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Topic: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?  (Read 2228 times)

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Hi all,

Hope someone can help?

My wife applied for her Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012 and we thought that we would be grandfathered into the rules before that date? ie meaning we can apply for ILR after 2 years not 5 years? on her residence card it says "Valid until 14/02/2016" and "date of issue 14/08/2013

We applied for the Fiancée Visa before July 9th 2012, we were then given the FLR on 14/08/2013 at an in person appointment and she was given her Residence Card.

I was given this advice from an Immigration Lawyer.

I appreciate that you made the fiancée visa application prior to 9th July 2012 and were granted, if your wife switched her visa from fiancée to spouse after 9th July 2012 I am afraid that your wife will not be held under the transitional period because she did not hold a spouse visa before 9th July 2012.  Therefore if this is the case then your wife will need to adhere to the 5 year route hence that is why the home office granted 2.5 years instead of 2 years.

Is she right? If she is right does that mean we have to meet the Maintenance Requirement when she applies for her ILR then? and if she is right would we have to meet the maintenance requirement when she applies for the 2.5 years extension as we did not have to meet the maintenance requirements when she applied fort her Fiancée Visa as it was before July 9th 2012.

Does anyone know anyone else who applied for a Fiancée Visa before July 9th 2012 and got their FLR after July 9th 2012 and then got their ILR after 2 years?

Really concerned now? 


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It's the date of the INITIAL visa application for the first settlement visa to move to the UK that should matter.

As she applied for her fiance visa before JUly 9th 2012, she SHOULD have been given a 24-month FLR(M).

HOWEVER, it looks like she has been given a 30-month FLR(M), which means she is on the new rules and has been issued the wrong visa... this should have been checked and clarified at your in-person appointment and you needed to have made sure she was processed under the old rules, because they may have assumed she was under the new rules.

If her FLR(M) visa is valid for 30 months, I'm not sure what she can do because she is not allowed to apply for ILR until 28 days before the expiry date of the visa - she should qualify for ILR after 2 years, but she hasn't been granted an old rules FLR(M) which would allow her to do so.


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It's the date of the INITIAL visa application for the first settlement visa to move to the UK that should matter.

As she applied for her fiance visa before JUly 9th 2012, she SHOULD have been given a 24-month FLR(M).

HOWEVER, it looks like she has been given a 30-month FLR(M), which means she is on the new rules and has been issued the wrong visa... this should have been checked and clarified at your in-person appointment and you needed to have made sure she was processed under the old rules, because they may have assumed she was under the new rules.

If her FLR(M) visa is valid for 30 months, I'm not sure what she can do because she is not allowed to apply for ILR until 28 days before the expiry date of the visa - she should qualify for ILR after 2 years, but she hasn't been granted an old rules FLR(M) which would allow her to do so.

Thanks so much for the reply. I told the officer that we applied for the Fiancee Visa before July 9th 2012 and we should have a 2 year visa and he said "Yes thats right, see you in 2 years" Then when we got the residence card I was confused by the dates and contacted UKBA about this and they were no help? What should we do now.

We were processed under the old rules otherwise we wouldn't have met the criteria and on the FLR form I am sure it had a box we ticked for applied before July 9th 2012 too.

What do you suggest we do? Do you think we can still apply at the 2 years for her ILR?

Also, do you have a link which proves that because my wife applied for her Fiancee Visa BEFORE July 9th 2012 that she should only have to wait 2 years for her ILR?

I found this

https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family/eligibility

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/348608/Transitional_guidance_-_April_2013.pdf

but not sure they prove my point I am looking for.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 08:31:58 PM by colours »


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Quick question about the dates...

You applied for the fiance(e) visa before 9 July 2012.  You were granted in person FLR(M) 14 August 2013.  What were the dates of the fiance(e) visa and when did she enter the UK?  A fiance(e) visa is valid for 6 months, and you apply 3 months in advance of your intended travel date.

So if you applied 8 July 2012... for a travel date 8 Oct 2012 and the visa was valid from then, it would expire 8 April 2013.  Even requesting post dating for 3 months on top of applying for the visa in advance, it would be valid from 8 Jan 2013, and it would expire 8 July 2013.  If your FLR(M) appointment was 14 August 2013, you were past the expiry of the fiance(e) visa, no? 


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https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/348608/Transitional_guidance_-_April_2013.pdf

but not sure they prove my point I am looking for.

This link is the one I found (which I meant to post), and it says that you should be under the old rules.

Aquila has a point about the dates though - how can you have applied for the fiance visa before July 9th 2012, but not have had your in-person appointment until August 2013... 13 months later, when the fiance visa is only valid for 6 months?


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ok thanks

Application Date 06/06/2012 - Fiancée Visa.

Problems with application and won on appeal.

Fiancée Visa granted around June 2013.

My wife then entered UK. We married early Aug 2013.

