ILR & HM Forces. Advice or experience welcomed

Hello everyone!

I am an American on a HM Forces Spouse Leave to Remain visa living in England. I have started researching on the application process for Indefinite Leave to Remain and thought I would start here to see if anyone has gone through this journey.

1. When is the earliest I can apply for ILR? Is it truly 28 days before the expiration of my current visa?

2. I have read that if my partner were to be discharged, it would have to be no more than 2 years of the application date for ILR. What would one do if he discharged earlier than this date? Would I apply using the regular ILR app instead of the HM Forces ILR app?

3. If you applied using the HMF Spouse ILR, how long did it take for your application process to go through?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!



December 2016 - Visited England
January 2017 - Engaged
June 2017 - Fiancee Visa
August 2017 - Married
November 2017 - HMF Leave to Remain
to be continued...

Hello everyone!

I am an American on a HM Forces Spouse Leave to Remain visa living in England. I have started researching on the application process for Indefinite Leave to Remain and thought I would start here to see if anyone has gone through this journey.

1. When is the earliest I can apply for ILR? Is it truly 28 days before the expiration of my current visa?

2. I have read that if my partner were to be discharged, it would have to be no more than 2 years of the application date for ILR. What would one do if he discharged earlier than this date? Would I apply using the regular ILR app instead of the HM Forces ILR app?

3. If you applied using the HMF Spouse ILR, how long did it take for your application process to go through?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!



December 2016 - Visited England
January 2017 - Engaged
June 2017 - Fiancee Visa
August 2017 - Married
November 2017 - HMF Leave to Remain
to be continued...

Hi ghuertas, welcome!  You need to spend 5 years minus 28 days on the FLR visa before you are eligible to apply for ILR. When does yours expire?

Thank you!

My FLR (AF) expires 27-11-2022.

My partner is leaving the RAF in April. I don't know what this means for my application in the future for ILR.

Think we might need to see a solicitor.

You can apply for ILR 28 days before you reach 5 years on FLR(AF)... assuming your FLR(AF) was issued for 5 years, this should also be 28 days before your visa expires.

I doubt you will need to see a solicitor, as solicitors are only needed for complicated cases (i.e. you have criminal convictions or have overstayed a visa), and I don't think your case will be complicated.

Looks to me like you will just need to apply for SET(AF) as the family member of a Former HM Forces member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-settle-in-uk-as-former-member-of-hm-forces-setaf

Thank you ksand24!

Reason for seeing a solicitor is because once I start the SET (AF) application, I am greeted with this:

"Use this form to apply to settle in the UK as a discharged member of HM Forces, or as a partner or child of a serving or discharged member of HM Forces.
HM Forces means a member of the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force and includes a person who was a member of HM Forces but was discharged within the period of 2 years prior to the date of this application."

28 days before my visa expires would be October 30, 2022. My husband would be discharged April 3 2020. So this would be out of the 2 year period prior to the date of the application right?

Ah, didn’t realise it was in the last 2 years.

In that case you’ll probably just have to apply using the regular SET(M) form then.

I don’t think him having left the forces in 2020 will affect anything other than the form you need to use for ILR in 2022... because the only difference between the Armed Forces FLR and the normal FLR is that FLR(AF) is granted for up to 5 years and there’s no IHS to pay.

Other than that, the requirements are exactly the same... and there’s no IHS to pay for ILR anyway.

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I would've thought so too but you just never know with the Home Office. Wanted to make sure.

When I start the application for SET (M) it states "Do not use this form if: your current leave to remain is as the partner of a member, or former member, of HM Forces, you have completed 5 years in the UK under this route and you want to settle in the UK using this route. Instead you should apply using form SET(AF)."

I just don't want it to bite me in the butt in the future.

Just reading through the Immigration Rules for HM Forces members (See Part 4 here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-armed-forces) and I noticed this part:

20A. For this Part, a reference to a member of HM Forces includes a former member of HM Forces who was discharged more than 2 years ago if that member of HM Forces:
(a)
(i) is a British citizen; or
(ii) was granted leave under this Appendix; and
(b) the applicant had leave under these Rules as the partner or child of a member of HM Forces prior to the sponsor’s discharge.

So, looks like you're fine to apply under SET(AF), because your husband is British and you were granted your FLR(AF) visa before he was discharged.