Help, Re Applying for Spouse Visa Extension, BRP Question/Issue ASAP

Hiya,

My first initial spouse visa is just about to expire (May 5th). Now, I'm scrambling to get everything together and I was JUST feeling confident about everything when I realised I've been missing an incredibly important piece of information... A BRP card!

Two and a half years ago I did NOT receive information in the post about a location on where to collect the BRP--or anything regarding it. I simply received my binder of documents back in the states, only to find the passport with a successful visa stamp. That was it.

Today when I was scanning the application form, is when I discovered the section regarding the BRP. I've been on multiple websites lately where they provide a checklist of information and documents and there hadn't been anything about it. So, glad I double checked today on the actual FLM R app.  In this section, they ask you to provide your BRP number and such. I've phone the home office twice today and the first woman was less friendly and frustrated that I never got the card, I explained the misunderstanding and the fact that I never received anything when I arrived back in the U.K. (a week after receiving the visa stamp in my passport). She said I should write a cover letter in my FLM R application  explaining the situation and hope that they don't refuse it?       .....Well, that doesn't sound good. Especially if I'm going to pay £1,000 for the processing alone.

I called again and the next woman suggested going online to fill out a "lost BRP" application and sending in this application WITH my FLM R application. Does this sound viable to anyone?

Any help or information will be much appreciated. This forum has been really useful in the past.

Hiya,

My first initial spouse visa is just about to expire (May 5th). Now, I'm scrambling to get everything together and I was JUST feeling confident about everything when I realised I've been missing an incredibly important piece of information... A BRP card!

Two and a half years ago I did NOT receive information in the post about a location on where to collect the BRP--or anything regarding it. I simply received my binder of documents back in the states, only to find the passport with a successful visa stamp. That was it.

Today when I was scanning the application form, is when I discovered the section regarding the BRP. I've been on multiple websites lately where they provide a checklist of information and documents and there hadn't been anything about it. So, glad I double checked today on the actual FLM R app.  In this section, they ask you to provide your BRP number and such. I've phone the home office twice today and the first woman was less friendly and frustrated that I never got the card, I explained the misunderstanding and the fact that I never received anything when I arrived back in the U.K. (a week after receiving the visa stamp in my passport). She said I should write a cover letter in my FLM R application  explaining the situation and hope that they don't refuse it?       .....Well, that doesn't sound good. Especially if I'm going to pay £1,000 for the processing alone.

I called again and the next woman suggested going online to fill out a "lost BRP" application and sending in this application WITH my FLM R application. Does this sound viable to anyone?

Any help or information will be much appreciated. This forum has been really useful in the past.

Keep calm! It's OK. If  the visa in your passport does not expire until May, then you won't have a BRP.

thanks for responding so quick larrabee.... and letting me know this.

 Does this BRP come with the extension visa then? And, was I looking at the wrong application? Because what I thought was the FLM R said I needed to complete the section and needed the card...

thanks again!!!!

thanks for responding so quick larrabee.... and letting me know this.

 Does this BRP come with the extension visa then? And, was I looking at the wrong application? Because what I thought was the FLM R said I needed to complete the section and needed the card...

thanks again!!!!

Yes, your FLR(M) will be issued as a BRP card, as they all have been for about 10 years now.

The spousal visas however have only been issued as BRP cards since mid-2015, and when they first came in, it was a bit hit or miss as to whether they were issued as a 33-month sticker (like you have), or a 30-day sticker plus a 33-month BRP card.

So if you have a 33-month sticker you aren’t supposed to have a BRP card yet, and there’s nothing to worry about .


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And, was I looking at the wrong application? Because what I thought was the FLM R said I needed to complete the section and needed the card...

thanks again!!!!

No, you're in the right place.. here for FLR(M) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-a-partner-or-dependent-child-form-flrm

Make sure you stick with the paper form rather than doing it online. We can help you better if you do and the online system has glitches and pitfalls!

No, you're in the right place.. here for FLR(M) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-a-partner-or-dependent-child-form-flrm [nofollow]

Make sure you stick with the paper form rather than doing it online. We can help you better if you do and the online system has glitches and pitfalls!

Yes, your FLR(M) will be issued as a BRP card, as they all have been for about 10 years now.

The spousal visas however have only been issued as BRP cards since mid-2015, and when they first came in, it was a bit hit or miss as to whether they were issued as a 33-month sticker (like you have), or a 30-day sticker plus a 33-month BRP card.

So if you have a 33-month sticker you aren’t supposed to have a BRP card yet, and there’s nothing to worry about .


