ILR Application Processing Times

gosh eacons,  so sorry,

i thought this week would be yours and fellyblue's.  looks like things have slowed down to a crawl at the UKBA-judging by the forums.  not much hope for me next week then....

it is helpful to have a realistic timeline though--set m's seem to be around 10 wks, set o's for ancestry and 10 year settlement 9-11 weeks
and the set o's for work/tiers are dragging to 16 weeks if not longer.
 i heard that sheffield deals with the WP's, does anyone know this for sure?  ... if they are done separately then and thus take longer still? 

Thank you for your support brierleyrose 

I have a distinct feeling my case might be an isolated one and probably would not confirm to the generic timescales..

But on the positive side, I received a reply from my MP at the house of commons advising that he has written to the UKBA raising the concerns that I illustrated to him in my original letter. He has also advised thathe has asked for the matter to be looked into without delay. He has advised that he will contact me as soon as he receives a reply....which hopefully he does receive as I did not receive a reply from the UKBA to the letter which I sent them 5 weeks back . At the moment it looks touch and go...

Hi all...

Been a long time since I have come by, but I thought I would give an update -

My ILR was filed by my solicitor on the 25th of August.
My ILR was approved yesterday, 15th November
Timeline 12 weeks.

My case was not straightforward (hence the need for a solicitor) but not terribly complicated (no criminal convictions, etc).

For the record (for people who are worried about these things)
-We receive child benefit
- I receive working tax credit (not my BC spouse as the business is mine and I am sole 'paid' employee. My BC spouse in an unpaid intern working under the exemption to minimum wage laws. This is one of those strange exemptions to the no recourse rules.)
- We have a few thousand pounds in savings. Because my business is in startup, I don't draw any income from it. (In fact, the business will not make a profit in order to draw an income for about another year)
-We receive a small monthly income from renting out a room in our house.

Those were not the 'complicating' factors that resulted in us using a solicitor.

So - here is my story in dates:
September 2008 - Applied for work permit
October 2008 - Received work permit visa
October 2008 - Moved to UK
August 2009 - Switched to spouse visa whilst in the USA (took 3 days with the old courier system)
August 25th, 2011 - Applied for ILR
November 15th, 2011 - ILR Granted

Now....on to citizenship. Although I can technically apply straight away - we feel fairly certain that we will need a solicitor again and so we will probably have to wait and save up because I don't fancy abusing my credit card any more than I have to.

hello Guys...

I received my passport today with ILR finally!!!!! It has been a long wait......

SET 0 (WORK PERMIT + TIER 2)

Applied: 26th July 2011 (recieved 27th July 2011)
ILR stamped: 11th November 2011

I had to request an expedition of the application due to very sad circumstances so I will be doing an emergency travel. Good luck to those who are still waiting especially brierleyrose ......

thanks, fellyblue, i am so happy for you
wishing you all the best, safe travels

Haven't posted here in ages, but thought I'd add my processing times to the list. I know it's been helping me stay sane whilst waiting to see how long it was taking others.

After  17(!!)  weeks of anxious waiting, I got my ILR 

Set(O) (Work Permit + Tier 1)

Applied: 28 July 2011 (received 29 July 2011)
ILR stamped: 21 Nov 2011
received in the post  26 Nov 2011 
(I hadn't sent an express return envelope, so it came via their standard method of 2nd class Registered)

  I get to stay! I get to travel again! Though it arrived back too late for me to travel to see family *before* the madness of xmas travel, so I'm looking to go visit family early in the new year instead. 

I have what may be a silly question relating to an ILR, and since those waiting to process have actually done one, here goes:

When you fill in the part about absences from the UK, does that have to be block capitals? In the sections where you write in the little boxes I know it is, but it seems somehow strange to write a sentence in block caps, and harder to read. I know it probably doesn't matter much either way, but I'm trying to give 'em what they want, lol.

When you fill in the part about absences from the UK, does that have to be block capitals?

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

Cheers!

just thought i would update here.
 i had my ILR notification sent on 26 November after 14 weeks of waiting for SetO-WP 5 years.  it was refused for being under the teaching salary COP by 1300--(i earned 19,300 not 20,600 teaching at an independent school) so---- Money CAN Buy You Love at the UKBA
we were tryng to prepare for this outcome but it has been devastating.  we just feel it is so unfair that the 1300 pounds mattered so much when my husband has a good income, we own a house, have no debt etc. and more importantly have really built a life after 5 years of being here.--- but the reality was the UKBA couldn't tick that one box.
so anyway,  we are on our way back to PA, loaded the container on saturday and are flying out 'voluntarily' and within the 28 days as we don't want to risk not being able to get back in--especially with a property still here.
there is so much we are going to miss about our lives here....

just thought i would update here.
 i had my ILR notification sent on 26 November after 14 weeks of waiting for SetO-WP 5 years.  it was refused for being under the teaching salary COP by 1300--(i earned 19,300 not 20,600 teaching at an independent school) so---- Money CAN Buy You Love at the UKBA
we were tryng to prepare for this outcome but it has been devastating.  we just feel it is so unfair that the 1300 pounds mattered so much when my husband has a good income, we own a house, have no debt etc. and more importantly have really built a life after 5 years of being here.--- but the reality was the UKBA couldn't tick that one box.
so anyway,  we are on our way back to PA, loaded the container on saturday and are flying out 'voluntarily' and within the 28 days as we don't want to risk not being able to get back in--especially with a property still here.
there is so much we are going to miss about our lives here....

