A Couple Questions About FLR Application

It's about that time to start organising myself for my FLR application so I am back on the site scrolling through the threads. You all were so helpful last time that I knew there was only one place to go for more advice - so thanks in advance!

First a question about the pieces of mail. My BRP expires 11th October 2021 and I am planning to apply end of September. I was thinking that my correspondence should be as follows:

Sept 2019
Jan 2020
May 2020
Sept 2020
Jan 2021
May 2021
Sept 2021
Is this correct?

When it comes to scanning, do I have to scan the entire letter/statement or just the first page with the name and address?

Now for what may be a couple silly questions:
Can I scan my husband's expired passport (he's my sponsor) or must it be renewed first
Do I need to scan my kids' UK passports as well?

First a question about the pieces of mail. My BRP expires 11th October 2021 and I am planning to apply end of September.

You arrived in the UK on a 33-month spousal visa, yes? What is the exact date that you arrived in the UK on your visa?

I see from your previous posts that you were planning to fly to the UK on January 30th 2019.

The earliest you can apply for FLR(M) is 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK. So, if you did fly on January 30th, and therefore I assume, arrived on January 31st, then you will reach 30 months in the UK on July 31st 2021.

So, that would mean that you can actually apply for FLR(M) from 3rd July 2021 onwards... and therefore you do not have to wait until September to apply.

I was thinking that my correspondence should be as follows:

Sept 2019
Jan 2020
May 2020
Sept 2020
Jan 2021
May 2021
Sept 2021
Is this correct?

Yes, that's correct, though if you decide to apply earlier than September, say, in early-mid July, then you will want mail from the following months instead:
June 2019
October 2019
February 2020
June 2020
October 2020
February 2021
June 2021

And similarly, if you want to apply in August, you would just adjust the months again.

When it comes to scanning, do I have to scan the entire letter/statement or just the first page with the name and address?

You need to scan every page of every document.

Now for what may be a couple silly questions:
Can I scan my husband's expired passport (he's my sponsor) or must it be renewed first

Your husband's passport must be current and valid, so it will need to be renewed before applying.

If he does not have a current, valid passport, he must provide a number of other documents instead in order to prove his UK citizenship:
- his birth certificate
- evidence of ordinary residence in the UK for the last 3 years
- if he was born after January 1st 1983, you must also provide both of his parents' birth certificates as well

So it's easiest to just renew his passport.

Do I need to scan my kids' UK passports as well?

Yes, plus you must also include other documents for them as well.

For your kids you must provide:
- each child's UK passport
- each child's birth certificate
- a letter confirming each child's address, dated in the last 3 months (i.e. from their school or GP)

You arrived in the UK on a 33-month spousal visa, yes? What is the exact date that you arrived in the UK on your visa?

Thanks for all the info! I arrived in the U.K. on 19th January 2019. Is there a benefit to applying earlier? I need to wait until the end of August regardless as both my husband and I just started new jobs so I figure I might as well do it in September.

First things first - renewing my husband’s passport!

Thanks for all the info! I arrived in the U.K. on 19th January 2019. Is there a benefit to applying earlier? I need to wait until the end of August regardless as both my husband and I just started new jobs so I figure I might as well do it in September.

No, not really - I just wasn't sure if you were aware that you could apply earlier if you wanted to.

Actually, the longer you wait to apply, the more time you will have to apply for ILR in 2024, as your FLR(M) will expire later.

For example:
You will be eligible to apply for ILR 28 days before Jan 19th 2024 (so December 22nd 2023).

If you apply in July and get the visa in, say, September, it would be valid from September 2021 to March 2024, so that would give you from December 22nd 2023 to March 2024 to apply for ILR.

But if you apply in September and get the visa in, say, December, it will be valid from December 2021 to June 2024... so that would give you an extra 2 months in which to apply for ILR... from December 22nd 2023 right up until June 2024.

But if you apply in September and get the visa in, say, December, it will be valid from December 2021 to June 2024... so that would give you an extra 2 months in which to apply for ILR... from December 22nd 2023 right up until June 2024.

I like having the extra time - I’ve seen those posts where people apply too early and have to do a second FLR. Since this is my second time around on a settlement visa (kicking myself for not getting British citizenship last time) I don’t want to take any chances. Thanks again for explaining things so clearly! I will be back again when I’m ready to apply for an expert review. Take care!

