It said online that once I hit 30 months I can apply for FLR (M) but then says that you shouldn't apply before 28 days before date of expiry which for me will be nearly 3 months after the 30 mth period. Can anyone shed a little light?
It gets a bit confusing because visas are issued for different lengths of time and it depends which visa you have, and when you entered the UK on your visa (if it's a spousal visa), as to when you can apply.
For ILR, you have to spend 60 months living in the UK: 30 months on your first visa and 30 months on your second visa.
If you apply for your first visa as a spousal visa outside the UK, it is valid for 33 months - this is in order to give you 3 months leeway at the beginning of the visa to get organised and move to the UK, and still qualify for ILR later on.
If you arrive in the UK on a different visa (fiance visa, work visa, student visa) and get married in the UK, then switch to FLR(M), it will only be valid for 30 months because you are already in the UK.
So:
1) if you have a spousal visa, for FLR(M), you can apply 28 days you reach 30 months in the UK. Depending on when you entered the UK on your visa, this may or may not be 28 days before the visa expires (if you entered the UK on the day the visa started, you can apply for FLR(M) 3 months and 28 days before it expires).
2) If you have an FLR(M) visa as your first visa, which is only valid 30 months, you cannot apply for the second FLR(M) until 28 days before the visa expires... because this is also 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK.
So, for you, if you entered the UK in October 2013, you can apply for FLR(M) in March 2016 (28 days before you reach 30 months), even though your visa will be valid until June 2016.