Applied and approved for FLR on Wed 14th Aug 2013 after we married at an in person appointment.


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so worried as it says

You must check your permit carefully when you receive it, to ensure that all the details on it are correct. If you find a mistake, you must email BRPError@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk within 10 working days of the date when you received the permit,otherwise you may be charged for a replacement and will need to apply again.

What does that mean? Apply again? Apply for what again? FLR again? Have to meet the new rules etc? We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo worried you have no idea!!


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So then it's because of your appeal.  The appeal took so long that it appears they have put you under the new rules rather than the old.  Perhaps you can make a case that you should have been considered under the old rules due to the initial application date, but it will be challenging, I would think.


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You should have been under the old rules per the transitional arrangements, but it looks like there was a mix up and you were put on the new rules since the visa was issued post July 2012.  The issuer must have overlooked that despite the visa being issued post July 2012, the initial application before the appeal won was pre July 2012. 

Since this mistake was so long ago and not corrected at the time, I am not sure how easily it can be corrected, if at all.


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You should have been under the old rules per the transitional arrangements, but it looks like there was a mix up and you were put on the new rules since the visa was issued post July 2012.  The issuer must have overlooked that despite the visa being issued post July 2012, the initial application before the appeal won was pre July 2012. 

Since this mistake was so long ago and not corrected at the time, I am not sure how easily it can be corrected, if at all.

Thats terrible, what do you think will happen?


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Re: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2014, 09:55:35 PM »
Does anyone know anyone else who applied for a Fiancée Visa before July 9th 2012 and got their FLR after July 9th 2012 and then got their ILR after 2 years?
I was in that boat. I applied for my fiance visa before 9 July 2012 and applied for FLR after.

Here is my post about my in-person appointment for FLR: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=78007.msg1058816#msg1058816

As you can see, we had to put up a bit of a fight to be considered (correctly) under the old rules. It sounds like they don't see the application date in their system, the only dates they saw for me were the date my fiance visa was valid from and the date I arrived, both of which were after 9 July.

Best of luck. I'm not sure what they'd be able to do for you now as it really should have been sorted out well over a year ago, but it's worth a shot. Maybe try contacting your MP and see what he/she can do. As geeta and Aquila said, it will probably be quite a challenge to get it corrected now.
July 2012 - Fiancée Visa | Nov 2012 - Married
Dec 2012 - FLR | Nov 2014 - ILR | Dec 2015 - UK Citizen


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Re: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2014, 09:56:02 PM »
Contact your original solicitor that you used during the appeal.  He/she may be able to help.

Otherwise, you are under the new rules.  You need to apply for FLR(M) prior to the visa expiry date.


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Re: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2014, 10:01:24 PM »
IMO you can make a case for being considered under the old rules (did you have professional help for your appeal?  if so, get in touch) and very well may be successful, but should prepare for the possibility that they might not allow it since the mistake wasn't corrected when it happened.


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Re: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?
« Reply #13 on: September 23, 2014, 10:12:33 PM »
IMO you can make a case for being considered under the old rules (did you have professional help for your appeal?  if so, get in touch) and very well may be successful, but should prepare for the possibility that they might not allow it since the mistake wasn't corrected when it happened.

We were so worried about that happening and in or FLR application I am sure there was a box we ticked to say we applied before July 9th 2012 and parts of the application we missed out because of that and I even said to the officer we are under the old rules right, 2 years to ILR? He said "Yes and see you in 2 years time". So when we got the BRC I saw it wasn't 5 years so thought thats good, thought it strange that it was 2 years 6 months, but as I made it clear at the Appointment didnt think there was an issue, thought it was an extra 6 months to get application in from the point of 2 years, we didnt know the new rules were 2.5 years and then another 2.5 years, thought it would show 5 years on card. Completely devastated. Cant even believe it. So we probably wont make the new maintenance requirements in the future then, but the FLR was judged under the old rules though and the old maintenance rules etc.

What worries me is where it says  you must email BRPError@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk within 10 working days of the date when you received the permit,otherwise you may be charged for a replacement and will need to apply again. and when it says apply again????
« Last Edit: September 23, 2014, 10:28:23 PM by colours »


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Re: Applied for Fiancée Visa before 9th July 2012? How long do we wait for ILR?
« Reply #14 on: September 24, 2014, 04:59:40 PM »
So we probably wont make the new maintenance requirements in the future then, but the FLR was judged under the old rules though and the old maintenance rules etc.


On your first post on your other thread, you say you are claiming DLA and Contribution Based ESA. If you are still getting DLA/PIP, then there are lower financial requirements for you. I think the financial requirments for someone claiming DLA, are the same as the old rules. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Your CB ESA may be enough with your DLA; if you are on a high rate DLA; to make the requirements if your wife isn't working. When does the CB ESA end? Or are you in the Support Group?
« Last Edit: September 24, 2014, 05:10:33 PM by Sirius »


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