Help Confusion with Visas FLR (FP) or FLR (M)

Hello Everyone!

It's been awhile since I posted anything on here as life has taken over... But I am hoping for some clarity.

Ok, so in 2014 I married my husband and at the time I applied for my second visa which was the FLR (M) what I did not know at the time was that it does not actually last you for 5 years, which is the route I took, but they split that up into 2.5 years and after 30 months you have to reapply. So my Visa expired, TOTAL mistake by my part. It has been the biggest mistake I allowed to happen. Anyway, in that time I had our son who is now 2, bought a house together etc... So after a huge mess of complications I have hired lawyers to help me through the issues.

I was advised to fill out the FLR (FP) form by the home office based on information I gave, but now the lawyers are saying that I (may) need to go down the FLR (M) route.

Can anyone give me inside on this?
Do I need to fill that application out again, because it was only for 2.5 years or because it expired?

Im so stressed over this whole case and I'm literally having sleepless nights.

Any help counts!

Thanks so much. 
 

Ok, so in 2014 I married my husband and at the time I applied for my second visa which was the FLR (M) what I did not know at the time was that it does not actually last you for 5 years, which is the route I took, but they split that up into 2.5 years and after 30 months you have to reapply. So my Visa expired, TOTAL mistake by my part. It has been the biggest mistake I allowed to happen. Anyway, in that time I had our son who is now 2, bought a house together etc... So after a huge mess of complications I have hired lawyers to help me through the issues.

How long ago did your visa expire?

If it was within the last 14 days, you may be okay, but you would need to get your FLR(M) application in before the 14 days are up. However, you would need a very good reason why you could not apply before your visa expired - such as emergency hospital treatment or a family bereavement.

If it was more than 14 days ago, the safest thing to do might be to return to the US ASAP (you don't want to overstay any longer than you already have) and apply for a spousal visa from there, rather than trying to apply 'outside the rules' from within the UK.

See here for information about the 14-day grace period:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/overstaying-applying-leave/

For better advice though, I would recommend contacting Medivisas, an immigration firm based in London who specialise in family-based visa applications.

I was advised to fill out the FLR (FP) form by the home office based on information I gave, but now the lawyers are saying that I (may) need to go down the FLR (M) route.

FLR(FP) is for people who cannot meet the financial requirement for the visa - it's a special circumstances visa which will put you on the 10-year path to ILR...which means another 10 years of 2.5-year FLR visas.

I'm not sure if this would be the right visa in your situation or not though.

Thank you for you reply!It was very helpful.

So I was given a time of 6 months to come back in and sort out the Visa, but like I said, I have had major complications. This is why I have hired a lawyer to assist me. I was unaware of the FLR (FP) being for those that do not meet the financial requirement. That is not my case at all.



 

When did your visa expire?

Thank you for you reply!It was very helpful.

So I was given a time of 6 months to come back in and sort out the Visa, but like I said, I have had major complications. This is why I have hired a lawyer to assist me. I was unaware of the FLR (FP) being for those that do not meet the financial requirement. That is not my case at all.

Sorry, I'm confused - what do you mean by 'come back in and sort out the visa'? When did your visa expire and did you leave and come back in after it had expired?

What stamp did they give you in your passport when you were let back in for 6 months?

If you left and they let you back in, I'm assuming you have a visitor visa stamp... but you cannot apply for ANY visa from inside the UK if you are only here as a visitor - so it will be an automatic refusal.

Also, you cannot work or use the NHS for free as a visitor either... so if you are here as a visitor and you are doing either, you need to stop immediately... and make sure you pay for all NHS treatment you have received in those 6 months (if you have unpaid NHS debt of £500 or more, it's an automatic visa refusal too).

If it is the case that you are currently here as a visitor, then you MUST leave the UK before your 6 months are up and apply for a spousal visa from the US. If you try to apply from within the UK, you'll be in limbo for months while it is processed and then the visa will be refused anyway because you weren't eligible to apply for it as a visitor.

So I was given a time of 6 months to come back in and sort out the Visa,

Does this mean that you arrived at the border and were stamped in as a visitor for 6 months?

EDIT ksand types faster than I do

Also, you cannot work or use the NHS for free as a visitor either... so if you are here as a visitor and you are doing either, you need to stop immediately... and make sure you pay for all NHS treatment you have received in those 6 months (if you have unpaid NHS debt of £500 or more, it's an automatic visa refusal too).

Take out health insurance if you are in the UK as a visitor now, just in case something major happens. The last thing you want is thousands of pounds of NHS bills to be paid before you can have another visa.

If you have been an overstayer in the UK (stayed beyond your visa expiry date) don't forget to mention that on a new application, to avoid any risk of being accused of using deception to get a visa.