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I got my ILR today at Croydon. Here are details and my experience:

Case - Arrived in UK in Jan 2007 on 1 yr WP, Got it extended for further 1 year, Got Tier 1 in 2008, Extended Tier 1 in 2010 Valid until mid 2013.

No of depandants - 2

No of employers - 2

absences - 114 days - all paid vacations

Had 10:30 appointment. I reached Lunar House at around 9:00 ( Took train - walked from station ). Had breakfast in nearby subway and chatted with some other applicant outside until 10:00.

Entered at 10:00.

Airport style security check.

Sent to a counter for initial check. The lady was quite frustrated as systems were not working on her PC. That got me bit worried and thoughts of coming back to collect passports came to my mind. And that would be problem as my family is travelling pretty soon. Eventually she did what she had to do. She asked for Application form,passports and life in UK certs. Didn't check much in the form or any other document. Just asked how was I going to pay and I answered "postal order". She gave me reference ticket and asked to go to payment on first floor.

As soon as I enetered 1st floor another lady at a desk asked for my application form and checked something and then asked me to go to payments counter.

I paid by postal order. It costed me money but had one less thing to worry about. was asked to wait in waiting area untill my number is called.

I was in waiting area by around 10:40. I think I was called to a counter at around 11:15. The lady at counter asked if I was applying for settlement to which I answered yes. She then asked for application form and passports. After that she asked me to provide all documents, she didn't specify what documents she needed. I gave her following docs:

Life in UK certs.
Birth cert of minor.
12 month payslip ( internet prinouts signed and stamped by HR).
12 months bank statements with salary credits (Original).
absence sheet ( in the format provided on this forum )

While giving these docs I told her that she can ask if she needs anything else and she asked following additional docs:

1. Any letters on my wife's name in last two years. I gave her few and she was happy with it. I asked if she wanted letters addressed to me as well and she said she didn't need them.

2. Employer letter. Luckily just couple of days back I had got the employer letter. I provided that and she was ok with that. I just gave letter from the recent employer for which I have now worked for 3 years. They have their own format of such letter but basically it just had date of joining, job title and the fact that I am still employed. It was on company letter head signed by HR.

She didn't ask for anything for previous employment or any home office letters for WP or tier 1. Se didn't even ask for P60's.

After collecting all the documents she asked me to wait again and said she would call me when needed.

I was sitting quite near to this counter so was able to see her reactions while checking the docs, only thing I was worried about was if any system is down I might not get the passports same day. Otherwise I was quite confident.

She called me back at around 12:30 and said the she was sorry about the delay and it was due to some systems running slow.She said everything is OK and my passports would be endorsed with new vignette and she returned the originals.

I got my passport along with dependant's passports at around 13:15 with ILR stamp.

Couple of things I think I should share specifically as people were having queries about them and I myself wasn't too sure about them.

1. Taking dependant's along : When you book the appointment , the appointment details mention that you must bring your dependants. Taking dependant's along could be a challenge if you have young kids. I checked some experiences posted on this forum where people had not taken dependants and they were OK. To confirm I called HO couple of days back and they confirmed that only main applicant needed to be present. So I had gone alone and was at no stage asked about dependants. I saw lot of people struggling with kids when infact their presence is not at all required. Not sure why appointment details asks for them.

2. Employer letter for Tier 1 applicants - Until couple of days back I assumed Tier 1 applicants dont need employer letter. I just decided to get one to be safe. As mentioned above I was specifically asked for it. Not sure what the case worker might have done if I didn't have that letter.

My case was pretty straight forward but you never know until you have everything in hand. In the hindsight I was well over prepared with everything, had loads of other documents in support but I think it better to be over prepared than being sorry.

This forum has provided a great place for people to collaborate and I thank everyone for contributing. In return if anyone has any specific questions I can try to share my experience on that.

Good luck to all.

Congrats wp2tier1. Thanks for sharing your experience.

My situation is exactly the same and I have appointment on 7th Feb.
I am surprised that the caseworker did not see any evidence for your 5 years continuous stay and employment in UK. I thought they must need 5 years P60s or something similar (payslip/ bank statement/ HMRC letter etc.). But the caseworker must have checked the evidence since your last Tier1 extension.

Anyways, congrats again. Regarding taking the dependants along, I understand it is a pain. And I understand that the HO call centre might have confirmed that you need not to take your dependants. But in my opinion, it is advisable to carry them since it is specified while booking appointment. Its not only a matter of obeying the instructions, it is re-assuring. And while you are going to achieve a milestone, a little bit of pain would not matter much.

If you are coming to Croydon, you can always go to the Whitgift centre and relax. Its a place where you can spend the whole day. Its less than 5 minutes walk from Lunar house.

"Employer letter for Tier 1 applicants - Until couple of days back I assumed Tier 1 applicants dont need employer letter. I just decided to get one to be safe. As mentioned above I was specifically asked for it. Not sure what the case worker might have done if I didn't have that letter. "

congrats mate!!

I am on T1(G) too
just curious to know what your Employment letter says..
co'z the one which I am going to put forward doesn't mention anything about SOC code or line that I am paid over it.

It confirms my employment date and that I am still required for foreseeable future. & personal details like credit Bank Account details, Address. Responsible HR contact details .

