New digitised visas to prove right to benefits

Brie

@Muttleythefrog & @OhWow
I could of course apply for British Citizenship and did seriously look in to it at one point but the cost was beyond me at the time and it also required I surrender my current passport for the 6+months that applications were taking at that point.  My dad was seriously ill so it was just a extra step too far.  I have no need/desire to apply to be a British citizen but could without any restrictions to my current situation.  

And now as I understand it the cost is much much higher so not something I want to "waste" my money on.  Problem is how much is it?  I've heard something up to £20k but all the gov uk website quotes is about £1600 + a fee for the ceremony.  

It's just that ultimately things are ticking along just fine, I've never had any restrictions so why change anything.  But then again one does hear some of the horror stories of people being deported etc with little warning.  

OhWow

Brie said:

 I have no need/desire to apply to be a British citizen but could without any restrictions to my current situation.  

And now as I understand it the cost is much much higher so not something I want to "waste" my money on.  Problem is how much is it?  I've heard something up to £20k but all the gov uk website quotes is about £1600 + a fee for the ceremony.  

It's just that ultimately things are ticking along just fine, I've never had any restrictions so why change anything.  But then again one does hear some of the horror stories of people being deported etc with little warning.  

According the gov.uk site, Naturalisation will be £1,500 plus £80 for the ceremony (where you swear your oath to become a British citizen). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-31-january-2024#nationality

Or you can stay on ILR if you want to live in the UK, but as stated above, you will need to move to the digital e-visa system this year. This will mean you no longer have to carry your old passport too with the wet ILR stamp, to enter the UK. And no worry if you lose that old passport abroad and then have to apply for a BRP to enter the UK, especially if you are close to the 2 years to have to return to the UK to keep your ILR!

Muttleythefrog

Brie said:

@Muttleythefrog & @OhWow
I could of course apply for British Citizenship and did seriously look in to it at one point but the cost was beyond me at the time and it also required I surrender my current passport for the 6+months that applications were taking at that point.  My dad was seriously ill so it was just a extra step too far.  I have no need/desire to apply to be a British citizen but could without any restrictions to my current situation.  

And now as I understand it the cost is much much higher so not something I want to "waste" my money on.  Problem is how much is it?  I've heard something up to £20k but all the gov uk website quotes is about £1600 + a fee for the ceremony.  

It's just that ultimately things are ticking along just fine, I've never had any restrictions so why change anything.  But then again one does hear some of the horror stories of people being deported etc with little warning.  

Just to add to the above... yes costs circa £1600.. just under currently

But you should not need to be without passport as evidence is now uploaded in electronic scanned or pdf (etc) format. You would be able to continue using passport as normal and would only face issue if you were abroad for several months preventing attending the citizenship ceremony which you get 3 months to attend once approved. Believe it or not a naturalisation application is sort of cheap compared to the wider immigration fee costs and I would seriously consider it for several reasons. Last I checked application were typically taking 4 months. But it's up to you.

Brie

@Muttleythefrog
Thanks for all your help on this.  I suspect the expensive cases I've heard about are for those where there needs to be a solicitor involved, lots of foreign documents to be translated, etc etc.  I would guess that the simplest thing to do is to admit I'm actually married to a Brit and do things that way rather than try to base anything on my visa which is a sort that is no longer issued (always gets me a "Wow!" when coming into the country).  Doing it the way I'd like (with the visa I've got) ends up with a lot of "if this gets accepted" on the gov.uk website which frankly is a bit scary.  Doing it the other way is just a case of showing the marriage certificate which at least I have (somewhere).  

Meanwhile I've passed the warning along to friends/colleagues that deal with a lot of foreign residents who, like me, are likely unaware of the 31/12/24 deadline.

Brie

Turns out you can change your stamp in an old passport into a BRP one free of charge by applying online.  There will obviously also have to be an appointment to get all the biometrics done but if I go down that route then it should be easy enough to move to the eVisa after that.  Now I just need to tell them every time I've been in and out of the country since 1985.....

HillStreetBlues

Brie said:

Turns out you can change your stamp in an old passport into a BRP one free of charge by applying online.  There will obviously also have to be an appointment to get all the biometrics done but if I go down that route then it should be easy enough to move to the eVisa after that.  Now I just need to tell them every time I've been in and out of the country since 1985.....

I would hate having to try and work that out.

Brie

HillStreetBlues said:

Brie said:

Turns out you can change your stamp in an old passport into a BRP one free of charge by applying online.  There will obviously also have to be an appointment to get all the biometrics done but if I go down that route then it should be easy enough to move to the eVisa after that.  Now I just need to tell them every time I've been in and out of the country since 1985.....

I would hate having to try and work that out.

That's the point in the application I stopped.  I doubt I can prove it completely as I don't have all my passports since  '85.  I'll give it my best go but might wait until I've done a couple of holidays because last thing I want is to run into problems travelling.  Should leave me a good 2 - 3 months before the end of the year to hopefully get stuff done.  

bengal-stripe

Brie said:

Turns out you can change your stamp in an old passport into a BRP one free of charge by applying online. 

Now I just need to tell them every time I've been in and out of the country since 1985.....

This is the Windrush Scheme which is open to all individuals (regardless of nationality) who have been 'settled' in the UK prior to 1989 (Indefinite Leave to Remain = settled). For more information, contact the helpline  0800 678 1925

Windrush Scheme: get a document showing your right to be in the UK: How to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

I used that service in 2021. Although I am EU citizen, holding ILR since 1983, it was far more convenient to use than the standard EU Settlement Scheme. No waiting for hours on the helpline. I submitted the application, got an appointment at the Immigration Centre in Croydon to give my biometrics, received a letter of successful application and the printed card a few days later. The whole thing took about a month. 

I was never asked to give any information about long- or short-term stays outside the UK. 

I am now waiting for the Home Office to contact me about the eVisa. I'll give them another month or two until I get in contact with them.

Brie

@bengal-stripe
It wasn't labelled as the Windrush scheme so must have been something different.  

I'll have a look in to this and see what works out to be the best/easiest way to sort things.  In the meantime I'll try to figure out from what passports I do have if I can piece together my comings and goings.  It's not just that I don't have all the passports but also there's been times where immigration hasn't been bothered about stamping anything so there's no record.  I know in couple of times travelling in a group by bus all we had to was hold up are passport so they could see that everyone had one, rather than whether they actually even matched who was travelling!!