Hi Saarang

Congratulations! My ILR stamp was also given on 19 January 2010. Are we allowed to apply for Naturalisation in one year time?

And also If I claim benefit will that affect my Naturalisation?

Regards

Shafiq

Hi Saarang Raja,

Cngratulations andgoodluck to ur naturalization nxt year!

When u say NOK, is it the Life in the UK test? and what do you mean by PP?

Thanks,

Alfred

Hi Shafiq

Thanks and Congratulations on your ILR. Yes one year after ILR, one can apply for citizenship through the naturalisation process.

Two main conditions you need to meet for naturalisation are,

1)You should have completed the qualifying period (5 years) in the UK
2)The last 12 months of your stay should be immigration free (for us it is under ILR status).

Yes you can claim all the benefits as an ILR holder. But the suggestion I got from my friends is not to, as they think some time this may affect your application, but I am not sure about it. When I am not sure about something then I don't let it disturb my plans. But I think you can definitely claim/apply for the weekly child development benefit as it is not a lazy stuff like unemployment benefit etc which could affect your citizenship application.

But I will suggest you to seek expert advice on this (ask forum) as I never claimed any benefits and yet to apply for citizenship.

All the Best

Saarang

Hi Alfred

Thank you.

NOK - ?? I think u meant to type - KOL in the UK. It means "Knowledge Of Life in the UK" also known as Life in the UK test.

By PP I meant Passport (PassPort). These are some common acronyms people use. Apologies for not mentioning them clearly in my first post.

Cheers

Saarang

MANY CONGURATULALTIONS FOR YOUR ILR. MY IS IN APRIL. WILL DEFINATELY ASK IF I NEED TO ASK ANYTHING. I AM UNDER SPOUSE VISA CATG.. 

HAVE A GREAT TIME AHEAD.

Thanks Shamp Sood. Please feel free to ask any questions, if I may be of any help.
All the Best.

First of all congratulations to all who have been granted ILR based on useful advice and shared experiences of the others in this forum.

I would like to know about the number of total UK absences allowed for a person in 5 years, so that he is still eligible to apply for ILR? I am on WP and my current non-business related absences in last 5 years total to 190. I have always been employed through out my residence qualifying period and have not stayed out of UK for more than 90 days (have stayed upto 30 days) in each trip. My total absences in the last year are also under 90 days.

I am worried as I read somewhere on other discussion forum that any absences more than 180 days weakens an ILR application. However, the UKBA does not say any specific figure on their website?

Does any one knows about it and can share relevant information or experiences?

Many Thanks

Azy

Hi saarang,

congrutlations... 

I've completed 5 yrs 1 month- all elgible for ILR. my only problem is employer-letter. however reason for not getting employer letter is properly composed in covering letter. but i've plan to visit india in next 3 months. I'm worried about posting the passport for ILR (which is 6 months waiting time). but direct approach also difficult as I can't get employer letter due to company policy..bit worried.. any idea how to resolve my issue...apply by post or wait for couple of more months (after india visit) and apply.. bit in dilemma

sat

The "official" limit for ILR is 180 days - it's not obvious from the forms, but if you search hard enough on the home office website, you will find it in an appendix to a guidance note meant for immigration officers that says "6 months"! Very obscure.

Anyway, 190 days shouldn't be too bad - I had a friend who was also 10 days over and she didn't have a problem.

So if you are at 190 days now - don't travel (if you can help it) before you apply. Also, if you are lucky (because this is discretionary for them) the immigration officer will not count time spent in other EU countries.

The only problem occurs if you are many days over - like myself - I was at about 250 days, and got turned down when I first applied. I had no clue about this limit, and even asked an immigration adviser who said everything would be OK. Imagine my shock and disappointment on the day. Anyway, they extended my work permit, and I reapplied successfully recently.

This is an important point. I am glad I didn't know about the 180 day limit, because if I did, I would have thought there was no point in my applying. But the trick is to apply anyway, and if there is some way they can help you qualify, my experience is that they will.

@Ravi Maraj,

Thank you for sharing your experience. I did some research on the internet and also enquired Home Office about this limit and found that this 180 days limit is indeed in place but only for days taken outside of paid annual leave/necessary business trips (while being employed)during 5 years. See below for home office response

"Please be advised that at the time an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain is submitted the main applicant must show that they spent a continuous period of 5 years in the United Kingdom in this capacity.

Time spent out of the United Kingdom may be discounted if it is for paid annual leave or business trips that are necessary due to employment commitments. If the absence from the UK is during a period of unpaid leave, it is not discounted and will be used in calculating absences when considering an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Any absences other than paid annual leave or necessary business trips should not exceed 3 months at a time or 6 months in total over the 5 year period.

Any thoughts on that and any deviations from the above??
However, if there were exceptional compassionate or compelling circumstances relating to why you would need to leave the UK for a prolonged period, this would be taken into consideration by the settlement caseworker - although we would be unable to guarantee the outcome of such an application."

Congrats on your naturalization! I am so glad the process only took you 2 hours, as I am about to go through the same. I bet you are very relieved now.

Chris
Professional Employer Organization

Hi Ravi, 

Hi all,

First of all thanks to the members of this forum who provided and shared loads of information about their knowledge and experience on UKBA.

Let me share my pleasant experience at Sheffield PEO for our ILR this week. I applied for ILR under the Tier 2 migrant category (4.5 years WP + 0.5 years Tier2). I took my dependents with me even though the UKBA staff over phone said dependents are not needed but if I wish I could bring them along (Two brains tackle better than a single).

Our appointment was at 10:00am and we reached there at 9:00am. After security we went to registration counter and got the token number.

At 9:15 I was called at one of the counters for initial checking.

The documents asked are as follows:

1. SET (O) application with photos (1 set taken and inset returned) and PPs
2. Pay slips and bank statements (I gave last 3 months only)
3. KOL in UK – both me and my spouse.
4. Letter from employer
5. Any WP docs from UKBA (I said, I don’t have any as the employer has them all - she said no problem)

I prepared a separate sheet of the days of absences from the UK (129 personal+29 business) and attached with the application.

I took loads of docs with me (marriage cert, birth cert, 5 P60s etc) but nothing else was asked.

I was asked whether I intend to travel outside UK in the next 28 days, I said, ‘No’. She took the application + 1 set of photo + PPs with her and gave me a file with the supporting docs and asked me to handover the file and pay the fee at the payment counter. By 9:40am I paid the fee (£1120) and waited for my token no. to be called.

At 10:00am, an UKBA staff called me at a counter and introduced her as the caseworker (CW) for my application that day. She told me that hope she had received all the required docs and would let me know her decision in 1 hr.

During the 5 year period I travelled (personal) to Swiss twice (3 days and 4 days). Since I travelled on a UK WP visa the Swiss immigration authorities didn’t stamp my entry and exit to Swiss. No exit stamp from UK as well, because UK only stamps when we come into the country. So there were two entry stamps without the matching exit stamps which is not my fault. First I worried about that and advised by the forum members not to as the UKBA has all those info and just fill in all the dates you travelled outside UK in the sheet/application. I put down all my travel dates and reasons.

At 10:35, the CW called me and said,” Everything is fine with your application and I am issuing you ILR. Your visa should be ready in 20-25 mins and then you are free to go”. I can’t express in simple words how I felt at that time. I was very happy that after 5 years of hard working I got the bonus what I deserved for.

At11:10am I was called to the registration counter and asked to check the names on the PPs and told we were free to go.

The entire process took around 2 hours and 10 mins (Entry to exit).

The home office team was professional and friendly. Overall it was a very nice experience.

If you have any questions please drop a message I will do my best to assist you.