FLRM(M) Living Situation

Hi everyone,

I will be applying for my FLR(M) hopefully at the start of February here (as close to my 28 days before my expiry as possible!) and I'm hoping you can help me answer 6.6 on the FLR(M) application form- Do you and your sponsor currently live together?

My husband and I lived together in Belfast for the first nearly 2 years of our marriage in Belfast, we're still very much happily married, however about 8 months ago I accepted a job in London. I rent a room in a houseshare in London (it's hardly a home), and fly home to Belfast at least 2 weekends per month (if not 3), with my husband occasionally coming to spend the weekend with me in London. My Belfast address is what I consider my address and home and is what I use as my permanent address- my paystubs from my London job even come to my Belfast address.

I am guessing I put "no", as question 6.10-.14 ask for more info, but I'd love anyone's thoughts.  I don't want to appear as though I'm withholding information on my application, and I hope you can understand my confusion on this question. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I will be applying for my FLR(M) hopefully at the start of February here (as close to my 28 days before my expiry as possible!) and I'm hoping you can help me answer 6.6 on the FLR(M) application form- Do you and your sponsor currently live together?

My husband and I lived together in Belfast for the first nearly 2 years of our marriage in Belfast, we're still very much happily married, however about 8 months ago I accepted a job in London. I rent a room in a houseshare in London (it's hardly a home), and fly home to Belfast at least 2 weekends per month (if not 3), with my husband occasionally coming to spend the weekend with me in London. My Belfast address is what I consider my address and home and is what I use as my permanent address- my paystubs from my London job even come to my Belfast address.

I am guessing I put "no", as question 6.10-.14 ask for more info, but I'd love anyone's thoughts.  I don't want to appear as though I'm withholding information on my application, and I hope you can understand my confusion on this question. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thank you!

HMRCs new(ish)  RTI (Real Time Information) system will show that you work in London, so you need to be honest in your application.

As you are in the UK on a spouse visa and not on a work visa, I don't know how you living apart as you work in England and not in NI where you spouse lives, will be viewed. Wait to see what ksand and others think.

As long as you can show your relationship is still subsisting and that your permanent address is the same as each other, it should be okay... especially if your 6 addressed documents for the relationship requirement are both at the same address. Normally you need a very good reason why you haven't been living together, but if it's for work, this should be okay.

It's hard to know how best to answer question 6.6 though, because technically you do live together, but you are still temporarily relocating for work and returning to your permanent home every week or two.

I might be tempted to answer as follows:

6.6 - Yes

6.7 - the date you started living together

6.8 - all the addresses you have lived at together

6.9 - No (explain the periods when you have been in London and make it clear it is just for work)

Go to 6.16

I can completely see where you both are coming from, hence our confusion. We don't want to seem as though we are trying to dupe anyone or be dishonest, but any and all mail of mine comes to Belfast, my bank account and CC's are registered there as well, and if you were to ask my address I would list Belfast.

My gut goes with ksand, but any other input would be so appreciated as it isn't quite black and white.

Thank you both so much for your replies.

What are you using for your 6 items of correspondence showing you've been living together?

Are they all evenly spaced and addressed to your Belfast house, and do they also cover the time you've been working in London?

If your correspondence documents show you've been living in Belfast the whole time and some are dated during the time you've been working in London, then I'd say you have a good case for answering questions 6.6-6.9 and saying that you live together... and then including an explanation as to why you have been in London.

I would also include a letter in your application explaining the situation.

How are you meeting the financial requirement? Are you using your income from the London job, or his income in Belfast (or a combination of both)?

Btw, I see from your previous posts that you are eligible to apply for your FLR(M) on November 28th 2017... that's in 2 days' time.

Is there any particular reason why you are waiting until February to apply instead of applying now?

I'm just thinking that the earlier you apply, the less time you will have spent 'living apart', which would probably look better for your application. If you apply now, you'll only be showing you've been 'apart' for 8 months, but if you wait until February, it'll be almost 11 months.

And since you only need to show the last 2 years of living together, that's almost half the time apart instead of only a third of a time apart (either Nov 2015 to Nov 2017 if you apply now, or Feb 2016 to Feb 2018 if you apply in Feb).

I had a kinda-sorta similar situation when I applied for my ILR (in the days when a second FLR(M) wasn't required). The differences are that I wasn't living quite so far away and I saw my husband every weekend. And also, of course, this was 7 years ago and application requirements were very different. However, I just wanted you to know that there have been cases where couples spent the week apart due to work but leave to remain was still granted . As always, your mileage may vary.

