Monday 3 June 2013

Operation: ILR

We have reached the point in my immigration process where I can (almost) apply for settlement, for Indefinite Leave to Remain. This is the last step before citizenship and grants most of the benefits of citizenship such as "public funds" and no longer being subject to immigration control but lacks certain little things like being able to vote or have actual rights. Think Second Class Citizen only without the citizen part. Mind you, I'm being snarky but I don't actually disagree with the process, at least in broad strokes. I'm not one of those people who think that everyone should be able to up sticks and move anywhere in the world just as easy as deciding. I think the immigration process as it applies to me is fair, if bloody expensive, but I also know that I am fairly uniquely privileged: most immigrants to the UK face more hoops and higher hurdles than I have and do and the rules I'm applying under are no longer available even to relatively favoured immigrants. I want to be here and I don't mind that there is a protracted immigration process but it's easy to feel bitter while doing it.

Things I need to do in roughly the order I need to do them:

1. Have my US passport switched to my married name. I may have already left this too late as the embassy website says it takes five weeks to process and that gets me into my visa application window (I have 28 days before my current visa expires). I don't need to update my US passport but my visa will be issued in the name on my passport and it would be nice to have everything in my married name. The hold up here is that I need a US sized passport photo. 
Cost: $110 for passport, plus courier, plus photo

2. Knowledge of Life in the UK test. This one is fairly self explanatory. The only possible complication is that my ID (Biometrics Resident Permit) is in my maiden name and my proof of address is in my married name. They should accept my (british) marriage certificate as a bridging factor. Good thing we got three "original" marriage certificates as one will be off with my passport. 
Cost: £50 per test (can take as many times as needed to pass) plus study materials. A friend sent me hers for the old test but I didn't get around to taking it before it changed in April.

3. Organise "supporting documents" including proof of cohabitation (official post addressed to both of us at the same address), proof of income to support ourselves, UK passport photos, marriage certificate, passports, etc.
Cost: passport photos, and photocopies...?

4. Apply. Hopefully we can get an in-person appointment for a same-day decision, otherwise it'll be a postal application (with an option on a checking service first) and a six-month wait.
Cost: in-person: £1426 plus biometrics, plus overnight trip to Glasgow; postal: £1051, plus biometrics, plus checking service plus overnight to Edinburg.

So all of that before my current visa expires the first week in August.

12 comments:

  1. If you plan to apply for citizenship, you don't need to change your US passport now. You can continue to have things in your maiden name, as unlike for the visa, you can put whichever name you want on your citizenship application and it doesn't have to match your passport. Then you can get your UK passport in your married name, and just change in the US passport when it's time to renew it. I know cost is a big factor, but since you've been here 3 years already, you can apply for citizenship the day after you get your BRP if you wanted.

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    1. Yes, I know but we can't afford citizenship yet so I don't know how long it would be. In my narrative of how life would be, this is when I changed everything to the same name

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  2. The passport renewal through the Embassy actually went through quite quickly when I did it. I think it wasn't more than 2 weeks. I think there is an expedited option as well, though costs more.

    As for the passport sized photo, I believe Snappy Snaps does them for US passports but would check that they will work. Bonus though, they give you 4, and so you can use the spare 2 for your ILR docs. :) Otherwise, search Google for a place?

    Also, pain as it is, I would recommend the in person service if you can do it. Totally worth not having to wait around for 6 months without a passport, and possibly having to resend them information because by the time they get to it, it's out of date (eg. bank statements). One of my employees had to do it that way (no option for in person for him) and he still hasn't gotten his passport back despite it being sent off end of last year.

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    1. I've heard the passport service is running more like 6 weeks currently so I decided to skip it, then when we went to take our UK passport photos we found that the booth at Tesco does US ones as well. Future reference, right?

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    2. We managed to get an appointment for mid-July at Glasgow. The are oodles of appointments open there; I guess the people who can't get appointments are all trying for Croydon. And we did in person for my FLR(m) so we know how beneficial it is :o)

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  3. Goodness that sounds complicated.

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    1. Moreso than the last one, but not too bad I hope. More that it's fiddly

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  4. I think the prices they ask for this stuff is still utterly outrageous, a total money-spinning scheme taking advantage of a captive clientele. I need to get to work on changing this attitude here, as well as the idea that any government agency should be charging citizens for using the services they are already paying for via there taxes - as you and I both were already paying for UKBA via our and our spouses' taxes.

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    1. Every time they up the prices they publish a chart of how much each visa costs to process vs how much they charge and most of them are around the 300% markup, but they've made no bones about the fact that they want to fund the UKBA from visa applications. All of it - the people at the airport stamping their own citizens in, the people inspecting freight at ports, all of it. And they want to cut immigration which either means discouraging people from applying, charging a lot to mostly say no, or pricing visas out of reach for most people

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  5. US passport photos are a doddle to do if you have a proper passport camera which I would think most pharmacies, etc. should have. You might have it done by now though.

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    1. I gave up on getting it done in time. My passport expires in 2019, I can do it then. But I found a photo booth at the Tesco in town that does US passport photos.

      I like that I can say things like that and you actually know where I'm talking about :-D

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  6. lol Sometimes I do miss Inverness.

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