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Ah, I see! SO, the Biometric section is in application for the card... awesome. The UKVI people gave me invalid information. Well, what's new? It's funny how one of them said not to trust people's opinions online! Yeah right!!! This forum has helped massively.

As for the time they started issuing them, I received my visa sticker in the summer of 2015 so the government website was changing it's information about the BRP.


I will be sure to do the paper application, the online sounds shady and I don't have time for that!

I'll be back with more clarifications--- possibly today. I thought my visa was expiring the end of May (it had been in my passport which was getting renewed), only to get it back and see it expires May 5. Time to hustle. I'm not using an immigration adviser like I did last time because we can't afford it-- if I had found this forum before sending in my original visa two and a half years ago I wouldn't have needed to spend the money on one then!!

Many thanks!!!!

Ah, I see! SO, the Biometric section is in application for the card... awesome. The UKVI people gave me invalid information. Well, what's new? It's funny how one of them said not to trust people's opinions online! Yeah right!!! This forum has helped massively.

Hmm, that's amusing coming from them - they're known for giving incorrect information because they don't really know their own immigration rules .

They probably just assumed you were issued with one of the 'new' visas with a BRP, instead of the old visa sticker.

As for the time they started issuing them, I received my visa sticker in the summer of 2015 so the government website was changing it's information about the BRP.

Yeah, they started issuing them in the US from May 31st 2015, but it did take a couple of months for them to fully switch over, so a few visas still got issued as 33-month stickers even after May.

I will be sure to do the paper application, the online sounds shady and I don't have time for that!

Good idea.

A few of the differences:
- the online form is buggy/glitchy
- the online form questions are different from the paper form
- the online form questions are vague and confusing and ask for different details to the paper form
- the online form is processed in Sheffield, while the paper form is processed in Durham
Applying by post:
- if you apply online, you fill out the form, submit it, pay the fees, attend biometrics, and then mail the documents within 15 days of applying online (and someone last year had issues where Sheffield claimed they never received the documents)
- if you apply using the paper form, you fill out the form, mail the form and documents to Durham, then the payment is taken. You are then sent a letter in the mail inviting you to give biometrics at a Post Office
Applying in person:
- if you apply online, you have to fill out the form and submit it before you can book the appointment (which you can do 6 weeks before you want to attend the appointment), then you pay for everything at the same time.  Which means you can't edit the application after that
- if you apply using the paper form, you book the appointment and pay for the visa first, then you can fill out and edit the application right up to the appointment day

I'll be back with more clarifications--- possibly today. I thought my visa was expiring the end of May (it had been in my passport which was getting renewed), only to get it back and see it expires May 5. Time to hustle. I'm not using an immigration adviser like I did last time because we can't afford it-- if I had found this forum before sending in my original visa two and a half years ago I wouldn't have needed to spend the money on one then!!

You can actually apply for FLR(M) 28 days before you reach 30 months in the UK, so if you entered the UK in the summer of 2015, you could actually have applied any time from about January onwards. You still have until May 5th to get your application in the mail or attend an appointment though .

It's funny how one of them said not to trust people's opinions online!

You are safe with us! 

Do stay away from the Facebook groups though... apparently they're scary! 

Thank you for that information---hmm, Now I'm considering my options. I'm running low on time, so I wonder if I would be able to set an appointment for before May 5th? I'm not even sure where this would be, I live in Cambridge. So, perhaps I will post it. They say that the day royal mail receives the app that that's when you officially apply?

UKVI must have misunderstood. Both people gave me different information anyways. I'll be sure to steer clear of facebook!!

A couple more questions---

1. There is some conflicting info online for the FLM R extension about providing photos or conversations to further prove we are a legitimate couple. Is this necessary? I read somewhere that if you apply in person that you don't need to provide this--but that if you apply by post that you should...we will be applying by post.

2. My partner and I were unthinking and threw away a lot of our mail. There's still enough for individual correspondence letters with our names. As for us both being addressed together---- All we have is a few council bills. And, two postcards. Are postcards suffice? I know it sounds silly...

Anywho, thanks again!!!!

Thank you for that information---hmm, Now I'm considering my options. I'm running low on time, so I wonder if I would be able to set an appointment for before May 5th? I'm not even sure where this would be, I live in Cambridge. So, perhaps I will post it. They say that the day royal mail receives the app that that's when you officially apply?

To be honest, unless you need your passport back urgently or you have travel booked, it's probably not worth paying the extra £600 to apply in person.

FLR(M) applications are only taking about 5-7 weeks by post at the moment, so if you have time to wait for it, you can save yourself a few hundred pounds.

For postal applications, they take the date of application as being the date the package is post-marked... so I would get it in the post at least 1-2 days before May 5th.

