Hi lovely people,

My wife is coming up on her time to extend her spouse visa at the end of this year and we just wanted some advice on a few questions we have to make sure we have everything in order prior to the application time rolling around.

She originally entered the UK on a Fiancée visa, following which we got married and changed that to a spouse visa which was approved on 29/05/2022. Her BRP is due to expire on 26/12/2024. Q1 - To our understanding, this means the FLR(M) application can go in between 29/11/2024 and the expiry date -is this correct?

Currently, this is our checklist for documents we will need to supply:
- BRP
- Both our passports
- Marriage certificate
- Correspondence every 4 months from 3 different sources:
Nov 24 =savings acc (joint)
July 24 = savings acc (joint)
March 24 = council tax (joint)
Nov 23 =  bank statement (sponsor)+ bank statement (applicant)
July 23 = water bill (joint)
March 23 = council tax (joint)
Nov 22 =  bank statement (sponsor)+ bank statement (applicant)
- 6 months of sponsor payslips (may-nov)
- 6 months of sponsor bank statements
- Letter from sponsor's employer confirming employment, job title, length of employment, contract type, earnings before tax, how long i’ve held the salary + confirmation payslips are genuine
-Land registry document
-Mortgage docs

Q2 - Does the above all look okay? Have we missed anything?

Q3 - Almost all of the above documentation is going to be downloaded via online accounts, as neither of us have ever opted to get paper statements in our adult lives (its something you actively have to opt into). This didn't present an issue during the initial spouse application, is there any reason it would cause an issue this time around?

Q4 - Our water bill is addressed to just me but has my wife as an additional account holder on the side of the document - is this okay?

Q5 - regarding the confirmation of employment letter- does this need to be done by anyone at my agency specifically, or is my line manager sufficient?

Q6 - Previously we were asked to submit photos together/text messages between each other - is this also required for this application?

Thanks everyone in advance!

Yes, thanks. My account has said it was being processed by the FBU and they would let me know if they needed anything for several months. Just wanted to keep the group updated as to how long it is taking this year.

Thanks for the tip on calling the US. I might try them this week. I can wait the initial 5 months but if something went wrong I would likely have to get a job as I couldn’t go a further 5 months.

You have to unlearn some things from US driving and learn to drive to test standard. Your instructor should take you around your test centre and show you any unusual roundabouts and junctions.

 I found it helped to “drive” around the area on Street View to get a good look at the signage and familiarise myself with the area. There is a self-guided portion of the test and in some places it can be hard to read the signs, watch the traffic and get all of your observations in to test standard before you get to the roundabout.

Good luck!

I have run into this issue. iWeb explicitly say no:
"Not be a US citizen or taxpayer."
https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/our-accounts/self-invested-personal-pension.html

According to this:
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investing_from_the_UK_for_US_citizens_and_US_permanent_residents#Brokerage_options
I think H&L or AJ Bell are the only options for a SIPP, would be great to add to the list though if people know any others.

For different sources of the mail.

Are electric/gas bill and a water bill two separate sources or are they both considered one source (utilities)?