My gut goes with ksand, but any other input would be so appreciated as it isn't quite black and white.

 

ksand is our expert and we all know we are lucky to have her as she knows her stuff.

Just remember that being honest in an application isn't a problem as it can usually be sorted somehow, but from what ksand is saying, it doesn't look like it will be a problem but to mention where you work. It's not putting all the information on an application that is a problem as that can be viewed as deception to get a visa.

Deception is a 10 years ban from the UK; or British citizenship removed if only caught years later, even if the application that deception was used on wasn't used for British citizenship. UKVI have access to other departments records now, including those of HMRC. HMRCs RTI has caught a lot of people, not just with immigration deception, but with benefits and tax fraud too. RTI was a very clever idea.

Btw, I see from your previous posts that you are eligible to apply for your FLR(M) on November 28th 2017... that's in 2 days' time.

Is there any particular reason why you are waiting until February to apply instead of applying now?

I'm just thinking that the earlier you apply, the less time you will have spent 'living apart', which would probably look better for your application. If you apply now, you'll only be showing you've been 'apart' for 8 months, but if you wait until February, it'll be almost 11 months.

And since you only need to show the last 2 years of living together, that's almost half the time apart instead of only a third of a time apart (either Nov 2015 to Nov 2017 if you apply now, or Feb 2016 to Feb 2018 if you apply in Feb).

I see the post you're referring to was actually between me and you! I'm a bit confused now, as in that post you said I can re-apply 28 days before I've been here 2.5 years, yet the gov.uk site says "The earliest you can apply is 28 days before your current permission to stay in the UK expires." My visa expires March 9th 2018. So from what I understand I can make my application 28 days in advance, meaning February 9th 2018. I plan on doing the application in person with the premium service, meaning I can make my appointment 45 days in advance, so from December 26th 2017. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also in terms of our mail, yes we have mail that will have come during the past two year to the same addresses (both previous and current) and there will be some from the time I've been away in London, so that should help support our case of living together.

Our financial requirement could be met by us each individually, so I'd love to know if you have any advice on that. If we should rely on just his or just mine. I was planning on using both of ours and including the bank details/paystubs/letters from employer for both of us. But any advice would be appreciated as always.

Only use one source for income if able.  So yours or his, don't use both. 

You can apply 28 days before your 30 month anniversary.  The UKVI website is poorly worded.

I see the post you're referring to was actually between me and you! I'm a bit confused now, as in that post you said I can re-apply 28 days before I've been here 2.5 years, yet the gov.uk site says "The earliest you can apply is 28 days before your current permission to stay in the UK expires."

It depends which visa you currently have as to when you can apply. You can apply 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK. A spousal visa is valid for 33 months, while an FLR(M) is only valid for 30 months.

So, if you came to the UK on a spousal visa, and you entered within the first 3 months, you will reach 30 months in the UK up to 3 months before your visa expires... so you can apply earlier than 28 days before the expiry.

If you entered the UK on a different visa and switched to FLR(M) 2.5 years ago, then the FLR(M) is only valid for 30 months exactly, so you won't reach 30 months until the expiry date, so you have to wait until 28 days before the expiry to apply.

You said before that you entered the UK on June 25th 2017... which means you reach 30 months on December 25th 2017 and therefore you can apply for FLR(M) from November 28th 2017.

From your previous posts (http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=90903.msg1179904#msg1179904):

I entered the UK on June 26th 2015, so 2.5 years would make it December 26th 2017, so essentially, the earliest I could apply is November 28th?

I plan on doing the application in person with the premium service, meaning I can make my appointment 45 days in advance, so from December 26th 2017. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If you are applying in person, that means you can explain your living situation in person .

Our financial requirement could be met by us each individually, so I'd love to know if you have any advice on that. If we should rely on just his or just mine. I was planning on using both of ours and including the bank details/paystubs/letters from employer for both of us. But any advice would be appreciated as always.

If you meet the requirement individually (you both earn £18,600 or more each), you should ONLY complete ONE set of employment information, and leave the other person's employment blank. UKVI will only want to see one set of documents, so no point including double the amount of documents when you don't need to.

If you use your husband's employment information and include only his payslips and bank statements, you won't even need to mention your London job in the financial section.

Btw, I see from your previous posts that you are eligible to apply for your FLR(M) on November 28th 2017... that's in 2 days' time.

Is there any particular reason why you are waiting until February to apply instead of applying now?

I'm just thinking that the earlier you apply, the less time you will have spent 'living apart', which would probably look better for your application. If you apply now, you'll only be showing you've been 'apart' for 8 months, but if you wait until February, it'll be almost 11 months.

