Tier 1 General Extension given for only 1 year

[pramo]

I've had a unpleasant experience at Croydon PEO.

1. Date of PEO Appointment : 24th Sep 2012
2. Date of expiry of current leave (Tier 1 Genearal visa) : 23rd Feb 2013
3. Date of expiry of the new visa : 24th Sep 2013
4. Payment mode : Debit Card
5. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
6. Entry clearance date (HSMP) : 23rd Feb 2008
7. Date of entry into UK: 27th May 2008 (more than 3 months gap from visa approval)
8. Date of application for initial Tier 1 General Visa : Aug 2009 ( applied 6 months in advance )
9. Date of expiry of initial Tier 1 General Visa: 23rd Feb 2013

The caseworker had given me one year Tier 1 General extension from date of approval instead of two.

According to the caseworker, I'll be given 2 yrs visa if I would have applied upto 3 months in advance but since I applied almost 6 months in advance, he said I would only get an extension for an year which doesn't sound right to me. I argued with him and another senior caseworker that I should be extended for 2 yrs from date of approval but in vain.

Did I get anything wrong? This is my second extension, so is there anything different when I extend more than once or has the rules changed?

Did anyone have a similar experience?


I strongly think that the less informed case worker had taken a wrong decision in my case, is there anyway I can get this rectified by highlighting the issue with UKBA ?

[geriatrix]

245CB(a) applies, so leave granted today should have been issued for 2 years.
Write to UKBA to get the error rectified.

Regarding your wife's extension subsequent to your settlement application, post in this forum.

[pramo]

Hi sushdmehta,

Thanks for your response.

I have sent a mail to UKBA - UKBACustomerComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk regarding this.

I haven't received my Biometric Card yet, so thought of posting a letter to UK Border Agency to highlight the issue and get their advice before sending the Biomteric Card and Passport.

UK Border Agency Immigration Group
T1 Workflow Team
Employment Routes Workflow Team
Level 2, Vulcan House (Iron)
North East, Yorkshire & Humber Region
UK Border Agency
PO Box 3468
Sheffield S3 8WA

[UKBALoveStory]

I've had a unpleasant experience at Croydon PEO.

1. Date of PEO Appointment : 24th Sep 2012
2. Date of expiry of current leave (Tier 1 Genearal visa) : 23rd Feb 2013
3. Date of expiry of the new visa : 24th Sep 2013
4. Payment mode : Debit Card
5. Name of PEO Applied : Croydon
6. Entry clearance date (HSMP) : 23rd Feb 2008
7. Date of entry into UK: 27th May 2008 (more than 3 months gap from visa approval)
8. Date of application for initial Tier 1 General Visa : Aug 2009 ( applied 6 months in advance )
9. Date of expiry of initial Tier 1 General Visa: 23rd Feb 2013

The caseworker had given me one year Tier 1 General extension from date of approval instead of two.

According to the caseworker, I'll be given 2 yrs visa if I would have applied upto 3 months in advance but since I applied almost 6 months in advance, he said I would only get an extension for an year which doesn't sound right to me. I argued with him and another senior caseworker that I should be extended for 2 yrs from date of approval but in vain.

Did I get anything wrong? This is my second extension, so is there anything different when I extend more than once or has the rules changed?

Did anyone have a similar experience?


I strongly think that the less informed case worker had taken a wrong decision in my case, is there anyway I can get this rectified by highlighting the issue with UKBA ?

Very strange, you should have granted visa for at least 2 years. Please write to UKBA and if you get any response please let the forum know.

[pramo]

I received my Biometric Card with one year validity. I wrote a mail to BRP Error <BRPError@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk> regarding the issue with Leave to Remain validity.This is the reply I've got.

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the expiry date of your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). We have looked into this matter, and the expiry date showing on your BRP is correct according to our records. If you wish to dispute the expiry date, you should consult the guidance on our website at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk in the first instance. If this does not answer your query, you should write to your caseworker setting out why you believe the expiry date on your BRP is incorrect. Please do not return the BRP at this point – your case worker will advise you if they need you to return your BRP. Your case workers details are on your decision letter.

We are unable to assist you any further in this matter.

Thank you
BRP Management Unit

I did quote the below information in the mail I've sent to home office.

According to UKBA website,

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/polic ... es/part6a/

245CB. Period and conditions of grant

(a) Leave to remain will be granted for a period of 2 years, to an applicant who has, or was last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010.
(b) in all other cases, leave to remain will be granted for a period of 3 years.

I will be writing to my caseworker regarding this.
Is there any information in UKBA website which explains about applying Visa 3 months earlier to expiry and its impact on Leave to remain?

Let me know if I need to provide any other strong evidence from my side while writing to the case worker other than the above information.

