Bit of a panic

My first visa started 23/03/15 and runs out 23/12/17. I figured I better go back over things since I can never remember anything.....my memory is seriously bad and figured I better start making lists and making sure everything is there that we need (bills, House ownership, council tax etc etc) Pulled open the file cabinet to look at my immigration stuff.....nothing. After about 45min of hair pulling and searching she says...."Hey....did you actually GET anything back other than the stamp in your passport and the other crap they sent back?". After all the crap we still have for getting her to the States and a green card (which we still have).....I couldn't remember. After staring at each other for a minute we both came to the conclusion that I don't really have anything other than the visa stamp.......are we correct? I just need to start the checklists for the FLR as a whole new process?

This also came about since I noticed that I hadn't put in a form for change of address (moved almost 2 years ago) and was filling out the form online. There were all kinds of info they wanted that I don't think I need to put in (ARC number, BRP).

I sure wish I had a decent memory.....time to start reading through all the FLR requirements since I haven't looked at any of that for 2 years.

Fred

If the vignette in your passport has the expiry date in December, then that's all you'll have.
I can't remember when they started issuing BRP's for US applicants but it was obviously after you applied. Those people who have a BRP were only granted a 30 day vignette just to enter the UK and pick it up from the post office.

Yes, FLR is the next application. It is basically exactly the same information as last time, updated, with the addition of 6 joint pieces of mail to the same address. (2 individual pieces can be substituted for each joint piece)

I can't remember when they started issuing BRP's for US applicants but it was obviously after you applied.

About May 2015 I think? With the NHS Immigration Health Surcharge for visa applications from 6 April 2015. The BRP and IHS will be needed for the next application.

About May 2015 I think? With the NHS Immigration Health Surcharge for visa applications from 6 April 2015. The BRP and IHS will be needed for the next application.

Thanks Sirius!    I just try to concentrate on what's happening nowadays and what's coming next! 

Thanks Sirius!   

I cheated and looked at the BRP thread on the Advisories as it was still on Page 1 The timeline for the BRPs seems to have been archieved.

I just try to concentrate on what's happening nowadays and what's coming next! 

Good luck with that That needs Mystic Meg.

Good luck with that That needs Mystic Meg.

Haha, you know what I mean! 

Thanks. I just need to sit down and read through the material online again and make a nice checklist to follow. I've got lots of time before I need to start doing anything. Could get off my butt and study for the Life in the UK test I guess......

Thanks. I just need to sit down and read through the material online again and make a nice checklist to follow. I've got lots of time before I need to start doing anything. Could get off my butt and study for the Life in the UK test I guess......

As a rule, I'd highly recommend getting the Life in the UK test out of the way earlier rather than later. My husband recently did his, and passed (yay!) and I can't tell you what a weight off it is! 
Just thinking though, I believe you are retired? I don't know if this was an early retirement or not but if you are 65 or over at the time you apply for ILR, then you are exempt from the Life in the UK test. This also applies to citizenship. 

As a rule, I'd highly recommend getting the Life in the UK test out of the way earlier rather than later. My husband recently did his, and passed (yay!) and I can't tell you what a weight off it is! 
Just thinking though, I believe you are retired? I don't know if this was an early retirement or not but if you are 65 or over at the time you apply for ILR, then you are exempt from the Life in the UK test. This also applies to citizenship. 

I'm on a similar timeline to you and I think I recognize your username from back then...I have to apply for FLR(M) in October and I don't have a BRP either, just the vignette in my passport. I've just started studying for my Life in the UK test. Might as well get it out of the way!

larrabee- Yes, early retirement....turning 60 in just over a month. So no excuse on the test. I took the test a bunch of times online when we moved back 2 years ago just for curiosity and passed without studying about 50% of the time. I've lived in the UK for 16 years total so I've picked up a bunch of things.....just because. No way I'd try it without studying though. I don't think going for citizenship does anything for me. I'd still have to pay taxes on my US pension etc. Possibly to vote.....but do I want to pay money and go through the hassle just so I can vote?

writeshawnna- I have such a lousy memory.....there was about 45 min or so when I was really getting pissed off because I couldn't find the old immigration paperwork. I'm a slob....but I usually file my important papers in a safe place. My wife was going nuts as well (for some reason she still likes me and didn't want me getting tossed out)....then her brain kicked in and remembered that we didn't get anything other than the stamp. Once she reminded me......I kind of leaned back and said "Yeah....that DOES sound kind of right".

larrabee- Yes, early retirement....turning 60 in just over a month. So no excuse on the test. I took the test a bunch of times online when we moved back 2 years ago just for curiosity and passed without studying about 50% of the time. I've lived in the UK for 16 years total so I've picked up a bunch of things.....just because. No way I'd try it without studying though. I don't think going for citizenship does anything for me. I'd still have to pay taxes on my US pension etc. Possibly to vote.....but do I want to pay money and go through the hassle just so I can vote?

