As far as I know there isn't anything on the forum on the subtle differences that those sponsors in the Isle of Man face compared to on the mainland UK. The Isle of Man is not part of the UK but is part of British Isles. At the moment my wife is on a Spouse visa and hopefully will be granted ILR towards the end of the year. Like in the UK she will have to pass a Life in the UK Test but with a slight twist - 6 out of 24 "Life in the UK Test" questions will be on the Isle of Man. She is not required to be issued with a BRP card and her Life in the UK and Isle of Man test will be done on paper. Her basic fees will be the same as in the UK for ILR but the only options are submission over the counter or by post, which are the same price. The Immigration people here prefer over the counter as they get to see you that way. The Life in the UK Test, however, is £60 which I believe is more expensive than the UK test itself at £50. Anyhow, I know that there aren't going to be many forum members based in the IoM but if and when they come along then this stuff might be useful. I will add to it as I go. One nice difference here is that the Immigration people here are human, helpful and easy to contact for advice. I phoned them today on the Set M form for ILR (which is very similar to the one issued on the mainland UK) and they gave me heaps of advice.
Applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the Isle of Man: The fee "If you are a sole applicant on form SET(M) and no dependants are applying with you, there is a fee of £991" Thats it. No extra charges for type of service. http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/cso/immigration/setmoctober2012.pdf
Chatting with the Immigration officer he said their main focus was on proof of cohabitation throughout the ~2 year duration of the Spouse visa - proof of subsistence of marriage. I notice that a slight difference from the UK version of the form is in the documentation required as evidence of proof of subsistence. "Items of correspondence or other documentary evidence from sources of the kind listed below would be acceptable. These should be divided fairly equally between each of the two years, and be addressed jointly in both your names wherever possible. If you do not have any or enough in your joint names, items addressed to each of you individually may be acceptable, provided they show the same address and you provide roughly the same number of items in each of your names. The items of evidence should be from at least 5 different official sources. Ideally, a total of 20 items of evidence should be provided. If you are not able to do that, please provide at least 10 items." A little more onerous than the UK requirement.
I don't know Peter. Am guessing yes. My friend's wife will be taking the new test so I will know then. She has bought the new book and will take the test here on the IOM and so has another friend of my wife's, here on the Island. I am guessing that it is the very same new book again with an IOM "bolt on" booklet. I phoned IOM Immigration yesterday and I just asked them, out of curiosity, as to when they were going with the new version of the exam and their reply was 1st May.
I asked them today. The Isle of Man "bolt on" has a good deal of history within it anyway so they don't have plans to change it or if they do it will be hardly much at all. But they have gone over to the new Life In the UK curriculum and test. So its the new Life in UK Test but same IOM bolt on, for the time being anyway.
Unlike the UK my wife is eligible to vote in the Isle of Man afte being here a year. That being the case, she is now on the electoral register which she will be using as evidence to support her application for ILR. Handy.
