Questions about FLR(FP)

So the "please save our family" thread has got me thinking about this visa.

I'm currently here on a tier 4 and am engaged to a Brit. We've got the wedding booked for next October and my visa is up Jan 2016.

Obviously the ideal situation will be that we meet the financial requirement and go along the normal FLR x2 then ILR route. However, we still aren't making the required amount yet (fingers crossed for my upcoming interviews) so I'm of course fretting about the worst case scenario.

I'm currently on a coach from London back home to Cardiff so I couldn't read the rules in great detail, but I've had a brief look over them and I'm trying to figure out the FLR(FP) route and whether it's would be a plausible worst case scenario route for us.

The thing that has me stuck in the guidance is that to be considers for the 10 year route you have to have already made a valid application for leave to remain as a partner. Does this mean we would have to apply for the regular FLR and get refused on finances first? Or could I try and switch directly from tier 4 to FLR(FP) if by some horrible stroke of fate January rolls around and our finances aren't in order?

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Basically, the FLR(FP) is a special case visa in order to allow a family to stay together in the UK when they can't meet the requirements for FLR(M). It's not something you should be intending to apply for - it's more an exceptional circumstances visa, issued in the case that for some unexpected reason you can no longer meet the financial requirement, which you were previously expecting to be able to meet.

It has essentially replaced the Discretionary Leave visa which in the past was granted to people who applied outside the rules and were given special leave to be allowed to stay here even though they didn't technically qualify for a visa.

If at all possible, you do not want to have to apply for FLR(FP) - it should be an absolute last resort to try to keep your family together if there is absolutely no way you think you will be able to meet the financial requirement at any time in the future, or you cannot qualify for any other visa to stay in the UK.

The FLR(FP) rules do say that the 10-year path can be applied for directly if you are in the UK, so I think you may be able to switch from Tier 4, but I believe the general idea of it is that you will have already qualified for a fiance, spousal or FLR(M) visa before and have met the financial requirements before, but due to unforeseen circumstances when it comes to renewing your visa, you find yourselves in a position where you can no longer meet the requirements (i.e. you've suddenly lost your jobs and can no longer meet the salary requirement).

The 10-year route is not ideal because it means four further visas (instead of 3) - 3 FLR(FP) visas and then ILR - and 10 years to ILR and citizenship instead of 5 years.

If at all possible, if you don't meet the requirement by the time your Tier 4 visa is up, I would advise trying one of the following over FLR(FP):

- Go back to the US in Jan 2016 and stay there until you can meet the financial requirement, then apply for a spousal visa to return. It would probably end up being cheaper and easier in the end, and would be much quicker for ILR and citizenship. Of course, it will depend on your financial situation and whether your spouse will ever be able to meet the requirement on his own if you left the UK at the end of your visa.

- Try to get a Tier 2 work visa after your studies and stay in the UK that way, then you can switch to FLR(M) once you are earning enough to meet the financial requirements. If you will have a degree from a UK university, you will be exempt from the resident labour market test and so it would be easier for you to get sponsorship for a work visa than if you were applying from the US without a UK degree.

I would suggest that both of these options would be preferable over the 10-year route, if at all possible.

Thanks ksand! Yeah I am certainly not going to be planning for this route. I just know very little about it and wanted to make sure I had a decent understanding of all the possibilities out there.  My first priority right now is meeting the financial requirement so it won't come to the other options.   It's that 20 hour per week work limit on my visa hats really making my job hunt miserable. I mean, I'm a fully qualified lawyer in the US, but nobody wants to hire for part time legal work.  So I'm stuck applying for every minimum wage job out there with a CV jammed with nothing but legal experience and one waitressing job. I've even got 2 UK references all lined up, both of whom are solicitors.

I'll just soldier on with the job hunt.

Anyhow Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. That was basically what I understood from reading the rules, but I was hoping you would come along and confirm if read them correctly.

You're in the UK on a Tier-4 visa, correct?  Do you think that you would have a better time finding a full-time job after you finish your degree?  You could switch to a Tier-2 and, once you or your partner have earned enough for 6 months, you could then switch to the spousal visa.  Would that also be viable route to go?  It would only potentially stretch out the time until ILR by half-a-year, at most, rather than adding 5 years on.  Just an idea so please correct me if I am mistaken.

You're in the UK on a Tier-4 visa, correct?  Do you think that you would have a better time finding a full-time job after you finish your degree?  You could switch to a Tier-2 and, once you or your partner have earned enough for 6 months, you could then switch to the spousal visa.  Would that also be viable route to go?  It would only potentially stretch out the time until ILR by half-a-year, at most, rather than adding 5 years on.  Just an idea so please correct me if I am mistaken.

