Fiancé to marriage to ILR to citizenship?

I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere. I havent been in this forum since my own move to the U.K. to be with my now husband. But I have some questions for my friend. I think she can get at least ILR right now, maybe even citizenship. It's important to her because her Brit isn't as trustworthy as mine was....long story. But here's the situation:

Brazilian woman meets British man online. The have a long distance relationship for two years, this is 2012. They decide to marry. She comes over on a fiancé visa, they marry within six months, they set up house. Live together.

Now it's 2017, and she has a residency card that she has had to renew every year. Next April they have been married five years and she says she can apply for citizenship then, not before.

I came over on an ancestry visa in 2005, got ILR and then immediently applied for citizenship on the basis that I was married to a U.K. Citizen and had lived in the U.K. For three years.

It looks like things have changed. Can someone give my a basic pathway to citizenship for my friend now?
I'm confused, and she's really confused. She thinks her husband is telling her things that aren't true, and she is too shy about her English ( although she's fluent and I understand both her speech and writing perfectly) to ask an official herself.

Ta!

Assuming she is on the spouse path for being married to a UKC:

Fiancé visa (6 months)
FLR(M) #1 (30 months)
FLR(M) #2 (30 months)
ILR
Citizenship (optional, can apply immediately after obtaining ILR)

It would be important to know her exact circumstances though.

Now it's 2017, and she has a residency card that she has had to renew every year. Next April they have been married five years and she says she can apply for citizenship then, not before.

Why does she have to renew her visa every year? What kind of visa does she have? If she is married to a UK citizen and came over on a fiance visa, she should not have a visa that has to be renewed every year.

When did she apply for her fiance visa - before or after July 9th 2012?

- If she applied before July 9th 2012, she would have applied for a 2-year FLR(M) after the wedding and then qualified for ILR in 2014, 28 days before the FLR(M) expired, and then citizenship in 2015 after 3 years in the UK.

- If she applied after July 9th 2012, she would have applied for a 2.5-year FLR(M) after the wedding, then another 2.5-year FLR(M) in 2015, and then she would qualify for ILR 28 days before her second visa expired in 2017/2018. She could then apply for citizenship once she has ILR.

So, we need to determine exactly what visa she currently has in order to be able to give advice on how/when she can qualify for ILR.

Thanks guys. Looks like she missed the date cut off. She has to wait until next April to apply for citizenship.

They didn't have those residency cards when I was in the process... is this an independent category like ILR?

In other words can she stay if the marriage is dissolved?

She says she's on a "marriage visa" now. By which I think she means "spousal visa".

I'm not sure what the deal with renewal every year is. Maybe she misunderstood the question I posed.
Just to let you know..... after 8 years of pure bliss in the UK I foolishly move to Canada with my husband. I hate it!!! After five nightmare years in Canada we are making arrangements to move back home!!!!!!
I can't wait to return.

Thanks guys. Looks like she missed the date cut off. She has to wait until next April to apply for citizenship.

They didn't have those residency cards when I was in the process... is this an independent category like ILR?

I have never heard of anything like this before. Can you ask her what it's called?

As far as I know, she should have received two 2.5-year FLR(M) visas. I have no clue what residency card she might have as I don't know of any visa that is only valid for one year at a time.

In other words can she stay if the marriage is dissolved?

Only if she already has ILR before the marriage breaks down.

If she is still on FLR(M) and her marriage is dissolved, her UK sponsor is obligated to report the dissolution to UKVI and her visa will be cancelled, meaning she'd need to return to the US and will not qualify for ILR or citizenship.

Alternatively, she could stay if she could qualify for a Tier 2 work visa, but that would restart the 5 years to ILR.

She says she's on a "marriage visa" now. By which I think she means "spousal visa".

There's no such thing as a marriage/spousal visa that is only valid for 1 year and has to be renewed.

A spousal visa is valid for 30 months and is then renewed for another 30 months, giving 5 years for ILR.

I've got a photo of the card now. It's pink with her photo. It says spouse/ partner leave to remain. She's been in the country since August 2013, married in sept 2013.

Looks like she has to make nice for a while longer.

I've got a photo of the card now. It's pink with her photo. It says spouse/ partner leave to remain. She's been in the country since August 2013, married in sept 2013.

Looks like she has to make nice for a while longer.

It'll be a BRP visa card (Biometrics Residence Permit)- which is how visas are issued now (they are not stickers in your passport, you get a separate card).

What are the validity dates on it? It should be valid for 30 months (2.5 years)... no idea where this renew every year thing comes from.

If she was married September 2013, her first BRP card should have been valid from late 2013 to mid-2016. She then should have renewed it in 2016 for another 2.5 years - so her current BRP card should be valid from sometime in 2016 to late 2018 or early 2019. She can then apply for ILR up to 28 days before her current BRP card expires in 2018/2019.

HOWEVER, if the marriage has broken down permanently, she can no longer remain in the UK on a spouse/partner visa as her BRP card validity is dependent on her relationship subsisting.

So, she or her spouse must inform UKVI of the marriage breakdown and her visa will be cancelled and she'll need to move back to the US... unless she can qualify for a different type of visa within the time they give her to leave the UK.

The card expires in 2018.
I think she got the every year thing wrong. Part of the problem is that her husband is telling her different things at different times. I wanted to get the real story to tell her so she knows exactly where she stands with immigration.

The marriage is limping along and they are currently ok. But that could change in a flash. It's been a hard slog so far.

She will soon be financially independent so when that happens, and she is independent of her husband immigration- wise, it makes any relationship decision genuine .

For now she's hanging in there, mostly out of love.

Thanks for all your help. I'll let her know she's right where she ought to be. Now if only he'd let her get a driving license. She's not driven a car since she landed.
Cheers!

If it helps her (or anyone else) visualise the different immigration paths, I made a flow chart for partner visas on my blog:
https://kneadtowander.com/uk-visas/