Make sure you buy the book that actually has the content, not just the study guide. This is the one you want.  https://www.tsoshop.co.uk/Life-in-the-UK/Life-in-the-United-Kingdom-A-Guide-for-New-Residents/

There is actually a fair bit more to having citizenship than just being able to vote. This thread has a nice discussion on the subject. 

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=90434.0

And happy birthday when it comes, Fred! 

I second larrabee's recommendation of doing the Life in the UK test sooner rather than later.

As you said, you'll need to study. Living in the UK ironically isn't enough for the Life in the UK test. There are topics that you won't know just from living in the UK, even for 16 years. Buy the book, read it through and you should be fine. Most pass the first time, but you do need to read through the book.

Everyone's got different reasons for getting or not getting UK citizenship.

My main reason for getting it was to never have to worry about UK immigration again. ILR expires if you're living out of the UK more than two years. We have no plans to live out of the UK now, but we never know where life may lead.

It's also never going to get easier or cheaper to get UK citizenship now. It's only going to get more expensive. I figured it was best to get it as soon as I was eligible since I met the criteria and couldn't think of a reason not to. It is a big chunk of change, but worth it for me.

Being able to vote in the EU ref and in the upcoming election makes me feel like I finally have a say in UK immigration (and so much else). After years of being here on a visa and having to follow UKBA/UKVI's rules without any say, I can finally give a little voice for immigrants. 

Also, we can travel more freely in the EU as UKCs.... at least for now. DH and I took advantage of that recently and spent 6 months travelling through Italy, France and Germany.

Good luck getting all your papers together! It's good you're getting started early rather than having a last-minute panic.

I'll worry about citizenship in a few years....the reasons for most people to get it don't apply to me. I've lived most of my life out of the US and am comfortable here. I don't work/don't want to work (retirement is good). I don't travel anymore....furthest I've been away from Harrogate in over 2 years is taking my wife's daughter to Manchester airport almost 2 years ago......other than that Huddersfield is as far as I've been (hour drive). I have 2 older brothers, both really unhealthy so who knows how long they will be around.....but we haven't been around each other except for very short visits in almost 40 years. They are the ONLY (very small) reason to go back to the US at all.....ever.....and it's been over 2 years now and I'm leaning for never going back. My relatives are great.....but I've been away a LONG time and have no real connection any more.

One reason for me to get the UK citizenship would be (if possible) to just let my US passport expire and not replace it. Not sure the US rules would be happy with that.

One reason for me to get the UK citizenship would be (if possible) to just let my US passport expire and not replace it. Not sure the US rules would be happy with that.

As far as the US is concerned, there's no problem with letting your US passport expire and not replacing it, but if you ever visit the US and you're still a US citizen, you must enter on a valid US passport.

For the UK, if you didn't get UK citizenship, you'd obviously need the US passport with ILR inside to be valid.

You've still got time to decide, so no rush. Just know that a lot of people who have stopped at ILR and moved outside the UK for more than two years have regretted not getting UK citizenship before they left.

I'm not trying to convince you - it makes no difference to me whether you get UK citizenship or not and everyone's got different reasons - but want to be sure you don't fall into the situation others have of being stuck outside the UK and not meeting the new requirements for visas.

I'm not trying to convince you - it makes no difference to me whether you get UK citizenship or not and everyone's got different reasons - but want to be sure you don't fall into the situation others have of being stuck outside the UK and not meeting the new requirements for visas.

I think I might be trying to convince you, Fred. 

Immigrants have never been in a more precarious situation in the UK. If going back to the US is not something you want to do, I think it's even more important to get citizenship in order to be as secure as you can be, in the UK.

One of the most important reasons to me is that they could potentially do anything they want to, to change ILR.  For example, they could make you pay another huge amount of money to renew your BRP every two years. They could introduce an income requirement that you have to meet every year. They could make you start paying for NHS treatment, and I don't mean the IHS....

These are just horrible, hypothetical examples but you just don't know what might happen in the years to come. It's not going to get easier for immigrants, that's for sure