It is certainly in the realm of possibilities. But obviously it also comes with finding someone willing to sponsor you, which comes at a high cost to your employer. It's seems doubtful I could swing that, especially since I won't be qualified as a solicitor here yet, so my earning power and general value as an employee wont be as high as it could be. There are loads of legal jobs in perfectly suited for right now, they all just require full time work, which the tier 4 doesn't allow. Essentially I'm trying to sell myself to employers as someone who won't need work sponsorship, because if they just give me a job, I'll meet the income requirement. Ha.

I won't reach the true horrible crunch time until about May/June, six months before my visa is up, and I have some promising non legal jobs I'm going for right now. So hopefully this all will be a moot point.

Thanks for the added thoughts and opinions. I'm always willing to take on board any more advice I can get.

When I was on my Tier-4 visa last year, it said no more than 20 hours per week during term time.  Is it possible to work more during the summer/after your degree has finished?  I was never quite sure about this (didn't have a job while I was on it).

Hopefully you will be able to find a way to stay there without too much hassle.  I wish you more luck than we had!  My husband found a job that paid enough to sponsor me....  three days after my visa expired.     So we had to wait out our 6 months before applying.  If you can find a way to not have to leave the country then, by all means, DO!

On a Tier 4 visa it's 20 hours per week in term time and full time hours in the vacations. You just can't take on a permanent job.


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Yeah I can work full time outside of term time. But for me summer is term time cause it's when I'm writing my dissertation. So I'm stuck on 20 hours until my degree is done. And then I only have 4 months til the visa expires, so not enough time to re establish myself for the spousal route. However I have a job interview in 2 hours for a 16 hour contract above minimum wage so fingers crossed!

Also thanks for the support and solidarity. Always makes things better!

The 10-year route is not ideal because it means four further visas (instead of 3) - 3 FLR(FP) visas and then ILR - and 10 years to ILR and citizenship instead of 5 years.

Maybe 10 years of paying and being on the NHS restrictions, of the new NHS levy too?

Yeah I can work full time outside of term time. But for me summer is term time cause it's when I'm writing my dissertation. So I'm stuck on 20 hours until my degree is done. And then I only have 4 months til the visa expires, so not enough time to re establish myself for the spousal route. However I have a job interview in 2 hours for a 16 hour contract above minimum wage so fingers crossed!

Even if you only work 20 hours a week at NMW, over a year that is still about 6.5k to add to your partners wage. Can he take a second job, increase his hours, to make the £18,600?

Maybe 10 years of paying and being on the NHS restrictions, of the new NHS levy too?


Even if you only work 20 hours a week at NMW, over a year that is still about 6.5k to add to your partners wage. Can he take a second job, increase his hours, to make the £18,600?

He is already working full time. And actively looking for better paid work. As to taking on a second job, I honestly don't know when he would find the time to do it. And if he did, our quality of life would plummet. He would be burnt out all the time and we would never see each other.

The general plan has always been for me to get a job and work the full amount I can in whatever I can get. I had an interview today that would put us over the requirement if I get it, so this whole thread will hopefully be a moot point soon.

I just wanted to get all my options in view, even for worst case scenario. Believe me, I've been agonising over all of this for the last 2 years. I have lost a lot a lot of sleep over that time.

Yeah I can work full time outside of term time. But for me summer is term time cause it's when I'm writing my dissertation. So I'm stuck on 20 hours until my degree is done. And then I only have 4 months til the visa expires, so not enough time to re establish myself for the spousal route. However I have a job interview in 2 hours for a 16 hour contract above minimum wage so fingers crossed!

Ooo!  Good luck!  I really hope that you get it.

I just wanted to get all my options in view, even for worst case scenario. Believe me, I've been agonising over all of this for the last 2 years. I have lost a lot a lot of sleep over that time.

I feel ya.  Part of me wishes that we had just gotten married on the sly in 2011 when we got engaged so that we could have applied under the old rules.  C'est la vie.

On a Tier 4 visa it's 20 hours per week in term time and full time hours in the vacations. You just can't take on a permanent job.

Good to know.  Thanks for clarifying that.

Part of me wishes that we had just gotten married on the sly in 2011 when we got engaged so that we could have applied under the old rules.  C'est la vie.

We got married about 10 minutes after the rules changed.   

I could already have citizenship (or at least be awaiting my approval).  Instead I'll have been in the UK over 8 years before I get it.  Oh well!

We got married about 10 minutes after the rules changed.  

I could already have citizenship (or at least be awaiting my approval).  Instead I'll have been in the UK over 8 years before I get it.  Oh well!

It caught a good friend of mine out too. She came to the UK in 09 to be with her partner, but on a work related visa (I think the old tier 1). When one of her renewals rolled around in 2012, they realised they qualified for unmarried partner and that it was much cheaper to take that option. Unfortunately she switched in early August and reset her citizenship/ILR clock. She is eternally frustrated over it.