***I NEED ADVICE*** (RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT)

[ineedadvice]

Hello,

I was granted ILR over two years ago, and am hoping to apply for citizenship soon. However, I am in need of some advice.

Question 1: I arrived in the UK with my guardian when I was a child. We sought asylum, and I was given limited leave to remain a few months after arriving. I applied for indefinite leave to remain before my limited leave expired, and I received it a few months later. I have been here for over eight years now. According to the guidance form, I meet the residency requirement. However, I have heard that those who entered the country illegally may have to wait ten years before being eligible for citizenship. Can any of you advise? My guardian and I went to the HO almost immediately after arriving and received refugee status. Will this lead to a rejection if I apply now?

Question 2: I withdrew from a postgraduate course in January, and unfortunately, I've had a hard time finding work since. I recently secured a role that is due to start soon, but because I haven't been in school/work for six months, I don't know how I can evidence my being in the UK during this time. I attended several interviews over the course of the last six months, and have undertaken driving lessons. Do you think letters from my interviewees/driving instructor will sufficiently evidence my being here? If not, could you recommend alternative ways of evidencing this? I have not left the country since I arrived.

Question 3: I do not have a passport, and my travel document expired a while ago. I haven't renewed it because I have no travel plans. The application form asks for a passport or travel document number. How should I answer? Should I put down my expired travel document number?

Thank you for your time. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[ineedadvice]

Hello,

I received limited leave to remain in July 2010, and indefinite leave to remain in August 2015.

I am preparing an application to naturalise as a citizen, and I must be able to evidence that I meet the residency requirements. I have never left the country since arriving in 2010, and can evidence my being here up to January 2018. On this month, I withdrew from a postgraduate programme of study, and unfortunately, I had a hard time finding work. I attended several interviews between February and May before finding a summer internship. I also began taking regular driving lessons in February (this is still ongoing).

According to the guidance form, I can meet this requirement by sharing:
- my passport; or
- letters from employers, education establishments or other government departments indicating presence in the UK.

I currently do not have a passport, and my travel documents expired in 2015 (I didn't renew them because I had no plans to travel, and my biometric residence permit was a sufficient form of ID).

I can provide letters indicating presence up until January 2018. How can I evidence my presence between then and my summer internship?

I have several letters/e-mails from the companies who interviewed me for jobs between that time, and my driving instructor has written a letter stating that I've been taking regular lessons since February. Is this enough?

I am now a postgraduate student with a part-time job.

Thank you very much for your time.

[vinny]

Perhaps also get confirmation from your Embassy that you have not applied for, nor been granted another passport, since the expiry of your last passport. Therefore, you could not have sneaked in or out of the UK during this time period, unless they consider the UK Border Force to be incompetent.

[ineedadvice]

Hi Vinny,

Thank you very much for your response.

Would it be as simple as asking the embassy for a letter detailing my not applying/receiving a new passport? I believe my passport has been expired for close to a decade. Additonally, I don't think my passport would've enabled me to travel to most countries without a visa.

Do you reckon it's worth seeking advice from an immigration lawyer?

[vinny]

How would the Home Office know that you haven't been using another unexpired passport, hidden somewhere?