FLR (M) advice please!

Hi everyone,

My first spousal visa expires on 1 Jan 2017 and I then need to apply for FLR (M). I know I can apply up to 28 days before it expires, but we want to go spend Christmas with my family in Florida, returning on 26 Dec.

My question is, does the home office frown upon applications posted so close to expiry, or should I be ok? I plan to have all the evidence sorted before we go, so all i need to do when we return is add my passport, then post the next business day (which I believe is 28 dec). The only other options of course are to try and get an in person appointment before hand, but I would rather not spend an extra £500, especially as we have decided to go to America sort of last minute (family issues, so I really want to be there) and that's not coming cheap either. I also don't want to get it too early and then not meet the 5 yr requirement at the end of FLR (M). I know about the grace period, but I'd rather ensure enough time so that this isn't an issue.

Any advice is appreciated.

My first spousal visa expires on 1 Jan 2017 and I then need to apply for FLR (M). I know I can apply up to 28 days before it expires, but we want to go spend Christmas with my family in Florida, returning on 26 Dec.

Actually, you can apply 28 days before you reach 30 months from the date you arrived in the UK on your spousal visa.

Looking at your signature, you arrived in the UK on 9th April 2014... which means you reached 30 months on 9th October... and therefore you could have applied for FLR(M) any time from 11th September 2016 up until the expiry date of your visa.

My question is, does the home office frown upon applications posted so close to expiry, or should I be ok? I plan to have all the evidence sorted before we go, so all i need to do when we return is add my passport, then post the next business day (which I believe is 28 dec).

As long as it's postmarked on or before 1st January, it's not an issue. However, UK immigration at the airport might question you coming back from the US only a few days before it expires, so I would make it clear if they ask, that you will be applying as soon as you get home.

Alternatively, you could always pay the extra to apply in person and get it sorted now. I think it would probably be too risky to apply by post now, in case you don't get it in time to travel.

Thank you ksand! You are always so helpful 

I thought I had mixed something up annoy the date I was able to apply- urgh!

Also thanks re: border agents, that was another question I had but was worried to ask. I think we'll just have to have a think about whether we want to apply in person for the peace of mind.

I think we'll just have to have a think about whether we want to apply in person for the peace of mind.

With those timings, I would totally recommend doing this if there's any way that you can pull it off.
That way you can relax and enjoy the holidays!

More questions!

I'm gathering all of the required documents and have a few questions:

1. Is there any benefit to both myself and my husband submitting our financial info if either one of us meets the income requirement on our own?
2. We have both received payrises in the past 6 mos, but our salaries before those were still over the income requirement. Would 12 mos of payslips/bank statements be necessary or is 6 mos still ok?
3. Neither of us have employment contracts as such, but we are employed on a permanent basis. Would the letter from employers cover this? I seem to remember it did for my husband on my spouse visa.
4. My employer does not use paper payslips or P60s- would print outs of my PDF payslips & P60 be sufficient? If not, what would?
5. I received a letter some time ago from HMRC stating I had underpaid tax for last year, but that it would be automatically deducted from my pay next year. Will this be an issue? I didn't do anything because the letter said I didn't need to.

Thanks for any advice you can offer. 

1. Is there any benefit to both myself and my husband submitting our financial info if either one of us meets the income requirement on our own?

No, there isn't. In fact, it complicates things, because if you include both incomes, you have to include two lots of full financial requirement evidence, which means more documents to gather and check, and more risk of getting something wrong/forgetting something.

If you meet the income requirement with just one of your salaries, only mention that salary on the application, and only include the documents related to that person's income. If both of your incomes meet it separately, I would go with the one that is easiest to provide evidence for (i.e. say one of you is self-employed and the other is in salaried employment, use the salaried employment income).

2. We have both received payrises in the past 6 mos, but our salaries before those were still over the income requirement. Would 12 mos of payslips/bank statements be necessary or is 6 mos still ok?

Nope, 6 months is all you need. If you're applying under Category A, then they can only consider the most recent 6 months anyway, so the extras won't even be looked at.

They will just use the lowest payslip from the 6 months to calculate the salary used to meet the requirement, so as long as the salary was at £18,600 before the payrise, you will be fine.

3. Neither of us have employment contracts as such, but we are employed on a permanent basis. Would the letter from employers cover this? I seem to remember it did for my husband on my spouse visa.

The mandatory documents are:
- 6 months of payslips
- 6 months of bank statements
- employer letter

Optional documents (but they might ask for them) are:
- original job contract
- latest P60

4. My employer does not use paper payslips or P60s- would print outs of my PDF payslips & P60 be sufficient? If not, what would?

You can use printouts, but they should be stamped/signed by HR or accompanied by a letter confirming their authenticity.

Alternatively, you could see if HR will provide you with official copies of them.

5. I received a letter some time ago from HMRC stating I had underpaid tax for last year, but that it would be automatically deducted from my pay next year. Will this be an issue? I didn't do anything because the letter said I didn't need to.

I would include the letter and explain it in the application. I assume it won't be an issue, but I really don't know for sure.

Thank you ksand! Helpful as always.