FLR(M) visa (here we go again)

Hello all
My fiancé has made it to the UK thanks to the help of a lot of people in this forum.
We are now starting to look into a spouse visa. Our civil ceremony is on May 1st and my fiancé’s visa is valid till end of June which doesn’t leave us a lot of time.

What is the sequence of events, timelines and fees to get a spouse visa?

More concretely:

By post:

• What happens if we choose to apply by post and don’t receive a decision in time? I suppose she can’t leave the country as she wouldn’t have her passport right?
• How much does it cost and can it be expedited?

In-person

• Is the decision taken on the day and if not - what are the timelines?
• How can we book an appointment and when can that happen?
• What are the fees?

Many thanks

Hey,

What is the sequence of events, timelines and fees to get a spouse visa?

Just to clarify, to avoid confusion, the visa you are applying for next is NOT a spousal visa. It's called an FLR(M) visa.

They are two different visas, so you don't want to get them mixed up:
Spousal visa:
- valid 33 months
- only issued from outside the UK
- you must be married before you move to the UK
- £600 more than FLR(M)

FLR(M) visa
- valid 30 months
- only issued inside the UK
- it's a visa extension that you can switch into from a fiance visa
- £600 less than a spousal visa

By post:

• What happens if we choose to apply by post and don’t receive a decision in time? I suppose she can’t leave the country as she wouldn’t have her passport right?
• How much does it cost and can it be expedited?

You just have to get the application in the mail before her visa expires. It doesn't matter if the visa expires while it is processing, because her fiance visa conditions will be extended during the processing time.

No, she won't have her passport, but processing is only about 5-7 weeks at the moment, so she wouldn't be without it for too long. There's no way to expedited a postal application. The only option to get it faster is to apply in-person.

The postal fees at the moment are:
- £993 visa fee (which is increasing to £1,033 on April 6th)
- £500 IHS surcharge (which will double to £1,000 sometime this year - we don't know when yet)

In-person

• Is the decision taken on the day and if not - what are the timelines?
• How can we book an appointment and when can that happen?
• What are the fees?

Yes, it's a same-day decision, but then they have to post the BRP card (the visa) to you afterwards, which can take up to 10 days, but it usually arrives in about 4 days.

You can book an appointment here, though I think at the moment, they only have appointments available from mid-April onwards:
https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres

You will need to pay all fees at the time of booking the appointment:
- £993 visa fee (or £1,033 if you book on or after April 6th)
- £500 IHS surcharge
- £590 in-person fee (or £610 if you book on or after April 6th)

Ah I see! Ok so yes first mistake... Thanks very much for putting us on the right path.

So, we'll be applying for the FLR(M) and going for the in-person route at the Croydon Premium Center assuming we can find some availability.

Process questions

• With regards to the appointment - any day before the visa expiry is fine correct?
• There's no need to go to the post office to issue a BRP as it's done on the day
• Is there anything that needs to be done before attending the appointment apart from just bring in all supporting documents, photographs, receipts, etc. as part of the application?

Application form questions
I'm assuming that this is the correct form to fill out.

Payment Details: FLR(M)

• Do we need to fill out/include the payment page given that the payment is made at the time of the booking?

Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor?

• This should be Yes?
• That's our first application as a "Spouse or partner of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document"

3.15 Your sponsor’s Home Office reference number if they have one

• What number is this referring to?

3.16 If your sponsor was not British from birth, when did your sponsor obtain settlement?
3.17 On what basis did your sponsor obtain settlement in the UK?

• I've obtained permanent residency on the basis of being an EU citizen in the UK since 2008 and I recently became a British citizen (Naturalisation). Which date do I need to put in?

5.3 In what category were you granted permission to enter the UK?

• What's the category for a Fiance visa?

6.7 When did you start living together as partners, or if you are applying as the child of a person with limited leave as a partner of a settled person, then when did you start living with your parent?
6.8 Add all addresses you and your sponsor have lived at in the 2 years preceding this
application if you have lived at your current address with your sponsor for less than 2 years.

• We've been in a long distance relationship since 2014 and only living together in the UK since Jan this year.
  So what should we fill in?

6.33 Do you and your sponsor have any shared financial responsibilities?

• What constitutes as shared financial responsibilities? We don't have anything formal (e.g. mortgage). I've added my fiance to the tenancy agreement so I believe we're jointly responsible for paying the rent. Does this qualify?

9.1 Have you been issued with a Biometric residence permit with a previous application for leave?

• As part of the fiance visa, she got issued a BRP but this is her first application for FLR, so the answer would be no?