[geriatrix]

You need to write to the team responsible for having these errors corrected or your caseworker. Sending an email to <BRPError ..... > is useless as those people do not decide whether leave granted is in line with the immigration rules or not. They are only responsible for ensuring that th BRP is printed with the correct "information" - information that someone else provides them. Accuracy of that information is not their responsibility.

[pramo]

Thanks for your advice sushdmehta.

Regarding the evidence I need to provide to support my case, will this information be enough?

245CB. Period and conditions of grant

(a) Leave to remain will be granted for a period of 2 years, to an applicant who has, or was last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010.
(b) in all other cases, leave to remain will be granted for a period of 3 years.

I was not able to find any information regarding leave to remain duration when one applies 3 months in advance (if it should be stamped from date of approval or from date of expiry) ? Is this information available in UKBA website ?

[nionlight]

Thanks for your advice sushdmehta.

Regarding the evidence I need to provide to support my case, will this information be enough?

245CB. Period and conditions of grant

(a) Leave to remain will be granted for a period of 2 years, to an applicant who has, or was last granted, leave as a Tier 1 (General) Migrant under the Rules in place before 6 April 2010.
(b) in all other cases, leave to remain will be granted for a period of 3 years.

I was not able to find any information regarding leave to remain duration when one applies 3 months in advance (if it should be stamped from date of approval or from date of expiry) ? Is this information available in UKBA website ?

It doesn't matter when you apply for extension. They should give you 2 years visa. The 3 months rule only matters for expiry date. If you apply early, the visa expiry date will be 2 years from the visa issue date. But if you apply within 28 days then your visa expiry date should be 2 years from current leave expiry. Regardless of when you apply, they should give 2 years visa not 1. it is clearly a mistake by CW.

[pramo]

Thanks for your response nionlight.

I do understand that it was a mistake, but when I argued about it during the appointment at UKBA, Croydon office they turned me down saying that either they can give me 1 year extension or reject my application.
But they didn't point me to any information in UKBA website to back their decision.

So when I write to my case worker as advised by BRP Management Unit, I thought it would be good to point him to any UKBA materials/information (if there is any) which states the issue related to applying 3 months in advance (just in case).

The 3 months rule only matters for expiry date. If you apply early, the visa expiry date will be 2 years from the visa issue date. But if you apply within 28 days then your visa expiry date should be 2 years from current leave expiry.

Is this stated anywhere in the UKBA website?

[Greenie]

As well as the relevant paragraph of the immigration rules which has already been quoted above, see also here

[pramo]

This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks a lot Greenie.

[madhumesh]

Just to know, What was the reason you gave for early extension?

[dilip_gem]

Any Updates?

[ldbright]

Hope this is considered as a mistake and you've got it rectified.

Please do kindly give an update as even a small piece of information could benefit other people on the forum.

Good luck!

[KumarSpore]

Hi Promo,

Sorry about this news. Did you check with any solicitors? Can they help you?

Regards,
AK

[pramo]

Here is the update and what I did:

I wrote a letter to my caseworker too but that didn't help.

I also wrote a mail to <UKBACustomerComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk by end of September month and I received a reply(in a week's time) from PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk acknowledging the error committed. Here is the mail from HMRC

In response to your e-mail we would confirm the following:
Your initial T1 LTR granted in August 2009 covered the period until 23/02/13 in line with the expiry of your HSMP visa. Technically at that time you should only have received LTR until 09/08/12.
Now you have applied for an extension to your current T1 visa the period applicable is 2 years. As you applied nearly 6 months prior to the expiry of your current visa we can only grant you the 2 years from the date of application which in your case was 24/09/12.

We confirm that we have made an error as we only granted LTR until 24/09/13 instead of 24/09/14.
Can you please therefore return your BRP card to the following address in order that we can amend our error.

I've sent the BRP card back to the address specified in the mail communication around 3 weeks back but haven't heard from them later to that.

I also wrote a letter back to HMRC asking for an update, also sent them a mail last week but haven't received any reply yet.

My travel plans and my wife's extension are on hold due to this issue.

Is there any other way I can fast-track the process as I haven't received any update in the last 3 weeks, not even an acknowledgement that they received my Biometric card ?

[KumarSpore]

Hi pramo,

That's a good news!! Wish you will receive your new BRP soon.

Regards,
AK

[madhumesh]

Thanks for sharing. These cases are getting more in number, hope after this they update their process.

[pramo]

I've finally received my corrected BRP card after a month wait.

Thanks sushdmehta and Greenie for your timely advice.

Based on my experience, I can suggest these:

Though you can hope for the best, always prepare for the worst, so make sure the documentation is extensive though do provide them only those that are necessary.