1. There is some conflicting info online for the FLM R extension about providing photos or conversations to further prove we are a legitimate couple. Is this necessary? I read somewhere that if you apply in person that you don't need to provide this--but that if you apply by post that you should...we will be applying by post.

You don't need to provide any of that for either application. That's only for the initial spousal visa where you have been in a long-distance relationship.

Instead, for FLR(M), you have to provide evidence that you have lived together for the last 2 years (see Section 13 of the FLR(M) paper form for full details).

You need to provide:
- 6 official documents in each name (either joint or separately addressed) at the same address covering the last 2 years
- they should be evenly spaced over the 2 years, so 1 document in each name for each 4-month period
- you need them to be from at least 3 different official sources and they have to be original documents mailed to you
- a list of acceptable documents is on the FLR(M) form

2. My partner and I were unthinking and threw away a lot of our mail. There's still enough for individual correspondence letters with our names. As for us both being addressed together---- All we have is a few council bills. And, two postcards. Are postcards suffice? I know it sounds silly...

Postcards won't be acceptable, unfortunately. They need to be official documents from government agencies/companies. It's VERY important to save/keep all your mail for the 5 years of your visas, so from now on, you'll need to make sure you save EVERYTHING and turn OFF paperless on all your bills... ready for ILR in 2.5 years.

Acceptable documents include:
- tenancy agreements
- bank statements
- water bills
- gas/electricity bills
- council tax bills
- phone bills
- TV licence
- letters from government agencies such as DVLA, HMRC, DWP
- letters from the NHS

Assuming you're applying in April, for your correspondence items, I would try for a document in each name from the following months:
May 2016
September 2016
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
January 2018

But you can adjust the months a bit, depending on what documents you have. For example, April, August and December of each year, or Feb, June and October of each year.

Here is what I have so far and I don't have much else, it's space quite a bit apart---will make sure I don't throw future mail away!

Addressed together-- Council tax bill 5/7/2017
                                Council tax bill 14/3/2017


Sponsor-

April 2016 Water bill
July 2016- Electric bill
August 2017- Bank statement
January 2918- bank travel insurance
March 2018- DVLA

Applicant
November 2015- NHS
June 2016- Job Centre (department of work and pensions)
January 2017- HM Revenue and Customs
September 2017- DBS Certificate (was mailed with address on this piece)
March 2018- DVLA Application


As I said-- everything is really spaced out. Do you think this would work?

Okay, just to rearrange into the various months, to see what you can use:
                             
June/July 2016
1. Sponsor: July 2016- Electric bill
1. Applicant: June 2016 Job Centre (department of work and pensions)

November 2016
2. Sponsor: ?
2. Applicant: ?

March 2017
3. Joint: Council tax bill 14/3/2017

July 2017
4. Joint: Council tax bill 5/7/2017

November 2017:
5. Sponsor: ?
5. Applicant: ?

Jan 2018:
6. Sponsor: bank travel insurance
6. Applicant: HM Revenue and Customs

Additional document:
March 2018
7. Sponsor: DVLA
7. Applicant: DVLA Application

Okay, so you really need something from around November each year... otherwise you have a gap of between 7 and 10 months in both years, which is too long between documents.

So, I've looked everywhere and am having trouble finding mail for around that time. I phoned my property manager and asked for a tenancy agreement that is dated for November 2017 when we renewed and she said she could send me a copy, I explained we need original documentation and that seemed problematic for them to lend it to me while the application is being processed. I said I would double check and let them know...Any chance Immigration would allow for a copy of the agreement? that would be my November correspondence for 2017 sorted for me and my partner.

I'm assuming that I have to write a cover letter if I can't find the other pieces of correspondence for that gap? The application says that any pieces of original documentation to not be shown needs to have a cover letter explaining why. Will still keep searching. This is frustrating--- will keep all mail in the future.

So, I've looked everywhere and am having trouble finding mail for around that time. I phoned my property manager and asked for a tenancy agreement that is dated for November 2017 when we renewed and she said she could send me a copy, I explained we need original documentation and that seemed problematic for them to lend it to me while the application is being processed. I said I would double check and let them know...Any chance Immigration would allow for a copy of the agreement? that would be my November correspondence for 2017 sorted for me and my partner.

It should be fine. Normally if it has been sent to you in the mail by the people who issued it, it's considered original.

Can you maybe ask them to stamp/sign the copy, or include a letter with the copy, just to confirm it's authentic?

I'm assuming that I have to write a cover letter if I can't find the other pieces of correspondence for that gap? The application says that any pieces of original documentation to not be shown needs to have a cover letter explaining why.

If the application says you need to include a letter, then you need to include a letter .