ILR

[DoctorGilbertson]

Reposted from living overseas in case anyone here has any advice.

DH is non-EU and here in the UK on a spouse visa. We have just applied for his ILR on the 5 year route. Has anyone else done this recently? How long did it take?

His last spouse visa was really quick and we got the Biometric enrollment letter after a week but this time is slower. We aren't exactly nervous, but it would be good to know if it took ages for everyone else as well ...

From what I know from family me members who have came from abroad and studied and ended up with jobs here, it's taken them ages. Most recent was my cousin who ilr took a good 6 to 12 months to turn up. I remember he applied in November few years ago and his didn't turn up till July August time. But then again hopefully the back log at that time should hve been cleared up by now. Good luck. Hope it comes through soon x

I think it's pretty variable depending on the applicant's circumstances and how 'busy' the Home Office is. If your DH has all his papers well and truly in order and has a fairly simple life, it might be quicker for them to process/verify.

When I was applying for UK citizenship, I stumbled on ImmigrationBoards and found the threads there helpful. Many of them talk about how much time it takes, or not. If your DH's case is straightfoward, it might all be quite quick.

I was pleasantly surprised that my citizenship paperwork came through in about 2 months, including Christmas hols, but I think my case was very straightforward: spousal visa since 2002, converted to ILR since 2003 (back then there was only a 1yr residency requirement!), living full time in England at the same address and working throughout for the same company. I had to give my biometrics and take the Life in the UK test b/c those were not requirements when I was first granted ILR. A local friend from a different non-EU country went through the same process (ILR to citizenship) at roughly the same time this year and I think it was pretty quick for her too.

Good luck! Be patient!