Questions about FLR(M)

Hello helpful people! I have a few questions about my FLR(M). I have paid for my FLR(M)(including Immigration surcharge) and booked my appointment to attend in person on Sept 27.

1)Do I need to fill in the payment pages of the application? There is not a box to tick for payments made online.

2)I am using my income to support the financial requirements. We do not need to use both of our income to fulfill the requirements. Do I need to fill in his employment info as well? or just leave blank?

3) Biometrics- I know that they will be taken during the appointment. But I am confused about some of the wording and questions in the biometrics part of the application. 
   -Do I need to pay for the fee before my appointment, or will they collect the fee at the appointment?

4)supporting documents-We have both been married once before, we sent our original divorce decrees with my initial VISA application (January 2014) As far as I remember, they did not send back the originals, I do have copies but they obviously do not like copies.  I have no clue how to obtain my decree since I can not go to the court where it was issued in the USA. Or how to obtain my husbands original.

Thanks for any help!

LeAnna

1)Do I need to fill in the payment pages of the application? There is not a box to tick for payments made online.

No, I don't believe you do. I think you just print out your online payment confirmation and take it with you.

2)I am using my income to support the financial requirements. We do not need to use both of our income to fulfill the requirements. Do I need to fill in his employment info as well? or just leave blank?

No, just fill out your income and leave his blank.

If you filled out his as well, you would be required to provide all the documents from him too (payslips, bank statements, job contract, letter from employer, P60 etc.), which would be unnecessary.

3) Biometrics- I know that they will be taken during the appointment. But I am confused about some of the wording and questions in the biometrics part of the application. 
   -Do I need to pay for the fee before my appointment, or will they collect the fee at the appointment?

There is no separate fee as far as I am aware - it's included in your visa/appointment fee (after all, you're paying enough to apply in person as it is )

4)supporting documents-We have both been married once before, we sent our original divorce decrees with my initial VISA application (January 2014) As far as I remember, they did not send back the originals, I do have copies but they obviously do not like copies.  I have no clue how to obtain my decree since I can not go to the court where it was issued in the USA. Or how to obtain my husbands original.

Did you send copies with the first application? They aren't supposed to keep the originals, but they will if you don't send copies as well for them to keep instead.

If you did send copies, they should have sent back the originals, and if they didn't, then you could have complained and requested that they were sent back.

I'm not sure if copies will be acceptable or not. Can you contact the court in the US to find out if they can mail them to you?

For your husband's decree, you should be able to request it from the court:
https://www.gov.uk/copy-decree-absolute-final-order

Thanks ksands!

Now I'm looking at the documents I need for financial requirements. I'm supplying my own self-employed documents. They are asking for the tax return for the last full financial year. I've not filed my self assessment yet for 2015-2016, as I don't have to until January 2017. Please tell me that they will except 2014-2015?


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Now I'm looking at the documents I need for financial requirements. I'm supplying my own self-employed documents. They are asking for the tax return for the last full financial year. I've not filed my self assessment yet for 2015-2016, as I don't have to until January 2017. Please tell me that they will except 2014-2015?

Unfortunately not. They will only consider the 2015/2016 financial year, and you must have EVERY SINGLE document on that list in order to qualify for the visa.

Self-employment is a very tricky category to get right and we have seen a few refusals this year because people either didn't supply every document listed on the requirements.

Your only options are:

Category F: 2015/2016 full financial year only - at least £18,600 earned before tax but after expenses, and this amount must be shown on your official tax return/HMRC documents

Category G: average income from the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 tax years is £18,600 or more before tax and after expenses. Both tax years must have completed documentation in order to qualify.

Does your husband meet the £18,600 requirement without using your self-employment income? That would make things much easier for you, as if you don't have all the 2015/2016 documents filed, you won't qualify for the visa.

When does your visa expire? Can you cancel your appointment and change it to a later date? Do you have time to get all your taxes filed and completed before your visa expires?

Unfortunately not. They will only consider the 2015/2016 financial year, and you must have EVERY SINGLE document on that list in order to qualify for the visa.

Self-employment is a very tricky category to get right and we have seen a few refusals this year because people either didn't supply every document listed on the requirements.

Your only options are:

Category F: 2015/2016 full financial year only - at least £18,600 earned before tax but after expenses, and this amount must be shown on your official tax return/HMRC documents

Category G: average income from the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 tax years is £18,600 or more before tax and after expenses. Both tax years must have completed documentation in order to qualify.

Does your husband meet the £18,600 requirement without using your self-employment income? That would make things much easier for you, as if you don't have all the 2015/2016 documents filed, you won't qualify for the visa.

When does your visa expire? Can you cancel your appointment and change it to a later date? Do you have time to get all your taxes filed and completed before your visa expires?

Omg
Yes my husband meets the minimum. I was thinking my documents would be easier as he has to print out all his payslips, have them verified, and his bank statements (because he's paperless). BUT I can see now that this is the option we must use. I'll look over the requirements for using his pay. Off the top of your head could you tell me if we just need the last 12 months?

Visa expires on October 24th, I came into the UK almost exactly 3 months after getting my Visa, so I have a very small window to get my FLR completed. And anyhow, no way I can pay my taxes I would owe for 2015/2016 and be able to get them filed!


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Omg
Yes my husband meets the minimum. I was thinking my documents would be easier as he has to print out all his payslips, have them verified, and his bank statements (because he's paperless). BUT I can see now that this is the option we must use. I'll look over the requirements for using his pay. Off the top of your head could you tell me if we just need the last 12 months?

Yes, I would never recommend using self-employment income unless you absolutely HAVE to - it's the most complicated category and the hardest to qualify for.

As long as your husband has been with his company for at least 6 months, and earning at least £18,600 for the entire 6 months, you can apply under Category A.

For Category A, he will need:
- 6 full months of original payslips showing a minimum pre-tax income of at least £1,550 per month. If you are applying on 27th Sept, the latest must be dated no earlier than August 31st
- 6 full months of original bank statements showing the deposit of EVERY payslip, the latest dated no earlier than August 31st
- a letter from his employer (dated no earlier than August 31st) stating:
   (i) the person's employment and gross annual salary;
   (ii) the length of their employment;
   (iii) the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary relied upon in
the application; and
   (iv) the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term contract or agency).
- his original job contract
- his latest P60

For payslips, if they are online, they just need to be printed stamped by HR or accompanied by a letter from HR confirming their authenticity. Or if HR can print some official ones for him, they will be considered original.

For bank statements, if they are printed at home from online banking, they need to either be stamped on every page by the bank or accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming their authenticity. Alternatively, if he orders the statements from the bank/receives them in the mail, or they print them in-branch, they are considered original.

So, for your husband, you just need 3 mandatory document types:
- payslips,
- bank statements,
- employer letter,
And 2 optional but recommended documents (as they may ask for them):
- P60
- job contract

However, for self-employment, you are required to send at least 9 different documents:
- business account bank statements
- personal account bank statements
- evidence of tax owed/paid
- HMRC tax return
- Statement of Account
- proof of HMRC registration
- tax reference number
- evidence of paying Class 2 NI contributions
- audited or unaudited accounts, or certificate of VAT registration and VAT return, or evidence of planning permission for the business, or a franchise agreement