Though I've paid penalty for applying early, I would still consider it as a safe decision as it gives me quite some time to plan instead of rushing things at the last minute. The issue that I faced was purely bad luck.

It is good to have the necessary guidelines relevant to the application printed out, also go through it thoroughly once so that the case worker understands that you know what you are talking about.

Have these mail id's handy just in case if anything goes wrong, ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. UKBACustomerComplaints was the only mail id that helped me and I did get a response within a week, so not too bad. Any other mail id's or letters to UKBA was of no use.

[KumarSpore]

Hi Pramo,

Congrats finally. Good to hear about this.

Regards,
AK

[trek]

Hi Pramo,

I am in exact situation like you, in my case its Tier 1 extension they have issued me 2 yrs against 3 yrs. The experience and details shared by you has been acting as a guide for me. I have also mailed the below and waiting for them to come back.
ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

As expected the BRP error guys were of no use and a standard response was sent.

I can understand the pain you went through.
These people should be held legaly responsible for the pain and mental stress one has to go through.

Thanks for your inputs.

Regards,
Trek

I've finally received my corrected BRP card after a month wait.

Thanks sushdmehta and Greenie for your timely advice.

Based on my experience, I can suggest these:

Though you can hope for the best, always prepare for the worst, so make sure the documentation is extensive though do provide them only those that are necessary.

Though I've paid penalty for applying early, I would still consider it as a safe decision as it gives me quite some time to plan instead of rushing things at the last minute. The issue that I faced was purely bad luck.

It is good to have the necessary guidelines relevant to the application printed out, also go through it thoroughly once so that the case worker understands that you know what you are talking about.

Have these mail id's handy just in case if anything goes wrong, ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. UKBACustomerComplaints was the only mail id that helped me and I did get a response within a week, so not too bad. Any other mail id's or letters to UKBA was of no use.

[UKBALoveStory]

Hi Pramo,

I am in exact situation like you, in my case its Tier 1 extension they have issued me 2 yrs against 3 yrs. The experience and details shared by you has been acting as a guide for me. I have also mailed the below and waiting for them to come back.
ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

As expected the BRP error guys were of no use and a standard response was sent.

I can understand the pain you went through.
These people should be held legaly responsible for the pain and mental stress one has to go through.

Thanks for your inputs.

Regards,
Trek

I've finally received my corrected BRP card after a month wait.

Thanks sushdmehta and Greenie for your timely advice.

Based on my experience, I can suggest these:

Though you can hope for the best, always prepare for the worst, so make sure the documentation is extensive though do provide them only those that are necessary.

Though I've paid penalty for applying early, I would still consider it as a safe decision as it gives me quite some time to plan instead of rushing things at the last minute. The issue that I faced was purely bad luck.

It is good to have the necessary guidelines relevant to the application printed out, also go through it thoroughly once so that the case worker understands that you know what you are talking about.

Have these mail id's handy just in case if anything goes wrong, ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, PEOComplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. UKBACustomerComplaints was the only mail id that helped me and I did get a response within a week, so not too bad. Any other mail id's or letters to UKBA was of no use.

Any update on your case?

[geriatrix]

Make an effort to read through the topic before posting a query in there!

[ldbright]

After reading your post, I am worried that the CW will reject my 2nd extension as it it 16 monthes earlier.

I am going print out the guideline which suggested in the post to support my argument but not sure it will be useful or not.

[trek]

Hi All,

16.11.2012 - Recieved the Initial Tier 1 Ext BRP Card [Found Incorrect Visa Expiry Date - 1 yr less]
Emailed to BRP Error Team [brperror@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk]
16.11.2012 - Response Recieved from BRP Error Team. Date is as per record, write to Caseworker
16.11.2012 - Wrote about the incorrect date correction to peocomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, ukbapublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk

19.11.2012 - Recieved a acknowledgement and Complaint Case Reference no. from ukbacustomercomplaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
19.11.2012 - I sent a Post in Special Delivery to Caseworker informing the incorrect date, copy of BRP and email response of BRP Team. Along with all details name, dob, case id, etc.

22.11.2012 - Caseworker response (against post) recieved on Email, acknowledging the error on validity date, requesting to send the incorrect BRP back.

23.11.2012 - I sent a Post in Special Delivery to Caseworker with the BRP
23.11.2012 - Recieved mail from Complaint Team , acknowledging the error on validity date, requesting to send the incorrect BRP back to complaints dept.
23.11.2012 - Emailed complaints team informing that case worker has already responded and hence have sent back the incorrect BRP to Caseworker. Complaints team responded , that's fine then.

29.11.2012 - I recieved the Corrected BRP Card
Sent mail to both Caseworker and Complaints team member informing correct BRP recieved.

I thank pramo and all the moderators of this forum for providing me the way out.

Regards,
Trek.