Wow, really sorry to hear that! So you still had to leave within the 28 day period? That seems so unfair that you can't apply for ILR until the last 28 days, which leaves so little time to get out if you are denied. I hope things work out in your new home!

just thought i would update here.
 i had my ILR notification sent on 26 November after 14 weeks of waiting for SetO-WP 5 years.  it was refused for being under the teaching salary COP by 1300--(i earned 19,300 not 20,600 teaching at an independent school) so---- Money CAN Buy You Love at the UKBA
we were tryng to prepare for this outcome but it has been devastating.  we just feel it is so unfair that the 1300 pounds mattered so much when my husband has a good income, we own a house, have no debt etc. and more importantly have really built a life after 5 years of being here.--- but the reality was the UKBA couldn't tick that one box.
so anyway,  we are on our way back to PA, loaded the container on saturday and are flying out 'voluntarily' and within the 28 days as we don't want to risk not being able to get back in--especially with a property still here.
there is so much we are going to miss about our lives here....

Oh gosh, I am so so so sorry for this.     
There's nothing worse than building up your lives somewhere and then having to go.  And the economic side doesn't have the compassionate/huminitarian grounds for appeal, so that just is awful.
Good luck in your return to the US. 

Hi everyone,

I just got my ILR (Set M) today after sending it off on October 24, so it was about 10 anxious weeks of waiting time for me.

It came in the pre-paid special delivery envelope I had included with my application. 

The information on this forum was immensely helpful for me. Thanks to everyone and good luck to all those still waiting.

Hi everyone,

I just got my ILR (Set M) today after sending it off on October 24, so it was about 10 anxious weeks of waiting time for me.

It came in the pre-paid special delivery envelope I had included with my application.  

The information on this forum was immensely helpful for me. Thanks to everyone and good luck to all those still waiting.

Congrats hun, you give me some hope.  I sent ours Special Delivery too on October 20, and we're anxiously awaiting some news.  We are also waiting to book tickets for a holiday we've arranged with my parents the second week of Feb in Spain, so I'm hoping that the documents come back this week or next.  My worst fear is that there will be some complication and we won't hear for weeks, and this will impact not just Feb but my DD's visitation with her dad in April.  Here's hoping they come soon!

ETA: for clarity

Thanks SalfordUSA and good luck to you. It's a relief to have our passports back in hand. Now turning to other anxiety-inducing issues (UK driving license and citizenship this year I hope!)

Just to be tedious, did you include a pre-paid special delivery envelope with your application? If not, your docs will return to you by second-class mail which could add a couple weeks to the wait time, as I understand it.

In any event, I'm sure you'll be getting good news very soon!

Thanks SalfordUSA and good luck to you. It's a relief to have our passports back in hand. Now turning to other anxiety-inducing issues (UK driving license and citizenship this year I hope!)

Just to be tedious, did you include a pre-paid special delivery envelope with your application? If not, your docs will return to you by second-class mail which could add a couple weeks to the wait time, as I understand it.

In any event, I'm sure you'll be getting good news very soon!

I did send a pre-paid Special Delivery envelope along.  I'm actually starting to get pretty worried now.  I keep thinking, Oh, it's the Christmas Rush that delayed it, but then I remember you sent yours later than me.  I did include my daughter in the application, so perhaps that makes it take longer, but what I'm really worried about is the four pages of driving offenses (from the US) that I included for my criminal record.  They are the same ones that I included on my spouse visa, and I haven't had any since 2008 (I don't drive here), but I keep thinking maybe the IO for my spouse visa was more lenient than this one - if that's possible?  Every day that the post comes without our visas is like another brick of worry on my shoulders.

Also, don't most people get some sort of email when their visas are approved?  I've heard others mention this before.  If I'm expecting an email before the post, then I don't think there's any hope of us getting to Spain to see my parents.  Obviously, if we're rejected, that will be the least of our problems - we'll probably be seeing a LOT more of my parents if that is the case! 

Just a worry wart here!  I actually have a letter from UKBA saying they received my app on 24/10/2011.  So it's been 11 1/2 weeks from the day they received it to today, and some others here have mentioned a timeline of about 12 weeks.  I suppose I don't really need to start worrying until next Wednesday?  ha ha