Support letter for FLR?

Well the time is finally here for me to submit my application for my FLR.  I could have done it in October but I waited in order to generate some UK bank statements. I was thinking of submitting by post rather than make the trip to Croydon.  I am confused about the biometrics and ID card now though.  Will I have to go to Croydon anyway to take care of these things? 

Also, when submitting the paperwork, do I need to have a letter of support from DH?  I had one for my fiance visa.  In that one, he wrote of our intentions to be married and to live together.  Now that we are married, what does he need to tell them.  What are they expecting to see in a support letter? 

Mu husband and I included a support letter with my documents for FLR(M), but since we did it in person at the PEO, they didn't even ask for it. In fact, they didn't ask for many of the documents we brought.

If you are mailing the app, it might be an idea to include one just in case. Up to you though.

But what should he say?  I mean, we have evidence of being married and of living together.  Those are the two main points in his last letter.  Surely they don't need him to tell them what the marriage certificate and tenancy agreement tell them.  What more could he say?

Lisapower, I really don't think it is necessary to write covering letter(s). The evidence to be submitted says it all. The most important piece of evidence is of course the marriage certificate.

Biometrics! I have made this point before! Even if you submit the application by post you will still need to go to your nearest centre, for you Croydon.

That being the case I think the number of postal applications is going to go down, and the number of PEO applications will go up, as people realise that, well, if we need to go to a PEO anyway we might as well get it all done in the one day.

OK, the fee differential is £200, but it does cut out the delay involved in a postal application.

For confirmation about the procedure, download the Guide FLR(M) and go to page 5 of 6. There you will see mention of a "booking reference number" if you make a postal application.

Correct, with an FLR-M, your marriage certificate and other documents, plus the signed form is sufficient "proof" that your husband is sponsoring you.  Currently, only if you are applying in person and your partner cannot accompany you, does he have to explain where he is and that he supports you in the application.

I've been back and forth on whether to submit by post or in person.  If I have to go to Croydon anyway, I would rather do an "in person"  However, I've been led to believe that because my DH receives benefits, it's not considered a straight forward app and would require an app by post.Is this correct?

Two drawback is that Croydon will totally drain you.  It is busy, noisy and generally a pain in the but.  Going in person without a good reason is a waste.  Also, if they do consider you not straight forward they will simply turn you away and still take your money.  At least when I was there, they took payment BEFORE the IO looked at your application, though other PEOs seem to take the money after they know they can process it.  On the other hand you are going to have to go through the Bio Enrollment at the PEO anyways, but they won't give you your ID card the same day, they will still post it.

I would guess your main reason is peace of mind, but is it worth £200 and the risk that they may tell you it isn't straight forward and then you end up walking away even more worried then when you went in.

If you are going to go in person, your husband's letter need to state why he can't attend in person, provide a number where he can be contacted and that he is happy that you are proceeding with the application.  It should be signed and dated.

Would the fact that Lisapower's husband is receiving benefits really make the application non-straightforward? I ask because I was under the impression, from my own PEO visit (although in Solihull/Birmingham) that all they cared to see was that there were wages being regularly deposited into a bank account. As long as the applicant was not receiving the benefits and they were not being received on her behalf -- or does something like that make an application not as straightforward as someone who is receiving the same from their employer? I guess I was thinking in my mind, it's still funds to support the two of them and the benefits are not for the applicant.

Two drawback is that Croydon will totally drain you.  It is busy, noisy and generally a pain in the but.

Yes, but she has to go there anyway, for the biometrics! So as I said before, I think the introduction of the biometric requirements for this type of application will lead to more in-person applications at a PEO, and less by post, people thinking, "well if I have got to go anyway, let's try and get it all over and done in one day". (Except possibly in South Wales and Northern Ireland, where there are biometric centres which are not PEOs.)

I've been led to believe that because my DH receives benefits, it's not considered a straight forward app and would require an app by post.Is this correct?

As long as it is clear that, on the facts, you will not need to claim certain Public Funds, then there should not be a problem.

Can you just remind us of the family circumstances? What benefits is your husband claiming?

