SET (M) Queries

Hi all,

Happy new year to you, my wife is eligible for ILR in June of this year, she will be taking the life in the UK test in the next few months.

I just wanted to check, this is the form she completes for ILR isn't it? The SET (M) form.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-settle-in-the-uk-form-setm/apply-online-form-setm

She moved here in April 2015 and her current visa expires in August I believe.
I've looked at the fees and it appears to be £2389 for this visa but am I right in thinking it could increase in April in the new financial year?

Is it also better to complete the online form or can you still submit a paperwork version?
I seem to remember people advising to do a paper version in the past.

One other query I had was if she will still be permitted to travel to the US for a holiday in May on her current visa prior to submission in August? Presumably there are no restrictions in place or can she not travel within a certain amount of dates of her visa expiring?

I'm sure there may be a few questions along the way of our submission but would appreciate any feedback here.

Many thanks!
Eddie

Happy New Year .

I just wanted to check, this is the form she completes for ILR isn't it? The SET (M) form.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-settle-in-the-uk-form-setm/apply-online-form-setm

Yes, that's the one - it's all online now, so to answer your question a bit further down, there's no paper form anymore.

In fact, the entire application process changed a few months ago, so you'll want to read up on the new procedure. Basically, you now upload all your documents online instead of mailing them and everyone must attend a biometrics appointment at a biometrics centre instead of the post office. You can either make a free appointment for biometrics (but you may have to wait several weeks), or you can pay extra for one on a certain date/time (i.e. Saturday) and you can also pay extra for them to scan and upload your documents instead of doing it yourself at home. Also, there's no same-day service anymore, but there is a 24-hour premium service for £800 where the decision should be made within 24 hours.

. Your official application date is the date you submit the online application, so it doesn't matter how long it takes for a biometrics appointment/visa processing as long as the online application is submitted before the visa expires.

She moved here in April 2015 and her current visa expires in August I believe.
I've looked at the fees and it appears to be £2389 for this visa but am I right in thinking it could increase in April in the new financial year?

Yes, the current fee is £2,389. It may increase in the next few months, but we don't know whether or not it will yet. Last April it did not increase at all, so we may get an increase this year.

Your wife can apply for ILR up to 28 days before she reaches 5 years in the UK, so if she arrived in April 2015, she should be able to apply as early as sometime in March 2020 if she wants to.

One other query I had was if she will still be permitted to travel to the US for a holiday in May on her current visa prior to submission in August? Presumably there are no restrictions in place or can she not travel within a certain amount of dates of her visa expiring?

There aren't restrictions, though it is a little risky to travel if the visa is expiring very soon (i.e. if you travel in the last month of the visa). A holiday in May though, should be fine as she will have plenty of time to apply when she gets back.

Though she has a couple of options for when to apply:
- she could apply in March or April and pay for a premium appointment to make sure she gets the ILR before her holiday in May
or
- she could wait until after the holiday in May and apply nearer the end of the visa, and either use the premium service or not (it can take up to 6 months for standard processing).

Thanks all I really appreciate your feedback!

Hi all,

In the light of the Covid19 pandemic, does anyone know if the home office plans to relax these rules for applications and expiries of visas given the status of the world? We can look to submit this but who knows if I'll have a job by the time I can come to apply.

Hi all,

In the light of the Covid19 pandemic, does anyone know if the home office plans to relax these rules for applications and expiries of visas given the status of the world? We can look to submit this but who knows if I'll have a job by the time I can come to apply.

I wrote to my MP with questions about this and the income requirements today, because I'm pretty sure a significant part of the country lost their jobs today, judging from the microcosm of my friends list on Facebook. If they aren't considering the impact on visas in their plans they need to quickly! I also couldn't go to biometrics right now due to the risk of catching the virus.

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I have also emailed my MP, he is going to find out.

I have also emailed my MP, he is going to find out.

Yours is better than mine. I got an automated reply saying they'd get back to me sometime within 10 business days!

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I'm yet to receive any formal updates.

I'm still working albeit reduced days now for the next 12 weeks. My wife plans to take her life in the UK test once appointments become available (May 1st onwards currently but could change).

However, what happens if people are unable to meet the financial criteria? I'm shocked there remains no guidance for this.
I have contacted the home office but had no reply since late march.

Has anyone else had any response?

No response at all from my MP, but I know they are swamped on top of him being a Tory and very anti immigration. I'm pretty sure they are throwing us to the wolves or will need to approve the 10 year route based on humanitarian need if unable to safely go "home". They have doubled down on the fact that post brexit there will be no visa for "low skilled" work that is keeping the country going right now, so I have very little faith they will do anything for family immigrants. I'm grateful my husband just received a promotion and his job is very safe, but I know many others will not be so lucky.