Ah I see! Ok so yes first mistake... Thanks very much for putting us on the right path.

Not an issue - it's just that if people see 'spouse' visa without realising you are applying for FLR(M), they might try to give you incorrect advice.

If you can, it might be a good idea to amend the title of the topic to FLR(M) rather than 'spouse'.

So, we'll be applying for the FLR(M) and going for the in-person route at the Croydon Premium Center assuming we can find some availability.

Cool - if you can book the appointment before April 6th, you won't have to pay the higher fees .

Process questions

• With regards to the appointment - any day before the visa expiry is fine correct?
• There's no need to go to the post office to issue a BRP as it's done on the day
• Is there anything that needs to be done before attending the appointment apart from just bring in all supporting documents, photographs, receipts, etc. as part of the application?

- Correct
- Correct
- No, you just book the appointment, then make sure you have the forms and documents with you when you attend. Your spouse should also attend the appointment too.

Application form questions
I'm assuming that this is the correct form to fill out.

Yes, that's the correct form.

There is an option to apply online but we don't recommend it as the website is buggy and the questions are different. Also, if you're applying in person, if you apply online you have to submit the application before booking the appointment, but using the paper form, you book the appointment first and then fill out the application later.

• Do we need to fill out/include the payment page given that the payment is made at the time of the booking?

No, just leave that page blank as you will have already paid.

It's only for people who are applying by post, where they fill out the payment details and then UKVI take the money when they receive the documents.

• This should be Yes?
• That's our first application as a "Spouse or partner of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document"

This is NO, because it's your second application in the settlement (family) visa category (the first one was the fiance visa)

• What number is this referring to?

You would only have one if you made an immigration application from within the UK and your correspondence from the Home Office included a case reference number on the letter. I'm not sure if reference numbers are issued for EEA applications or just for UK visa applications.

• I've obtained permanent residency on the basis of being an EU citizen in the UK since 2008 and I recently became a British citizen (Naturalisation). Which date do I need to put in?

Settlement = Permanent Residency, so you put the date you got PR.

[/list]

• What's the category for a Fiance visa?

You can put 'settlement visa for the purpose of marriage in the UK' or 'a Marriage settlement visa'

• We've been in a long distance relationship since 2014 and only living together in the UK since Jan this year.
  So what should we fill in?

6.7 - you put the date you started legally living together in the same country (i.e. the date she moved to the UK on her fiance visa)

6.8 - you leave this blank unless you have moved house since she arrived in the UK on her fiance visa

• What constitutes as shared financial responsibilities? We don't have anything formal (e.g. mortgage). I've added my fiance to the tenancy agreement so I believe we're jointly responsible for paying the rent. Does this qualify?

Generally, I think it means formal/legal responsibilities like a joint mortgage or bank loan, but some people put down rent and bills.

It's up to you how you answer - it makes no difference to the application.

• As part of the fiance visa, she got issued a BRP but this is her first application for FLR, so the answer would be no?

She has not been issued with a BRP before because fiance visas are not issued as BRP cards (she gave biometrics, but her visa was not issued as a BRP).

So, you answer No, because she has never been issued with a BRP card.

Fiance visa = issued as a 6-month stamp in the passport

Spousal visa = issued as 30-day visa vignette in the passport to enter the UK AND a 33-month BRP card which is picked up in the UK after arriving

FLR(M) visa = issued as a 30-month BRP card[/list][/list]

Thanks!!

About the appointment booking... I’m having issues with the website. I’d like to book a slot May 15-22th but:

1. When I select the desired day,  nothing comes up OR weirdly, I get a button to show 10 more slots which doesn’t work anyways.

2. When I select the first available day (April) it gives me slots for May 1st followed by a “show 10 more” link which doesn’t work for me either.

I’ve tried Chrome and Safari but it’s the same.

Do you know how to get around this?

Thanks!!

About the appointment booking... I’m having issues with the website. I’d like to book a slot May 15-22th but:

1. When I select the desired day,  nothing comes up OR weirdly, I get a button to show 10 more slots which doesn’t work anyways.

2. When I select the first available day (April) it gives me slots for May 1st followed by a “show 10 more” link which doesn’t work for me either.

I’ve tried Chrome and Safari but it’s the same.

Do you know how to get around this?

They only release the appointments 42 calendar days in advance (not 45 days as it says on the site), so at the moment, you can only actually book appointments up to May 1st, which is why it won't show you any dates beyond that.

If you want an appointment for between May 15th-22nd, you will have to wait until between April 3rd and April 10th to book it.

