ILR Review please, before submission!

Hi all - it’s been a minute since I was last here, applying for my FLR(M) extension. I can’t quite believe it’s been five years since we moved here and it’s time for ILR.

Apologies in advance for the super long post! I’m back here, hoping for a quick check by the experts on the forum for my ILR SET(M) application. I first landed in the UK on 1 Feb 2018 to pick up my BRP, so I’m within the 28 day window prior to the 5 year mark. I’ve got until July before my current BRP expires but I see no reason to wait if I’m ok to apply now…

I just took the ‘Life in the UK’ test yesterday and passed. I’ve now filled in most of the application and scanned everything so I’ll be ready to upload soon after hitting submit (all docs < 6.0 MB). I’m just waiting for my latest bank statement to arrive this week, to hit submit so everything is dated prior to submission. Hopefully we’ll be able to snag a super priority slot 🤞

Identity
My US passport (all pages)
His UK passport (all pages)
My current BRP (both sides)

Question: Do I need to include a copy of my previous BRP as well? The question about National Identity cards seemed to imply I needed to include any travel docs used to enter the UK in the past 5 years? I don’t see this in other people’s document lists for ILR so I’m probably over-thinking it, but just want to double check!

Finances
We’re wanting to keep this simple so are going the savings route again as it was a faff dealing with HR for the extension in 2020… I understand I only need to show £34,600 (i.e. £18,600 + £16,000) for ILR?
7x Bank Statements from my account Jun ‘22 to Dec ’22 showing the account balance always remained above £34,600. The December statement should cover up to the end of the month and should arrive in the mail this week.
Declaration of source of funds (I’ll use the same template as our first application and just update the job details).

Question: On the application, it asks about the balance so I’ve found the lowest daily balance across that period for this value, is that right?

Accommodation
HM Land Registry title, showing joint ownership (downloaded today)
Annual mortgage statement (latest is from Sep ‘22; jointly addressed)
Latest Council Tax Bill (22/23, dated March ‘22; jointly addressed)

Question: In the application, it asked about our monthly mortgage payment so I’ve entered the minimum monthly payment, rather than our overpayment amount - is this right? Since we can stop the overpayment at any time, it seemed sensible to use the monthly minimum.

Correspondence (Nov Jun ‘20 - Dec ‘22)
12/22 - AmEx CC Statement (me) & TV Licence (him)
07/22 - HMRC Letter (me) & HSBC Joint acct (him)
02/22 - DBS Letter from gov (me) & British Gas letter (him)
09/21 - HSBC personal CC (me) & HSBC personal CC (him)
04/21 - AmEx CC Statement (me) & HSBC personal CC (him)
11/20 - Derby City Council Property Valuation Letter (jointly addressed)

Question: We’re unmarried partners so I think we only need to worry about correspondence and the sponsor’s declaration as proof of the relationship and cohabitation? I don’t think we included any other relationship evidence for the FLR-M renewal in 2020 like we had to for the initial application in 2017. What we’ve collected is spaced-out every 5 months over the past 2.5 years, starting from December ‘22.

Other
Life in the UK Test ref no (in application)
Sponsor’s Declaration form (British Citizen / unmarried partner, signed and dated today)

As always, we really appreciate the help and advice from this group, so we’d be grateful for any feedback received.

Thank you!

Looks good to me. However I expect Ksand will be able to give you the full green light.  I am uncertain about the un-married aspect.

Re your Questions.
Don't worry about the previous BRP.  I think it does ask for the numbers somewhere but applicants often neither have notr supply them.
Lowest daily balance is good.
Lowest mortgage payment is good without the elective overpayments.
I am uncertain about the un-married aspect.

Correspondence I think you missed the first date July 2020?   It is generally recommended to put 7 pieces of correspondence in to cover the full 2.5 years.

I think you are in good shape, but I'm sure one of the experts will be along any time.  Good luck.

Just going to rearrange the documents slightly for the different upload sections (any missing documents are in red):

Application Documents
My US passport (all pages)
Sponsor’s Declaration form (British Citizen / unmarried partner, signed and dated today)
Consent to Checks forms (if required for ILR)

Proof of Identity/Travel History
His UK passport (all pages)
My current BRP (both sides)

Question: Do I need to include a copy of my previous BRP as well? The question about National Identity cards seemed to imply I needed to include any travel docs used to enter the UK in the past 5 years? I don’t see this in other people’s document lists for ILR so I’m probably over-thinking it, but just want to double check!

No, only the current, valid BRP is required - to prove you hold a valid visa at time of application.

