Jo Herrings Adventures

Today I went down to East Croydon to the Home Office. I have been before but its always an "experience". I was surprised last week after sitting my Life in the UK test that I could take my pick of appointments from 9-4pm. I chose to have a 10am appointment to miss the rush hour traffic. I was attempting to gain the Indefinite Leave to Remain status after living in the UK for over 5 years on my Ancestry Visa. This application enables me to come and go with little issue for - well - EVER. Although I still will be guzumped at the airport in the Foreigners queue. If I could prove my Britishness more I asked someone to please get in the queue behind me when I went to pay the crippling £1350! 42 pages later - of which Section 9 was not relevant and made up 30 pages - detailing all my personal details and an accurate view on my comings and goings from the Great British Isles for these 5 years and 9 months. This last exercise should have been an enjoyable one filled with ha...

Today I took the Life in the UK test to secure all my paperwork for my 'Indefinite Leave to Remain'. This visa will mean after 5.5 years of living in England I will be allowed to stay for ever....and allegable for my UK Passport in a year, or a year after I return from travelling to show my commitment to the country again. Its been something I have always wanted and this is really very exciting. I really enjoyed the experience of learning about the country I love to call my second home. Like that it was a republic for 11 years in the mid 1600's under Lord Cromwell. That Children under 16 can't work in a chippy, kitchen or use heavy machinery or chemicals (no kids obviously help on farms!). And women <30 only got the right to vote in 1928 with the right to vote to those 30+ only passed in 1918. I am so pleased my real home in NZ was the pioneers of the suffragette movement. Hats off Kate Sheppard! The test took me a mere 10minutes to complete. I was lucky to ...