Registered Forum User
Big Twin
Bikes: 996 race bike
Posts: 1,957
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Twickenham, London
Mood: Almost over it.
Hints and Suggestions:
1. Make an appointment with the Visa people in Croydon. Do not just turn up or you will queue all day. An appointment should take you to the front of the line (actually it's a different line), yet you will still need to wait probably for a while.
2. Check your current Ancestry Visa very, very carefully. You can only apply for ILR up two two weeks prior to the completion of your four years. This four years started from the date the first entry stamp on the visa says. Do not confuse this with the date your Ancestry Visa was actually issued.
3. You'll need all day. Once you get through the first bit where you pay the money and they do a little interview, they then take your passport from you and tell you the visa will be ready in 3 to 4 hours. You're in Croydon, leave. Get a train to Clapham or Victoria. Go for coffee. Go for beer. Whatever, you have half a day to kill.
4. Read all the application instructions exceedingly carefully. Spend time preparing your documents. Check them. Check them again. Check them again. You don't want to take a day off work, make an appointment, go to Croydon only to find that one tiny insignificant piece of documentation is missing. It's a trap for young players.