For your kids you must provide:
- each child's UK passport
- each child's birth certificate
- a letter confirming each child's address, dated in the last 3 months (i.e. from their school or GP)

Is this required even if they were born in the U.K., are citizens and are 17 & 19 years old? Any idea why they need this now and didn’t require it for the initial application when it would have affected the cost? You’d think they would want you to prove your kids were citizens from the beginning. Just curious - of course, half the things they ask for seem a tad OTT, but jump through the hoops we must! Lol

Is this required even if they were born in the U.K., are citizens and are 17 & 19 years old? Any idea why they need this now and didn’t require it for the initial application when it would have affected the cost? You’d think they would want you to prove your kids were citizens from the beginning. Just curious - of course, half the things they ask for seem a tad OTT, but jump through the hoops we must! Lol

It’s a requirement for FLR(M) and ILR, and has been since about 2018 or so. It is not a requirement for the initial spousal visa. It does not affect (and would not have affected) any costs as your children are U.K. citizens and are not applying for visas.

I’m not sure if you will need it for the 19-year-old though, as I believe the documents are only required for children under 18.

However, you must provide the following for ALL children under 18 living in the U.K., even if they are from a previous relationship and do not live with you:
- passport
- birth certificate
- evidence of where they live (letter from the last 3 months confirming their address)
- if they live with their other parent, I believe the form also asks for evidence of where that parent lives and their immigration status


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I should also mention here that if it was the case that your visa fell for refusal and they had to look into whether you would qualify for the 10-year path under Article 8: Right to Family Life in the U.K., it would normally only be granted if you had U.K. citizen children living in the U.K. whose lives would be seriously disrupted if you were to have to leave the country (either with or without them)... which may be why they ask for all the childrens’ documents.


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Thanks for clarifying - I'll include my daughter's just in case. She may be 19, but she's still living at home. Thanks again for all the info!

Back again with another question - we have been living with my mother in law since our return to the U.K. in January 2019. Don’t even get me started about that - lol

We are finally moving into our own place at the end of the month (yay!)and I have the link to change my address with the powers that be. My question is when I apply in October, do I just scan and send in the new rental agreement and then include a letter of explanation about the move and why my last pieces of post have a different address or is that overstating the obvious? Do I need a letter from my mother in law confirming we lived with her until June 2021 as well ? I think I may be overthinking things, but never can be too careful!

Back again with another question - we have been living with my mother in law since our return to the U.K. in January 2019. Don’t even get me started about that - lol

We are finally moving into our own place at the end of the month (yay!)and I have the link to change my address with the powers that be. My question is when I apply in October, do I just scan and send in the new rental agreement and then include a letter of explanation about the move and why my last pieces of post have a different address or is that overstating the obvious? Do I need a letter from my mother in law confirming we lived with her until June 2021 as well ? I think I may be overthinking things, but never can be too careful!

It’s not that complicated and you don’t need to explain the move.

It doesn’t matter if you have a different address on some of your post... all that matters is that you were both living at the same address AS EACH OTHER for the last 2 years... that could be at the same address for the whole 2 years, or you might have lived at 10 different addresses, it doesn’t matter.

So, what you will need to provide is:

For the accommodation requirement:
- new tenancy agreement
- council tax bill for the new property

For the cohabitation requirement:
- 1 item of mail in each name dated every 4 months covering the last 2 years, from whichever address you were living at during each 4-month period
- a letter from your mother-in-law stating the dates you lived with her

So if you’re moving at the end of May and applying in October, you might have mail from the following addresses:
October 2019 - MIL’s address
February 2020  - MIL’s address
June 2020 - MIL’s address
October 2020 - MIL’s address
February 2021 - MIL’s address
June 2021 - your new address
October 2021 - your new address


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I think I’m just about ready to apply for FLR!  Just waiting for this month’s payslip and bank statement and will be all systems go on October 1st.

Here’s my document checklist - please review with my thanks in advance!

Application documents:
My US passport with vignette
Husband/sponsor’s U.K. passport
My BRP (expires 11 October 2021)
Declaration forms

Accommodation:
Letter from Mother in Law stating the dates we lived with her
Tenancy agreement for new rental (from 26th June 2021)
council tax bill for new residence

Finances:
Payslips March through September
Letter from employer verifying electronic payslips and confirming pay date/amount and also my employment details (start date, salary, title, permanent position etc)
Original bank statements from March to September

**letters and last payslip/bank statement dated within 28 days of application date

Optional:
Original employment contract
latest P60

Relationship:
Marriage certificate
Correspondence - Bank Statements (joint and single), utility bills, credit card statements, pension statements

* September 2019
* January 2020
* May 2020
* September 2020
* January 2021
* May 2021
* September 2021

I have a 17 year old son, so I am providing a copy of his U.K. passport, birth certificate and a piece of mail sent to him at our home address dated within 3 months of my application

It is my understanding that I only provide the above for children 18 and under - my daughter is 19 so I am not including her documents unless you think I should

Thanks so much for taking the time to go over this. Next step, booking my Life in the U.K. test!