# ILR Approved at PEO Liverpool SET(M)



## MrsV (Dec 7, 2010)

Just wanted to post about my experience at the Liverpool PEO for my ILR via the SET(M) form. 

After being unable to get an appointment in Croydon, the nearest PEO with availibility was in Liverpool. Prior to attending the PEO appointment, I paid 80 quid at my local council's Settlement Checking Service (SCS), where they essentially vet your application and tell you whether or not you should bring additional documentation. I _highly_ recommend doing this. Yeah, it's more money, but when you're already spending the best part of 1500 quid between the LIUK test and travel, it was 80 well spent. Our case is very straighforward, however it was worth going to the SCS service for the following reasons:

1) the SCS person told me that the UKBA doesn't like to see more than a 6 month "break" in letters to your address for you or your partner. They also suggested that we bring a MINIMUM of 12 documents to the PEO appointment, not the 6 docs as suggested on UKBA's website
2) my partner and I have 1 account that we pay bills out of (not our main checking account). The SCS suggested we also bring the account information for the bill pay account showing the rent going in and out as additional proof that we pay rent in the amount we specified on the SET(M)
3) the SCS organised the documents in the following method: 1 stack labelled "Financial Information", 3 separate stacks each labelled with the year they pertain to (in my case 2011, 2012, 2013). The SCS also makes copies of all the documents you're submitting.
4) the SCS also went through my application, making sure that everything was filled out correctly. It gave me peace of mind knowing that someone has checked it to make sure we weren't making any stupid mistakes.

After going to the SCS, my appointment with the Liverpool PEO was a few days later. We arrived about an hour early and were let in immediately. As other have said, you check in, pay and then are assigned a caseworker. Then you wait to have your biometrics done. After having my biometrics, we gave the caseworker our documents and she reviewed them for about 15 minutes, then she called my number and told me I'm approved for ILR. I was surprised that we weren't asked any questions, but I'm not complaining!!  We were given a letter saying that I was approved for ILR and that I'd been receiving the BRP within 7 business days.

I hope this can help some people who are going through the process. I would highly recommend the Liverpool PEO, as our train tickets were pretty cheap and 1 night in a hotel was about 25 pounds! It wasn't crowded and it sounds like it's a little less chaotic than the Croydon PEO. Feel free to ask any questions!!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Well done!
You were under the old rules so the procedure was quite straightforward.
So Settlement Checking Service worked well for you. I can't say about anyone applying under the new rules, as we have little experience with them, and because of the complexity of the rules, we don't know how well trained they are.


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## MrsV (Dec 7, 2010)

Yes, as I was already part of the settlement process, I was under the old rules. The SCS service was great and I found them to be very knowledgable, competent and approachable (ie: was given the SCS rep's direct number if I had any last minute questions). 

The SCS rep also told me that she went to training at the PEO's to perform the SCS checking service. I honestly felt like she really knew her stuff and was very familiar with the application itself and areas to check that are commonly misinterpreted. 

My experience with the SCS gave me confidence that my application was in the proper state and had everything the UKBA needed. Again, I would highly recommend the Wandsworth SCS.

Thanks again to this wonderful community and all of your advice; it has been really helpful. Many, many thanks:clap2:


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