Uk Ilr Application In Progress

[apetley]

Hi, can anyone offer any advice on the following situation involving my sister in law.

She is married to a guy in the UK.

She submitted an application for ILR nearly 3 months ago.

She has not yet received her Thai passport back.

Her sister in Thailand will be married on 23rd May and my sister in law would like to attend.

As she cannot go to Thailand without her passport she is trying to find out how her ILR application is proceeding.

All she gets when she phones the advertised number is a message saying try again later. The option to leave a message has been removed.

A email received an automated response stating that if she wanted her passport back then she could withdraw her application(!!!!!!) and get it back in about 10 days.

It's not the end of the world if she cannot attend the wedding but she would really like to go so can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks for reading, Andy.

[CharlieB]

Hi, can anyone offer any advice on the following situation involving my sister in law.

She is married to a guy in the UK.

She submitted an application for ILR nearly 3 months ago.

She has not yet received her Thai passport back.

Her sister in Thailand will be married on 23rd May and my sister in law would like to attend.

As she cannot go to Thailand without her passport she is trying to find out how her ILR application is proceeding.

All she gets when she phones the advertised number is a message saying try again later. The option to leave a message has been removed.

A email received an automated response stating that if she wanted her passport back then she could withdraw her application(!!!!!!) and get it back in about 10 days.

It's not the end of the world if she cannot attend the wedding but she would really like to go so can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks for reading, Andy.

Might be worth her hanging on for another week or two as ILR/FLR seem to take around 3 months give or take a couple of weeks. At the end of the day she has to think what is important to her, seeing her sisters marriage or staying with her husband and getting the right to stay in the UK.

[apetley]

Hi Charlie, thanks for the reply.

If she doesn't get her passport back she will not be going. Just a shame if she is unable to attend that's all.

If she requests the return of her passport she will forfeit her current ILR fee, have to request another settlement visa from within Thailand and then wait another couple of years and apply for ILR again!

The wedding is not worth that much aggravation to her.

Shame that the current inflated fees have not been matched by an improved turnaround time.

[guru]

My wife just received her ILR postal application yesterday after only a 3 week wait. I dont know if waiting times depend on which centre it happens to be processed at but surely if one centre was clogged up, the Border Agency could just send it off to one of their other centres that was quieter at the moment.

Edited April 30, 2009 by guru

[7by7]

Shame that the current inflated fees have not been matched by an improved turnaround time.

The blame for which lies squarely with Labour. First Blair and now Brown both believe that legitimate applicants for entry clearance and leave to remain should bear the cost of running the entire UKBIA! Only a fraction of the fee actually covers the cost of processing applications, the rest goes to pay for IOs at ports of entry, processing asylum seekers and EEA applicants, funding enforcement and the chasing of illegals etc.

A typically cynical exercise by Labour, so they can bribe the electorate by reducing general taxation just before the next election. Which should be remembered when that election finally comes.

[mariner29]

Try a fax that often gets a quick response.

[uk2bkk]

I posted this on the thai UK board. We are in the same boat.

I'm sure the Home office have changed the application processing times, they are now stating 95% of applications to be decided within 6 MONTHS.

Service Standards

Did it not use to be within 8 weeks?

Best to stick it out!

[7by7]

I'm sure the Home office have changed the application processing times, they are now stating 95% of applications to be decided within 6 MONTHS.......Did it not use to be within 8 weeks?

My wife's and step-daughter's ILR applications took about 4 months. But this was back in 2001/02 (IIRC submitted end October 2001, recieved end Feb 2002). At that time ILR applications were free, thanks to Tony and Gordon no longer so!

Edited May 1, 2009 by 7by7