And since you only need to show the last 2 years of living together, that's almost half the time apart instead of only a third of a time apart (either Nov 2015 to Nov 2017 if you apply now, or Feb 2016 to Feb 2018 if you apply in Feb).

Thank you so much for clarifying the application dates, yes I entered the UK on June 26th, 2015, so will be here in the UK for 30 months on December 26th. This is our first extension application. My husband and I are looking to book our premium appointment/application now mid-December a couple of days before we leave for the US for Christmas, do you think this is tempting fate or should we be ok?

Can I just confirm with you all the required documents that need included and what I need photocopies of?
-paper application with signed declarations
-my passport
-sponsor passport
-our marriage cert.
-2 passport photos of me (w/ full name on back)
-1 passport photo sponsor (w/ full name on back)
-6 most recent bank statements of person fulfilling financial req. (stamped on every page by the bank)
-6 most recent payslips of person fulfilling financial req.
-letter from employer of person fulfilling financial req. (on company letterhead and hand signed including the info laid out in the app (contract type, salary, time there, etc.))
-6 pieces of mail (at least) displaying our names at least 6x each in any combination from at least 3 different sources over the past 2 years (from official sources like doctors, lawyers, gov. etc.)
-proof of mortgage held with the bank
-personalized letter from myself explaining our living situation
-Printouts of flight confirmations purchased to return home to Belfast
-copy of lease for room I rent in London signed by all roommates and letting agency

Should we make photocopies of everything listed above (except our passports as we will be there in person?)? Must they be color photocopies? If I include the printouts of flight confirmations will I need those certified by a band/legal person with a stamp or covering letter? Is there ANYTHING I am missing?

I can't thank you all enough.

My husband and I are looking to book our premium appointment/application now mid-December a couple of days before we leave for the US for Christmas, do you think this is tempting fate or should we be ok?

That would be too close, I'm afraid.

Although the visa decision is made at the appointment, you can't travel until you receive your BRP card... which is mailed to you after the appointment and can take up to 10 working days to arrive (though most people receive it in about 4 days).

I would either book an appointment for at least 2 weeks before you travel to the US, or wait until after you get back to the UK.

I'm just going to organise your documents into the correct sections for the visa. Anything I've added is in blue.

Applicant
- paper application with signed declarations
- my passport
- 2 passport photos of me (w/ full name on back)
- personalized letter from myself explaining our living situation
- IHS receipt
- premium appointment payment receipt

Sponsor
- sponsor passport
-1 passport photo sponsor (w/ full name on back)

Financial requirement
-6 most recent bank statements of person fulfilling financial req. (stamped on every page by the bank) - you must cover a full 6 months... this may not be just the 6 most recent... you may need 7 bank statements if the 6 don't cover the entire 6-month period
-6 most recent payslips of person fulfilling financial req. you must cover a full 6 months... this may not be just the 6 most recent... you may need 7 payslips if the 6 don't cover the entire 6-month period
-letter from employer of person fulfilling financial req. (on company letterhead and hand signed including the info laid out in the app (contract type, salary, time there, etc.))
- original job contract
- latest P60

Most recent payslip, bank statement and the employer letter must be dated within 28 days of your appointment date. If the payslips are not original (i.e. they are printed from online), they must be accompanied by a letter from the employer confirming authenticity

Accommodation
- Land Registry Document
-proof of mortgage held with the bank
- not sure if you should include your lease in London or not... it has nothing to do with proving you live together... in fact it shows the opposite. I might take it with you, but don't necessarily hand it over to start with

Relationship Requirement
-6 pieces of mail (at least) displaying our names at least 6x each in any combination from at least 3 different sources over the past 2 years (from official sources like doctors, lawyers, gov. etc.)
- Printouts of flight confirmations purchased to return home to Belfast
- evidence of regular communication between you while you are in London... emails, Skype calls, messages etc.

Should we make photocopies of everything listed above (except our passports as we will be there in person?)? Must they be color photocopies? If I include the printouts of flight confirmations will I need those certified by a band/legal person with a stamp or covering letter? Is there ANYTHING I am missing?

I'm not sure if you actually need to take photocopies when applying in person... they may just make the copies themselves.

If you do include copies, you should only make photocopies of only the original documents you wish to be returned to you.

Although the visa decision is made at the appointment, you can't travel until you receive your BRP card... which is mailed to you after the appointment and can take up to 10 working days to arrive (though most people receive it in about 4 days).

Understood. Would I be able to travel within the UK before I received my BRP card?

Thank you so much for the layout- this shall be my bible!