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We have completed the online application but is anyone able to confirm when you attach the documents you need to show evidence?
We also have two children who are UK citizens, where is it best to mention this on the application form?

Many thanks,
Eddie

We have completed the online application but is anyone able to confirm when you attach the documents you need to show evidence?

The documents are not attached to the online application. You either upload them to the UKVCAS website between booking your biometrics and attending the appointment, or you pay a bit extra for the appointment and they will scan all your documents there.

The process should be:
- collect all your documents and make sure they are all in order, and meet all the requirements
- fill out the online application
- submit and pay for the application... this just has to be done before the visa expires, and all your documents must be ready on that date
- register an account with the UKVCAS website
- keep checking the UKVCAS site for updates regarding when the centres are reopening
- when biometrics appointments are available to book again, you can book one
- if you have chosen an appointment where they scan and upload the documents for you, you just take all the documents to the appointment
- if you have chosen a free appointment with no scanning service, you have until the appointment date to upload all your documents

See: https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/flash-message-detail?flashmessageId=950

We also have two children who are UK citizens, where is it best to mention this on the application form?

There should have been a question about children as part of the online application.

Thanks are children considered dependents on the application even though they are from the UK and their birth right?
This considers them ''applicants'' which doesn't sound correct to me?

The only other mention is if you have children together, is it just this query?

Also the UKVCAS is closed indefinitely, could you also confirm where I can set up and register? I can't see it anywhere on their website.
I notice the fee comes after you have paid but I am unable to process the application until my wife takes and passes her life in the Uk test scheduled for June 22.

Does the biometric appointment get scheduled after you pay on number 7 - further actions?

Many thanks

Thanks are children considered dependents on the application even though they are from the UK and their birth right?
This considers them ''applicants'' which doesn't sound correct to me?

No, they are not dependents on the application.

The only other mention is if you have children together, is it just this query?

Yes, that's the question I meant. Tick Yes to that question.

If it asks any more questions about your kids, then you can answer there. If it doesn't, then you don't need to mention your kids at all. Basically, the questions you get are based on your previous answers, and it seems some people get asked lots of questions about their kids and some people just get the 'do you have children together?' question and that's it.

You will need to provide the following documents for both your children:
- their passports
- their birth certificates
- letter(s) dated in the last 3 months confirming their address (i.e. from their school or GP)

Also the UKVCAS is closed indefinitely, could you also confirm where I can set up and register? I can't see it anywhere on their website.

You can't register until after you have applied for the visa, as you need a special code generated when the application is submitted in order to register with UKVCAS ... which as you say, won't be until the end of June.

So, basically, there's nothing you can do right now except gather your documents, and keep saving the application until she has taken her Life in the UK test and you are ready to apply.

I notice the fee comes after you have paid but I am unable to process the application until my wife takes and passes her life in the Uk test scheduled for June 22.

You pay the fee when you submit the online application - it's one of the steps for submitting. So you won't be able to do anything yet, as you need to wait until she has passed her Life in the UK test.

Does the biometric appointment get scheduled after you pay on number 7 - further actions?

After you have applied online, you then go to the UKVCAS website, register an account  (I think you get sent a registration code by email when you apply for the visa), and then you can make an appointment. Hopefully by the time you apply for the visa, the centres will have started opening up again and the appointments will be available.

Thanks for this I really appreciate it.

I'm pretty sure they are throwing us to the wolves or will need to approve the 10 year route based on humanitarian need if unable to safely go "home".

That 10 year route if it isn't safe for them to go home,  is for those who are from a war torn country.

The ten year route  can sometimes be used by those on a spouse visa and who don't earn  18.6 between them IF they have a British child.

They have doubled down on the fact that post brexit there will be no visa for "low skilled" work that is keeping the country going right now,

There are already lots of visas (UK immigration rules)  where people do not have to be highly skilled. e.g dependants (partner of somebody with settlement in the UK, partner of somebody with a visa for the UK). Ancestry visas and their dependants.  Tier 4, (can't always bring dependants with them) and Tier 2 ICT, neither lead to settlement.  The Tier 5 visas and all their dependants (if they are allowed dependants on their visa) which also doesn't lead to settlement.

In January 2021 there will be more low skilled visas, but now anybody in the world can apply for these. EEA citizens and Swiss citizens will be able to apply too but as all immigrants will then be treated the same, these would now have to pay to use the NHS, pay for a visa, can't have public funds for 5 years, might not be on a visa that allows dependants or allows settlement etc.