extension of FLR (M)

Hello everyone,

I'm from Kazakhstan, my husband is British. I applied for my first spouse visa in KZ as a result I received entry clearance for 33 months on 2 October 2013. I entered UK on 29 October 2013. My visa expires on 2 July 2016.

1. When is the latest and earliest I can apply for the extension of my visa?

2. Can I apply for visa well in advance? I was thinking of travelling to KZ in April and was wondering whether I can apply for visa now, in January basically.

3. I understand that there were changes in visa rules. I previously took Cambridge KET exam and got 100% for it. Certificate says that it doesn't have expiry date. Can I use the result of this exam/this certificate again or should I take an exam which appears in the new list of approved exams (I didn't see KET there)?

Thank you very much!

Welcome.  This site is primarily used by US citizens moving to the UK, so I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the language requirements as (fortunately) we are exempt.

The latest you can apply for FLR(M) is 2 July 2016.  The earliest you can apply is 28 days prior to April 29th (so early April).  If you apply by post, it will take 4-8 weeks to receive your visa.  If you pay £400 extra you can attend an in-person appointment and will receive your visa within 2 weeks of the appointment (though it usually comes after about 3 days).

1. When is the latest and earliest I can apply for the extension of my visa?

The latest you can apply is the expiry date of your visa, the earliest you can apply is 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK.

You entered on 29th October 2013, so you will reach 30 months on 29th April 2016... which means the earliest you can apply is 1st April 2016 and the latest you can apply is 2nd July 2016.

2. Can I apply for visa well in advance? I was thinking of travelling to KZ in April and was wondering whether I can apply for visa now, in January basically.

No, as mentioned, the earliest you can apply is April 1st 2016.

You could either apply in person at the beginning of April (which costs an extra £400) for a same-day decision (you would get your BRP visa in the post within a few days), or you would have to wait until you got back from KZ to apply (as long as you can get it in before 2 July).

The visa fees will likely increase on April 6th 2016, so if you can get your application in between April 1st and 5th, you wouldn't have to pay the higher fees.

However, f you apply in January, your FLR(M)will expire in June 2018, but you won't be able to apply for ILR intil October 2018... which means you will have to apply for ANOTHER FLR(M) (at a cost of over £1,100) to bridge the gap between June and October 2018.

3. I understand that there were changes in visa rules. I previously took Cambridge KET exam and got 100% for it. Certificate says that it doesn't have expiry date. Can I use the result of this exam/this certificate again or should I take an exam which appears in the new list of approved exams (I didn't see KET there)?

I'm not sure I'm afraid, as I don't know how the exam certificates work... most people applying here on UK-Y are from the US and don't need to take any English language exams for their visas.

3. I understand that there were changes in visa rules. I previously took Cambridge KET exam and got 100% for it. Certificate says that it doesn't have expiry date. Can I use the result of this exam/this certificate again or should I take an exam which appears in the new list of approved exams (I didn't see KET there)?

The following forum has a lot of people from countries that don't have the English language as their main language: they will know the answer.
http://www.immigrationboards.com/immigration-for-family-members/

Thank you very much, guys, I picked up a lot new! SHould have realized that it is a US website though)

So it seems like the best options for me are either:

- apply in person between April 2-6 but pay 400 extra and travel to KZ in April,
- apply by post between April 2-6 and travel once visa received,
- travel first and then apply by post.

I would like to clarify - along with fee rise can we expect stricter rules as well? when will we know for sure whether fee rise is the case or not?

Thank you.

So it seems like the best options for me are:

- apply in person between April 2-6 but pay 400 extra and travel to KZ in April,
- apply by post between April 2-6 and travel once visa received,
- travel first and then apply by post.

Yep, any of those would work - just depends what you can afford and when you would prefer to apply. The advantage of applying in early April before you travel would be not having to pay any higher fees.

I would like to clarify - along with fee rise can we expect stricter rules as well? when will we know for sure whether fee rise is the case or not?

The fees rise on April 6th every year, so we can pretty much expect that regardless - they usually announce the new fees around February time.

We haven't heard anything about rule changes for settlement visas so far - the last major rule change was in July 2012 and I think the only other thing to be introduced was the NHS levy on 6th April 2015.

To give you an idea of the fee changes over the last few years:

April 2015
FLR(M) visa = £649 plus £500 NHS levy = £1,149

April 2014
FLR(M) visa = £601

April 2013
FLR(M) visa = £578

April 2012
FLR(M) visa = £561

April 2011
FLR(M) visa = £550