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Hello all, our SET(M) application was approved this week at Croydon PEO after a very long wait - 12 noon till about 4pm. Thank you for all your help. We are over the moon.

A bit of advice for anyone applying, if you can, please go for the Premium Service rather than postal. It saves so much time and hassle.

We had to go through this process:

1. Security checks
2. Show passports and collect ticket number
3. Short wait, payment by bankers draft taken
4. Another wait, information from passports keyed into computer and straightaway all our documents and copies in folders collected and sent to another caseworker (I thought they would go through the documentation with us present but they didn't)
5. Another wait of about an hour, ticket number called, went up to counter where we were informed that all had been approved.

Two days after, we have today received Biometric card.

My partner (we are not married) had overstayed since 1992 and applied for FLR in 2005 based on his relationship with me, a British citizen. He waited 6 years (from 2005 to 2011) for a decision on his FLR - his was one of the legacy cases. He was granted another two years after which we could apply for ILR.

We have now received ILR and I was wondering when he could apply to naturalise. I know that for unmarried partners, you should have lived in the UK for a minimum of five years.

Booklet AN also states:

"4. You must be free of immigration time restrictions on the date of application, and have been free of immigration time restrictions for the twelve month period before making the application.
5. You must not have been in breach of the immigration rules in the 5 year period before making the application."

It also says:

"Some discretion may be exercised over the residence requirements at 2 – 5 above if there are special circumstances. If you do not meet these residence requirements but believe that there are special circumstances in your case, you should explain them when you apply."

Just trying my luck here but could these special circumstances be the fact that he had to wait six years for the initial decision? He has actually been living in the UK for 21 years albeit legally for only 2 years?

Could we apply next year or do we have to wait three more years?

Thanks for your help.

This is actually quite a complex question. So he has been in the UK all those years, but how did that history start? That is, when he first arrived in the UK, did he apply for asylum? Immediately on arrival in the UK? Or if he arrived in the proverbial "back of a lorry", did he apply later? If so, how much later. after arrival in the UK?

Hi John, he came to the UK in 1992, I believe on a six month visa as a visitor but overstayed. He applied in 2005 (13 years after) as my partner and didn't get a reply till 2011 (one of the legacy cases that were dumped in a cupboard and not found till later - I guess). He was given two years further leave to remain, with the option to apply for ILR after the two years.

I am not sure if they will be compassionate based on the six year wait.

Thinking about it again - we may have applied on SET(O) initially (in 2005) and not FLR - so long ago, I can't remember.

Based upon that information, I think his 5-year qualifying period can only start no earlier than when the visa was granted in 2011.

Given that you are a British Citizen, if the two of you were to marry, then he could make a section 6(2) application fro Naturalisation .... a 3-year qualifying period, so would be able to apply some time in 2014.

Thanks for that, John

Hi butterfly33

Can I please ask you what documents did you submit to them from this section where the form asks the following:

"We need 6 letters or other documents addressed to you jointly or in both your names"

I do not wish to submit bank statements to them as there are some transactions from eBay and PayPal in case they start asking weird questions.

So will give them various bills and other docs

Also did the whole process not involve an interview of any sort where they ask many questions?

dfyz16 wrote:Hi butterfly33

Can I please ask you what documents did you submit to them from this section where the form asks the following:

"We need 6 letters or other documents addressed to you jointly or in both your names"

I do not wish to submit bank statements to them as there are some transactions from eBay and PayPal in case they start asking weird questions.

So will give them various bills and other docs

Also did the whole process not involve an interview of any sort where they ask many questions?

Hi dfyz16

The 6 letters we sent were:

2 EON bills in joint names
2 Council tax bills in joint names
2 Water bills in joint names

We also included 6 other bills and letters (M&S card statements, BT bills, letters from bank) in separate names just in case.

All of these were spread over 2 years - so 2/3 per year - as close as possible to beginning, middle and end of year.

For the financial documents, we sent bank statements - current and savings (some joint, some not joint) mostly over a year.

I wouldn't worry about what is showing on your bank statements (Paypal etc).

There was no interview. No questions asked just the usual niceties and small jokes. They were quite friendly but professional.

Hope this helps. As long as you have exactly what they have asked for in terms of numbers and dates, I don't think you will have a problem. We took loads of extra documents just in case but didn't need to show them.

Good luck