UK Marriage Visa Transfer Process

Hi all, my fiancee and I are due to get married on the 28th September. She is a US citizen here on Marriage Visa and we will be looking to transfer that to a 2.5 year FLR Visa ASAP after the wedding.

It would be great to have everything ready to submit and post the very next day so I thought I would start by asking exactly what applications we need to fill out and what package of documents we need to send.

The help we received on this forum for the initial visa application was just phenomenal and probably the only reason we were successful on the first try!

Any aid, as always, is much appreciated.

It would be great to have everything ready to submit and post the very next day so I thought I would start by asking exactly what applications we need to fill out and what package of documents we need to send.

Have you checked that you will receive the official marriage certificate on the same day? Sometimes you have to wait a few days for it to be mailed to you.


For the next visa, you need to apply for FLR(M):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-a-partner-form-flrm

https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse

While there is an online version of the form, I would not recommend using it because:
a) it's new and sometimes glitchy
b) the questions (and declarations) are different to the paper form
c) we can't see it, so we can't easily help you with how to fill it out
d) the online applications are processed in Sheffield while the paper ones are processed in Durham
e) the application and document submission process is different to the paper form

The documents for FLR(M) are basically the same as for the fiance visa, but you include your marriage certificate and instead of evidence of regular communication, you provide up to 6 items of mail in both names at the same address. As you have only recently started living together, you may not have 6 items each yet, but just send what you do have and write a letter of explanation for why you don't have all 6.

Perfect, we will start looking into this right away. As far as the 6 pieces of mail goes, how do people get that usually and from what sources?

Perfect, we will start looking into this right away. As far as the 6 pieces of mail goes, how do people get that usually and from what sources?

They have a list of acceptable documents, along with the requirements for the documents on the paper FLR(M) form.

Essentially, it needs to be:
- 6 items of official mail in each name (either 6 joint, 12 separately addressed, or a combination of both)
- from at least 3 different sources
- spread evenly over the 2 years leading up to the application (i.e. 1 every 4 months)

You can use things like:
- tenancy agreements/mortgage statements
- bank statements
- utility bills
- phone bills
- council tax bills
- TV licence
- letters from DVLA/HMRC/NHS

OK I have read over the documents you linked and I am little confused particularly over the letter evidence. My fiancee arrived in the UK on the 8th July, we gave notice at the first available appointment in my borough which was the 24th August and booked the earliest available wedding slot available after the obligatory 28 day waiting period, making the wedding date the 28th September.

Now my fiancee will officially have been in the country a little over 3 months by the time we get married and we want to submit the visa application. How do we source 6 different pieces of mail in her name from official sources, all of which would require us to be married and/or proof that she is a citizen in 4 weeks? We also have a problem with my own mail because I am disabled and live with my parents, all "official" mail goes to them. I guess my bank statement and an NHS or PIP letter would do? But those sorts of letters are relatively infrequent.

add onto that that we moved April last year so anything older than that is from a different address.

Sorry for the wall of text,

You don't need to be married or a citizen to have proof of mail - people applying for the Unmarried Partner visa have to show the same mail  evidence to prove they live together... because they are NOT married.

Ideally, as soon as she arrived in the UK, you should have added her name to as many bills and other official mail as possible, then saved everything that came in the mail.

It doesn't matter what address the mail is from - what matters is that you were both living at the same address as each other... you could move 10 times and you would just provide mail from whatever address you were living at during each 4-month period.

If you don't have any mail in her name yet, then it's not an issue... just include a letter explaining why you haven't got any mail in her name yet.

For the record though, you will need to show this same proof of mail for every visa in the next 5 years, so to prepare for it, as soon as you can, start getting mail in both her name and your name (either joint or separate).

So you can do things like:
- get your names on some bills if you can
- get paper statements for everything
- open a bank account for her if she hasn't got one already (though this will require proof of address)
- register with the NHS if she hasn't already (this will require proof of address too)
- after the wedding, apply for an NI number for her
- she can apply for a UK provisional licence


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More questions as always! Do we need to apply to get a BRP at our local Post Office before we submit our FLR(M) or will we be prompted to after its received?

More questions as always! Do we need to apply to get a BRP at our local Post Office before we submit our FLR(M) or will we be prompted to after its received?

You'll submit your FLR application first.

If you do it by post, you'll receive a letter 7-10 days after they receive it, inviting you to attend your biometrics appointment and the BRP will arrive in 6-8 weeks after a successful application.

If you do an in person appointment, you'll do the biometrics at the time and receive the BRP a few days later.

Ah OK that makes sense! Out of curiosity can you do an in person application for a FLR(M)?

You can do an in-person appointment but it costs £590 extra on top of the £1,493 visa and IHS fees.


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Ah OK that makes sense! Out of curiosity can you do an in person application for a FLR(M)?

Yes, you can read about it here.

https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres

Hi all,

We have a few questions about the FLR(M) form before we fill it in using a PEN this time!

1)   Question 2.2 – Would this be the “No” option because we applied for for the Settlement Visa Marriage so that she could come to the UK to be married?

2)   Question 6.8 – Do we have to include addresses where my American fiancée visited me in the UK for longer than a month? We have effectively never lived together as we met online and dated for 3.5 years before getting married. So do we need to list addresses of where we stayed in my visits to the US and vice versa ?

3)   Question 9.15 – My fiancees fingerprints were taken for the Settlement Visa biometric appointment, what British diplomatic posts would we need to list here?

4)   Question 10.14 – This question asks for a list of family, friends and social ties. To what degree do we need to address this? My fiancée has 2 siblings, two biological parents/half siblings (neither of which have anything to do with her life) and grand parents. Is that adequate or does it need to be more detailed?

5)   Page 62 – The “Your sponsor’s immigration status”section – I am a UK citizen, do I need to tick this box?

6)   Section 14 – This section appears to be the applicant (my fiancée) giving permission to access her banking information but we are using my bank savings to pass the financial checks. There also does not seem to be a similar disclaimer or permissions document for me to sign, how would this work?

7)   LASTLY should we both send in original copies of our birth certificates?

Thanks!

1. Correct - 'no' for 2.2

2. No, it's only UK addresses where you have lived together since she moved to the UK on her fiancé visa, if different from your current address (the 2 years part doesn't apply here because she is on a fiancé visa - just count from when she moved to the UK)

3. You put the address of UKVI Sheffield

4. You just put something like 'immediate family and friends'

5. Yes, you tick the box... because you have to prove you are a UK citizen by sending your passport (or a full photocopy of every page)

6) for section 14:
Page 67: applicant signs
Page 68: if the sponsor is named jointly on bank statements/bills, sponsor signs
Page 69: N/A

And section 15:
Page 71: applicant signs
Page 72: sponsor signs
Page 74: N/A
Page 75: N/A
Page 77: N/A

7. No, birth certificates are not required for any visa application


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Just to save us some time and stress. we're looking at doing the premium in person appointment. We live in London and looking at the service center information it says that the London location only processes tier 2 and tier 5 visas. Would our visa application qualify?

We live in London and looking at the service center information it says that the London location only processes tier 2 and tier 5 visas. Would our visa application qualify?

No, because your application is a Settlement visa and not a Tier 2 or a Tier 5 visa (which are company-sponsored work visas).

If you're in London, your nearest premium centre will be Croydon.