Settled status application - how does it work?

[FishCanFly]

Ok, i did it, now waiting for the results. Thing is, they only wanted a passport and NI number, and NO OTHER DOCUMENT. No marriage certificate, no family details, no proof of address, no nothing. Years ago i had had this thing like a work permit and i paid for it, but that's not needed either.
So how will they know? just from NI number?

[FishCanFly]

also the android app is SHIT. i have a Samsung Galaxy and the app is not available. so only a few select models of android?

[AnotherEmma]

Yes all they need is your NI number. They check your NI record. If there were gaps in it they would have asked you to upload evidence of residence during the relevant periods. As they didn't ask for it you don't need to provide anything else.

It sounds as if you couldn't prove your identity using the app so you need to send off your ID instead. Alternatively in some locations there are places that can do the ID check for you.

This guide is pretty comprehensive:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/staying-in-the-uk-after-brexit/applying-for-settled-status/

[FishCanFly]

i went to the city council to scan passport

[AnotherEmma]

Nothing else to do then. You just have to wait for the email. It should take 2-3 weeks although I guess processing times will vary depending on volume of applications.

[Mistigri]

It may take longer at the moment because I am hearing on the grapevine that the SS application has been overwhelmed since Patel's freedom of movement comments.

[FishCanFly]

That vile woman...

[Mistigri]

Yes.

You've been lucky btw. Lots of stories on twitter yesterday about elderly people who worked their whole lives in the U.K., often in public sector jobs and claiming public sector pensions(!), who can't be found in the NI database and have to provide "additional evidence".

It's a fucking scandal and I hope that one day a public enquiry ends the careers of everyone associated with this.

[GoneWishing]

Like everyone says, no need for other documents, unless your NI record happens to have some gaps (like while you've been a SAHM or anything like that). I had plenty of gaps, and it told me straight away which periods I needed to send proof of, and they were apparently happy with just photos of our council tax bills from those times! (I was prepared with a mountain of paperwork, just in case!). I did mine on the first day it became free to do, and still got the result in a couple of days. Good luck!

[GoneWishing]

(Just to add that what I said is how it's in theory - I too have heard of people who shouldn't have any gaps and have been working continuously having to still send documents, like Mistigri said.)

[InMySpareTime]

My 96 year old grandmother had no gaps in her NI/pension record since 1952 when she settled here, but still had no end of trouble proving her settled status because she let her passport run out when she could no longer travel. Now she needs to go in person to the French Embassy (which has no accessible entrance for her wheelchair) to get biometric ID, to prove she is settled in a country she's lived in most of her long life.

[Mistigri]

Like everyone says, no need for other document

Unless for some reason they cannot find you on the NI system despite you having been in the U.K. paying tax and NI contributions for decades.

Anecdotally it seems that people who have arrived in the last 10 years and have a continuous work record are fine, the problems seem to be particularly for those with a long tax/NI record (although not exclusively).

[FishCanFly]

YEEEEEEEAAAAYYY!
I got it. Indefinite Leave to Remain, AKA Settled Status.
So it only took 3 days. And I have massive gaps in my employment. But it seems like the key was the biometric passport.
So thanks media for scaremongering. I'm having a glass of champagne now

[RuggerHug]

Glad you're sorted FishCanFly

[AnotherEmma]

Congrats

[GoneWishing]

Great news :)