

What I've not printed out, as it didn't give me the option that I saw anyways, is the "consent to checks forms".

I did find a generic consent to check form on the visas-immigration.service.gov.uk website.  But I don't know if it's correct.  This form begins:
PART 1: Consent for the Home Office to verify application information
You (the applicant) should sign the Part 1 consent, and relevant other parties should sign Part 2 and 3, where they are relevant to your application. You must send them with your supporting documents...

It's 3 pages where I sign one,  partner signs the 2nd one which says "joint owner", & the last says "3rd party sponsor" which I presume is also partner

Is this the right one to download & sign?  I remember signing a set for the other parts of the visa but the downloads were included in the application then.

If this isn't the correct one, d o we have a link for the one I need, please?

Update:

I can only presume that anyone who has recently completed their ILR application (within the last 30 days or so) hasn't seen my question about needing the "consent to verify" forms.  I've gone ahead & printed what I found.  Better to have & not need.

Also on my application where it came to the part of choosing the service type I wanted, my only option, which was already pre-chosen, was Standard Service.  I wouldn't have picked the extra £800 one anyway but it reminded me of the old "You can have any colour you want....as long as it's Black" adage. 

And for those who're getting ready to submit their application, once you do & register with UKVCAS, you'll get a "Welcome to UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services" email from them.  Part of this email says "We will send an email to your UKVCAS registered email address called ‘Important information about your application to UKVI’. "

Don't panic if you don't get that email.  I phoned UKVCAS because I hadn't gotten it & they said when you go back into your application (I think it's the Further Actions section) it tells you to download/print your application & the checklist & the family consent form the partner signs, etc.