ILR Success at Croydon PEO on Tier 1 (General)
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:44 pm
I have been a passive reader of this forum and wanted to say thank you to everyone who posted their ILR stories. They really helped me prepare for my experience at the Croydon PEO today.
Key things I wanted to share in return.
My case
Applied as Tier 1 (general) on 5 years work experience. Had had two work permits over the last five years before the Tier 1 visa.
Currently on maternity leave.
1. Had appoitnment at 8am
Arrived at 7.20am and there was a queue of around 15 people outside the buidling.
2. Went inside, got ticket number 9 and had my form checked at reception.
(Lady checked applicatno form, asked if I had P60s to prove that I took employment under the previous work permits)
3. Paid
By 8am I was in the waiting area waiting to be called by the case officer. Only a couple of windown were in operation and I wasn't called until 9am when many more windows became open.
The case officer spent 1.5 hours on my documents. She asked for applicatno form. In it I stated in response to question 6.2 that there was a separate attachment with the entries/exists. She immediately asked for that and spent 30min reviewing it. She started typing dates from my three passports (two expired ones) into her computer but quickly gave up and typed what I believe to be the majority of dates from my travel log.
I had a total of 250 days out (not counting day in/out) out of these 80 were on business. She then asked for letter from employers (I had two previuos employers for whom I travelled on business) confirming that. I had these letters. The letters clearly stated my dates of employement and the months and years in which I travelled for business (but not the precise dates).
After dealing with the travel (she did not tell me whether she was ok with them or not) she turned to my payslips and calculated my earnings assessment under Tier 1. She cross checked them with the bank statements. She also checked all my P60s for the past 5 years
Then she checked my savings statements that I submitted in support of maintenance (section 5).
She checked the letter from employer confirming my maternity dates, my baby's birth certificate and Life in the UK test.
She did not ask me questions, only when she wanted certain documents. She also asked for photocopies of all the above documents and the passports.
It was 10.30am when she finished and told me that I will be granted ILR. I was told to wait an hour. My visa was ready in 40min.
When I went to get it (i.e. just after 11am) the entire waiting room was packed with people.
So my advice - get an early morning appointment and take more documents rather than less. and photocopies of all documents, including every single passport page.
Key things I wanted to share in return.
My case
Applied as Tier 1 (general) on 5 years work experience. Had had two work permits over the last five years before the Tier 1 visa.
Currently on maternity leave.
1. Had appoitnment at 8am
Arrived at 7.20am and there was a queue of around 15 people outside the buidling.
2. Went inside, got ticket number 9 and had my form checked at reception.
(Lady checked applicatno form, asked if I had P60s to prove that I took employment under the previous work permits)
3. Paid
By 8am I was in the waiting area waiting to be called by the case officer. Only a couple of windown were in operation and I wasn't called until 9am when many more windows became open.
The case officer spent 1.5 hours on my documents. She asked for applicatno form. In it I stated in response to question 6.2 that there was a separate attachment with the entries/exists. She immediately asked for that and spent 30min reviewing it. She started typing dates from my three passports (two expired ones) into her computer but quickly gave up and typed what I believe to be the majority of dates from my travel log.
I had a total of 250 days out (not counting day in/out) out of these 80 were on business. She then asked for letter from employers (I had two previuos employers for whom I travelled on business) confirming that. I had these letters. The letters clearly stated my dates of employement and the months and years in which I travelled for business (but not the precise dates).
After dealing with the travel (she did not tell me whether she was ok with them or not) she turned to my payslips and calculated my earnings assessment under Tier 1. She cross checked them with the bank statements. She also checked all my P60s for the past 5 years
Then she checked my savings statements that I submitted in support of maintenance (section 5).
She checked the letter from employer confirming my maternity dates, my baby's birth certificate and Life in the UK test.
She did not ask me questions, only when she wanted certain documents. She also asked for photocopies of all the above documents and the passports.
It was 10.30am when she finished and told me that I will be granted ILR. I was told to wait an hour. My visa was ready in 40min.
When I went to get it (i.e. just after 11am) the entire waiting room was packed with people.
So my advice - get an early morning appointment and take more documents rather than less. and photocopies of all documents, including every single passport page.