So, to get in before the fee increases on April 6th you'll want to book an appointment either on April 3rd (for May 15th), April 4th (for May 16th) or April 5th (for May 17th).

I would advise trying to book at exactly midnight on those days, so you get in at the exact time the appointments are released.

How important is it to you to apply in-person? FLR(M) processing times are pretty quick at the moment (5-7 weeks... whereas in the past they have taken 4-6 months), so if it's not urgent that you need the decision same-day (i.e. to have the passport/visa for work or urgent travel), you might want to save the £590 for an in-person appointment and apply by post instead.

Great advice
Thanks!

Applicant's Documents

• Application Payment Receipt
• IHS Payment Receipt
• FLR(M) Application
• Current US Passport
• 2 UK passport photos (name on back)
• [Optional] Cover letter

Sponsor's Documents

• UK passport
• UK passport photo (name on the back)
• [Optional] Cover letter

Financial Documents

• Payslips - 6 months
• Bank Statements - 6 months
• Letter from Employer
• Original Job Contract
• P60

Accommodation Documents

• Joint Tenancy agreement

Relationship Documents

• Marriage Certificate
• 1 Photo of us together
• Joint bank account statements since January
• [TBC] Joint council tax letter - expecting it in April
• [TBC] GP registration

Few questions:

• Given that we meet the finance requirement based on pre-tax income, will 6 months worth of statements/payslips be enough?
• We're a bit light on the cohabitation letters. If we don't manage to get all of them, do we need to explain the reasons in the cover letter?
• What sources are accepted? Is the requirement documented anywhere on the gov website?
• Do we need to provide any evidence that we're keeping in touch? Texts, emails, etc.?
• Is there anything else we've missed?

• We're a bit light on the cohabitation letters. If we don't manage to get all of them, do we need to explain the reasons in the cover letter?
• What sources are accepted? Is the requirement documented anywhere on the gov website?
• Do we need to provide any evidence that we're keeping in touch? Texts, emails, etc.?

Yes, you are light on the correspondence. It would be better if you could provide more, and if you can't, you do need to explain why.
It's all explained in the application form, including which documents are acceptable.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/673011/family-spouse-04-17.pdf[/list]

Because you are living together, they don't require you to provide texts etc. 

Appointment booked!

However, I’ve a bit of a concern now. So we started the premium centre booking on Mar 19 but only finished it today. My fiancé was here on Mar 19 but she’s back in the states now for a bit.

After the payment was complete I noticed that the confirmation has Application Date: Apr 5 and it has recorded the answer to if my fiancé is currently in the UK which was true when we started the process but not now.

Is this a problem?
Do we need to include that in the application itself?

Cheers

I’ve already paid (old fees), booked an appointment and printed and almost completed the FLR(M) form version 4/2017 but I see there’s a new on the gov website with the new fees. Should I be completing the new one?

I’ve already paid (old fees), booked an appointment and printed and almost completed the FLR(M) form version 4/2017 but I see there’s a new on the gov website with the new fees. Should I be completing the new one?

You will need to use the latest version of the form.

But leave the payment details blank. 

2 days till the appointment! Got a few final things left to verify on the form. Could you please let me know what are your thoughts on this?

7.3A. Income from salaried employment

My wife was in employment till 01.12.2017 but we're applying on the basis of my current income from salaried employment. Do we need to fill her details of previous job?

You or your sponsor must have been employed by the same employer for 6 months prior to the application and your combined total earnings must meet the specified amount at 7.3A (xiv) for this 6 month period. If not, does you and your sponsors income from salaried employment received in the 12 months prior to application meet or exceed the financial requirement you must meet?

Do we need to leave this blank given that I've been with the same employed for more than 6 months?

9.12 Have you had your fingerprints taken as part of a previous UK immigration application made in the UK or abroad?

Is this the time and place of her biometrics appointment in Chicago?

9.15 Give details of the British diplomatic post(s) involved if the application(s) was or were made abroad

We're applying in the UK so that should be blank, correct?

2 days till the appointment! Got a few final things left to verify on the form. Could you please let me know what are your thoughts on this?
My wife was in employment till 01.12.2017 but we're applying on the basis of my current income from salaried employment. Do we need to fill her details of previous job?
Do we need to leave this blank given that I've been with the same employed for more than 6 months?

Do not include her employment.  Only include the information you are relying on to support the application.  Her previous employment can not be used, and your salary meets the minimum inclome threshold, so just use that.

Is this the time and place of her biometrics appointment in Chicago?

Yes. 

We're applying in the UK so that should be blank, correct?

This is in relation to her fiance application.  Have a look on the sticker in her passport to see where it was issued (Sheffield?).