My husband is medically retired.  He draws incapacity benefits, pension credit and DLA. Collectively  we have a £7000 in a bank account and once I get my FLR, I have work that I can do from home lined up to total about £800 a month.  Our rent is paid through benefits.  The water and TV license is included in the rent.  The only thing we pay each month is electricity, telephone and groceries.  I take public transportation when I go out so we have no car expenses or insurance.  In actuality, he is able to support me without me working on what he receives.
Because of his disabilities , I do not plan on seeking work outside of the home but once I get my FLR, I have work that I can do from home lined up to total about £800 a month.  He needs daily care with all his personal living needs and would be quite disadvantaged if I were not here.
 I am thinking that, because of these things, my application will not be considered straightforward and I would hate to loose the app fee if I try to apply in person only to be told that I need to apply by post. 

I am thinking that, because of these things, my application will not be considered straightforward and I would hate to loose the app fee if I try to apply in person only to be told that I need to apply by post. 

Worse case ..... it cannot be that bad! Worse case is that they cannot decide the application on the day, and need to look at it further, in which case they will hang on to it, and possibly pass it to another office. But you still get charged the £595 because you applied in person, even though you end up hearing by post. That is the worse case.

That is, no chance of them saying, you have lost your £595, now go away and pay another £395 .... that would not happen!

But that is worse case, I think that if you write a covering letter explaining :-

My husband is medically retired.  He draws incapacity benefits, pension credit and DLA. Collectively  we have a £7000 in a bank account and once I get my FLR, I have work that I can do from home lined up to total about £800 a month.  Our rent is paid through benefits.  The water and TV license is included in the rent.  The only thing we pay each month is electricity, telephone and groceries.  I take public transportation when I go out so we have no car expenses or insurance.  In actuality, he is able to support me without me working on what he receives.
Because of his disabilities , I do not plan on seeking work outside of the home but once I get my FLR, I have work that I can do from home lined up to total about £800 a month.  He needs daily care with all his personal living needs and would be quite disadvantaged if I were not here.

-: and indeed enclose a monthly budget proving that you don't need to claim certain Public Funds, you should be OK applying in person. But not possible to give any guarantee.

Also do appreciate that if you are earning say £800 pm then that might have an impact upon the HB and CTB claims. The rent and Council Tax currently being paid 100% by benefits, but that might not be the case once you are earning.

We had someone here last month from the benefits place and their determination is that as long as I am under immigration control, I am actually a "non entity" .  They don't even see me as being in the home.  He can't get the "married benefits" and he won't loose anything because of it either.  Once I get my ILR, it will be differant.

Lisa, have you got that in writing? If not I suggest you do, in order to cover yourself against any accusation made in the future.

That interpretation, that you say was given to you, is not in accordance with the law. Because of the way that para 6A of the Immigration Rules is worded your husband cannot get more benefit, see :-

6A. For the purpose of these Rules, a person is not to be regarded as having (or potentially having) recourse to public funds merely because he is (or will be) reliant in whole or in part on public funds provided to his sponsor, unless, as a result of his presence in the United Kingdom, the sponsor is (or would be) entitled to increased or additional public funds.

-: but there is nothing at all to say that because you are earning that his entitlement cannot go down!

So Lisa do get that verbal advice in writing, if you can!

He has been drawing an entitlement based on being single and living alone.  The benefit advisor told us initially that he would loose that since we are married and living together.  He also said that since I am not entitled to Public Benefits, that DH would NOT be able to claim the benefit for a married couple.  So in essence we were going to loose money each month.  He filed his report with the main office and then we got a phone call from them saying that based on the report, there would be NO changes in his benefits.  We were also told that as long as I was on immigration control, they would remain the same.  There was nothing in writing. 
He didn't get any ADDITION benefits because of me.  But he didn't loose anything either. They are treating it as if I weren't even here. 

I know John L can help you sort out what you are actually entitled to versus what people will say you are entitled to, and I totally respect John's advice and while you are on the side of the right, but I respectfully think you are in for a bit of a bun fight with UKBA, but you seem to be up for it.

It is a morbid curiosity on my part to see if they consider you a straight forward application or not.  My money is on "no".  When I did my FLR in person at Croydon, I almost got bounced as not straight forward due to a criminal record that was clearly within the guidlines to not be an issue, but the IO was not as informed about their own processes as I was.  On the other hand, Vicky and I thought I might have a bit of a fight again with my ILR, but that turned out to be even less of an issue.  So, if you do decide to go in person, I would hope that you would be willing to share the experience because we are all learning a lot seeing you navigate this boundry between what is acceptable receipt of public funds.  We don't see enough of this and it is shame and social benefits are there for a reason and honest people should be able to take full advantage of them.