Finances
7x Bank Statements from my account Jun ‘22 to Dec ’22 showing the account balance always remained above £34,600.
Declaration of source of funds

Question: On the application, it asks about the balance so I’ve found the lowest daily balance across that period for this value, is that right?

Yes - they will only consider the lowest daily balance during the 6 months, which must be at least £34,600

Residence in the UK
Accommodation
HM Land Registry title, showing joint ownership (downloaded today)
Annual mortgage statement (latest is from Sep ‘22; jointly addressed)
Latest Council Tax Bill (22/23, dated March ‘22; jointly addressed)
Cohabitation (Nov ‘20 - Dec ‘22)[/u]
Correspondence should cover a full 2.5 years from June 2020 to December 2022, so you need an extra document from June 2020.
June 2020
?
Nov 2020
11/20 - Derby City Council Property Valuation Letter (jointly addressed)
April 2021
04/21 - AmEx CC Statement (me) & HSBC personal CC (him)
Sept 2021
09/21 - HSBC personal CC (me) & HSBC personal CC (him)
Feb 2022
02/22 - DBS Letter from gov (me) & British Gas letter (him)
July 2022
07/22 - HMRC Letter (me) & HSBC Joint acct (him)
Dec 2022
12/22 - AmEx CC Statement (me) & TV Licence (him)

Question: In the application, it asked about our monthly mortgage payment so I’ve entered the minimum monthly payment, rather than our overpayment amount - is this right? Since we can stop the overpayment at any time, it seemed sensible to use the monthly minimum.

Yes, I would use the repayment amount that has been agreed on your mortgage statement, not the overpayment amount.

Question: We’re unmarried partners so I think we only need to worry about correspondence and the sponsor’s declaration as proof of the relationship and cohabitation? I don’t think we included any other relationship evidence for the FLR-M renewal in 2020 like we had to for the initial application in 2017. What we’ve collected is spaced-out every 5 months over the past 2.5 years, starting from December ‘22.

For unmarried partners, the required proof of relationship is simply your 7 correspondence documents in each name.

The sponsor's declaration is not part of the proof of relationship, it's just a declaration stating that the application is supported by the sponsor and all information provided by them is correct.

@mbmoffat and @ksand24 - thanks so much for your responses!

You're right of course, I missed a piece of correspondence from Jun '20 so I'll find something to add - probably just some bank statements. Thanks for spotting that!

Consent to Checks forms (if required for ILR)

@ksand24 - I remember having two forms the last time, a part 1 and 2 with third party consent to checks and a sponsor's declaration. However, this time I'm only being prompted to include 'Your partners relationship declaration'... I presume you've said 'if required' because it's not always required or perhaps its been integrated somewhere else in the application or I've missed it?

@ksand24 - I remember having two forms the last time, a part 1 and 2 with third party consent to checks and a sponsor's declaration. However, this time I'm only being prompted to include 'Your partner&#039;s relationship declaration'... I presume you've said 'if required' because it's not always required or perhaps its been integrated somewhere else in the application or I've missed it?

No, you haven't missed it - if you are not asked to sign it as part of the application, then it won't be required. One of the applications (FLR or ILR) requires the Consent to Checks forms and one doesn't, and I can never remember which one it is, so I put it in there just in case.

If the application did ask for the Consent to Checks forms, the following would need to be signed:
- Part 1... applicant signs
- Part 2... sponsor signs
- Part 3... no one signs, as you are not allowed to use third party financial support

Lovely - thanks again @ksand24...

Hooray! I had my super priority appointment in Nottingham on Tuesday morning at 10:00am and heard back that it was approved by 2:00pm. BRP arrived in the post today with no drama like last time.

I just need to return my previous BRP and I'm home free for a year before I can apply for citizenship.

Thanks again @ksand24 for your help!

Hooray! I had my super priority appointment in Nottingham on Tuesday morning at 10:00am and heard back that it was approved by 2:00pm. BRP arrived in the post today with no drama like last time.

I just need to return my previous BRP and I'm home free for a year before I can apply for citizenship.

Thanks again @ksand24 for your help!

Awesome, congratulations! 

As your partner is a UKC, you don't need to wait a year, you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have your BRP in hand.

Congratulations

As your partner is a UKC, you don't need to wait a year, you can apply for citizenship as soon as you have your BRP in hand.

Only if they are married.

I believe they are Unmarried Partners - and in that case, they must wait 12 months before they can qualify for citizenship.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congratulations

Only if they are married.

I believe they are Unmarried Partners - and in that case, they must wait 12 months before they can qualify for citizenship.

Oh, that's a shame. Sorry about that.

No worries, thanks @larrabee  … to be fair we could just get hitched - we’ve been living in sin for a decade lol

Thanks for confirming @ksand24