FLR(M)2 Application Worries (bought about by lack of biometric appointments)

Our exam was set for this Saturday and we now got an email to say it's cancelled due to 'government restrictions on laege venues and gatherings on the date and venue that you have booked". Since we were in email contact with the British Council on this very scenario I'm fuming and deeply upset. We only have until 24 August to get the A2 test. I think I will have to see if it can be done in another country and get my wife to fly there.

I wouldn't worry too much about it getting it done by 24th August, because UKVI have announced new provisions where you can apply for an exemption to the test if you can't take it before you apply for the visa because the centre is closed or you cannot travel to it.

I would not recommend attempting to travel to another country to take it.

See here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents#if-youre-applying-to-enter-the-uk-or-remain-on-the-basis-of-family-or-private-life

From that section of the page:

Changes to the English language requirement
If you’re asked to take an English language test as part of your application, you can apply for an exemption if the test centre was closed or you couldn’t travel to it due to coronavirus when you applied.

I'm not sure exactly how you apply for an exemption though - maybe contact the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre: CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk?

KSand24,

Thanks so much for this. It's extremely useful and I will check out. I will also call the British Council this morning to get more details on what is available.

Many thanks,
Martin

The cancellation was due to problems with the venue in London. The British Council now has a new venue that can deal with distancing rules, etc. We've booked that for 1st August. It would have been nice for the British Council to contact us a bit earlier for the cancellation or maybe move us over to the new venue but at least we're sorted. Panic over.

Martin

The cancellation was due to problems with the venue in London. The British Council now has a new venue that can deal with distancing rules, etc. We've booked that for 1st August. It would have been nice for the British Council to contact us a bit earlier for the cancellation or maybe move us over to the new venue but at least we're sorted. Panic over.

Martin

That's good . Glad you got it sorted out.

The cancellation was due to problems with the venue in London. The British Council now has a new venue that can deal with distancing rules, etc. We've booked that for 1st August. It would have been nice for the British Council to contact us a bit earlier for the cancellation or maybe move us over to the new venue but at least we're sorted. Panic over.

Martin

Good luck! 

The test was completed ok on Saturday at Sovereign House in Shaftesbury Avenue in London. Now to wait for the result.

The test was completed ok on Saturday at Sovereign House in Shaftesbury Avenue in London. Now to wait for the result.

Fingers crossed! 

My wife passed the A2 test and got the certificate on Friday. So we're now just doing a final sanity check before making the application.

Congratulations. 

The application is now in (we've paid for IHS and the visa) and we've landed on the UKVCAS website. We're having a timeout on that to work out which is best to do.