Am I ok with it?

kunalmehta wrote:"Employer letter for Tier 1 applicants - Until couple of days back I assumed Tier 1 applicants dont need employer letter. I just decided to get one to be safe. As mentioned above I was specifically asked for it. Not sure what the case worker might have done if I didn't have that letter. "

congrats mate!!

I am on T1(G) too
just curious to know what your Employment letter says..
co'z the one which I am going to put forward doesn't mention anything about SOC code or line that I am paid over it.

It confirms my employment date and that I am still required for foreseeable future. & personal details like credit Bank Account details, Address. Responsible HR contact details .

Am I ok with it?

That should be more than sufficient. My letter only had start date, job title and fact that I am still employed with them. SOC code thing is required only for WP applicants.

Congrats! Got questions for you: Is absence a requirement for dependent as well ? I know it is a requirement for main applicant, but it wasn't mentioned anyway ( app form and guidance ) that if same criteria ( single absence no more than 3 months and 6 months in 5 yrs etc ) applies to dependents... Also, did you just submit one form ( SET(O) ) for you and all your dependents ? thx!

chrisonrails wrote:Congrats! Got questions for you: Is absence a requirement for dependent as well ? I know it is a requirement for main applicant, but it wasn't mentioned anyway ( app form and guidance ) that if same criteria ( single absence no more than 3 months and 6 months in 5 yrs etc ) applies to dependents... Also, did you just submit one form ( SET(O) ) for you and all your dependents ? thx!

Same SET(O) form for main applicant and dependants.

No absence criteria required for dependant. Just make sure you have cohabitation proof. Few letters for past two years addressed to both of you.(addressed jointly or separately)

wp2tier1 wrote:

chrisonrails wrote:Congrats! Got questions for you: Is absence a requirement for dependent as well ? I know it is a requirement for main applicant, but it wasn't mentioned anyway ( app form and guidance ) that if same criteria ( single absence no more than 3 months and 6 months in 5 yrs etc ) applies to dependents... Also, did you just submit one form ( SET(O) ) for you and all your dependents ? thx!

Same SET(O) form for main applicant and dependants.

No absence criteria required for dependant. Just make sure you have cohabitation proof. Few letters for past two years addressed to both of you.(addressed jointly or separately)

Cool, thx for the answer!

Hi wp2tier1,

For cohabitation proof, is my wife's bank statement for the past 2 years with the same address as mine sufficient?

I am asking this because, in the FAQ experts have advised to look in the SET(M)/ FLR(M) forms to find what documents are acceptable. But in those documents, it is said to provide 6 different evidences from 3 different sources. I am pretty sure this is not the case for SET(O), as ours. What is your opinion?

Hi wp2tier1

Congrats on getting ILR sorted. I am also in process of applying and got similar case as you.
I was reading the form and have got few questions, if you can answer any of these:

1) Form page 34, point 10G: It mentions that we should show personal earnings during our stay in UK. I don’t have last 5 years salary slip or bank statements (I have only for last 1 1
year). So what documents you had to show previous earnings for last 5 years ?

2) Again, same point as above: point 3 in the same section says that we need to provide duration of all the visas we stayed under. So did you had any letter/document showing that what was start and end date for your each of visa type ?

3) Page 35 point 10L: it mentions that we need show the evidence documents we used to get Tier 1. Again I don’t have previous salary statements / or bank records. Is this needed

tknayak wrote:Hi wp2tier1,

For cohabitation proof, is my wife's bank statement for the past 2 years with the same address as mine sufficient?

I am asking this because, in the FAQ experts have advised to look in the SET(M)/ FLR(M) forms to find what documents are acceptable. But in those documents, it is said to provide 6 different evidences from 3 different sources. I am pretty sure this is not the case for SET(O), as ours. What is your opinion?

Its safer to take 3 different types of letters, e.g bank statments, nhs letters, bills etc. I had letters from more than three sources. If you just have bank statements, it might still be ok but depends on the caseworker.

ukbuddy wrote:Hi wp2tier1

Congrats on getting ILR sorted. I am also in process of applying and got similar case as you.
I was reading the form and have got few questions, if you can answer any of these:

1) Form page 34, point 10G: It mentions that we should show personal earnings during our stay in UK. I don’t have last 5 years salary slip or bank statements (I have only for last 1 1
year). So what documents you had to show previous earnings for last 5 years ?

2) Again, same point as above: point 3 in the same section says that we need to provide duration of all the visas we stayed under. So did you had any letter/document showing that what was start and end date for your each of visa type ?

3) Page 35 point 10L: it mentions that we need show the evidence documents we used to get Tier 1. Again I don’t have previous salary statements / or bank records. Is this needed

1. If you are similar case to mine than you must be applying under Tier 1. Point 10 G is for HSMP applications. That is different from Tier 1. They did not ask me any documents for earnings for previous 5 years. But I had all my salary slips and P60s with me. I think its not a requirement for Tier 1 applications.

2.Again since yours is Tier 1 application. This point is not relevant. But the visa stamps in your passport will be sufficient anyway for types of visas you were on and the durations.

3. Well its asks for proof that you met requirements of the visa berore Tier 1 which could be WP for example. I had WP letters issued by HO , P60's and sal slips for this. If you don't have sal slips take p60's along, if you don't have these take employment history from HMRC as per guidelines posted on this forum. You should be OK with that I think. In my case caseworker did not ask anything for first 4 years.