House of Commons debate on documents needed for ILR

Garry, they can't actually make separate rules for Muslims, can they? (I agree that this is not just a Muslim issue.)

No hon, they can't make a separate rule for Mulsims.

But what they *CAN* do (and most probably will do if we let them) is get input from the Muslim community and then cobble together a solution that satisfies them and makes sense from that particular viewpoint.

Reading on this: ILPA will initiate correspondence advocating that spouse visas granted abroad be accompanied by an appropriate letter which explains the correspondence bundle needed for ILR.  Delegated to me (via self-nomination) to prepare the letter, which I'll do in June.

That would be really helpful for a lot of people, I do have to say that all my info has come from this site, the other sites are completely unhelpful and hard to find what you are looking for at all.  No one better to prepare a letter than you, Garry!

I agree it can be an issue across the board. I also did not get one of those sheets explaining the "next steps," but I applied outside the UK, in Chicago. You can't even go in person anymore, and when all they send back to you through the post is a scramble of what's left of your documentation for the application with your passport, there's no one who will tell you, and nothing in black in white, either.

I don't think I have a shred of mail from the first month I was here. I had trouble enough getting a bank account open, which I couldn't do until my name was on the council tax bill, and I don't think that came through until a month after I moved. I moved in December, too, which is obviously a busy time of the year, and many things are shut down because of the holidays, which doesn't help when you're trying to get your name on post. As others have said as well, many things are going paperless, moreso now than ever with the urge for more conservation. Most of our utility statements are quarterly, and with things being direct debit, there's no real reason to post us with anything anyway because we don't need paying-in slips for bills. I don't even get payslips through the post, it's all done electronically. It doesn't help that I have to ring the bank nearly every month to get a statement through because no matter how many times I tell them and show them that my account is definitely active and I'm definitely on paper billing, nothing is ever sent to us.

(And I understand about it being hard to even get on the BT phone bill...our phone is still in my husband's dad's name, who hasn't lived here in over 8 years and lives in Dubai...they won't put a new name on a bill unless we shut it down completely and have a credit check run, which means paying fees and being without phone for up to two weeks, which is a hassle in and of itself).

In an age where many things have gone paperless, I think they need to come up with some more possibilities of proof.

In an age where many things have gone paperless, I think they need to come up with some more possibilities of proof.

And utility companies often charge a fee for sending paper bills.  Something else to consider.

I agree it can be an issue across the board. I also did not get one of those sheets explaining the "next steps," but I applied outside the UK, in Chicago. You can't even go in person anymore, and when all they send back to you through the post is a scramble of what's left of your documentation for the application with your passport, there's no one who will tell you, and nothing in black in white, either.

(And I understand about it being hard to even get on the BT phone bill...our phone is still in my husband's dad's name, who hasn't lived here in over 8 years and lives in Dubai...they won't put a new name on a bill unless we shut it down completely and have a credit check run, which means paying fees and being without phone for up to two weeks, which is a hassle in and of itself).

In an age where many things have gone paperless, I think they need to come up with some more possibilities of proof.

Have you considered having a 2nd line added then cancelling the first one? You can have a second line in either with BT or another company.

BT wouldn't add two names to the account.  We asked.

Yael have you heard about your ILR yet? Should be soon?

Indy and Sonya

No, not yet but its only been two weeks. Thanks for asking!

BT wouldn't add two names to the account.  We asked.

Our BT statement has both names (it's addressed to Mr Chris Lastname C/O Mrs Meg Lastname), but I'm pretty sure we had to call several times to make them add me. 

One more time peeps...

If you are having trouble getting your name added because they are slagging you off, please take a deep breath and say the following...

"Would you please send me your complaints procedure or refer me onwards to your Ombudsman?"

Then another deep breath and say...

"Why?  Because your invoices do not accurately and completely identify those engaging your service along with those who are making the remittances; and this is a substantial departure from best industry practices.  Accordingly, I am now worried that the integrity of your invoicing process has other deficiencies in addition to those I have already pointed out..."

And then follow-up, follow-up, and follow-up.

Hope that helps! 

Good idea Garry Confuse them and they can't do anything but say okay

Hi:

I haven't posted on here before, so I hope I am not interrupting the conversation unduly.

I am an American, and I have just sent my ILR application as the spouse of a British citizen in on 8 May 2008. I also found the documentation requirements confusing.  This is from someone who in her life in the US ran a study-abroad programme and had to advise students on their visas! 

I included 34 documents with the application (utility bills, pension statements and letters, home content insurance, council tax, car insurance, prescription, letters from the surgery, letters from HM Revenue and Customs , letter from estate agents concerning the sale of an investment property, and some bibs and bobs), in addition to all of my original bank statements (24), all of my husband's original bank statements (24), all of his weekly wage slips from the past two years, and all of mine which were sent to our house.  Many of these documents were in both our names, but some were in separate names, like my prescription from the surgery.

The Home Office told me it wasn't necessary to include our marriage certificate, as we had done that for FLR.  Let's hope I wasn't being ill advised.

BT also gave us the same problem about not having two persons' names on the bill, and it took quite a lot of persistence to have the c/o line added.  I also found you can add two person's names electronically on most utility bills, and then request paper billing.   

At this point, I just hope that it all works out, and I can quit making these increasingly expensive applications soon.  I came here in 2004 on an academic visa to run a study-abroad program for my previous university when I met my husband.  I received another academic visa in 2005 for my research sabbatical (I'm an uni lecturer), applied for and received FLR as a spouse in 2006, now am doing the ILR.   I suspect though next year, I'll apply for citizenship, which will make it a total of five times I've been vetted by the Home Office.  Whew.        Though I understand the need to screen potential residents/citizens, I wish there were an easier way.   

Anyhow, best of luck to everyone going through the process, and I wish I would have discovered this board a bit sooner.  The immigration advice on here is top-notch.

Buglet