FLR(M) - questions and checklist

Hi

We're looking ahead to our FLR(M) application and have a few questions, highlighted in red below.

Everyone's help last time was invaluable so thanks again for looking at this and for the amazing support you guys provide!

Thanks
J&D x

***

Background:

-Applicant entered UK in January 2018 on fiancee visa and married in March 2018
-US citizen
-No children
-BRP expires on 24 September 2020
-Planning to submit FLR(M) application in early/mid September 2020

Checklist:

Mandatory Documents
- Applicant: Biometric Residence Permit
- Applicant: Previous passport
- Applicant: U.S. Passport

Other Documents
- Applicant: U.S. Passport
- Sponsor: U.K. Passport
- Consent form - Family consent - do we download this from the application form page?
- Consent form - Family declaration - do we download this from the application form page?
- Our marriage certificate (no prior marriages)

Accommodation Documents
- Council tax bill for 2020/2021
- Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement for current flat

Financial Documents  - do these docs apply to applicant, spouse, or both? Applicant earns £23.5k and sponsor £39k
- 7 months of payslips [Feb-August 2020] - these are issued electronically, is that ok?
- 7 months of bank statements with earnings [Feb-August 2020] - can these be the PDFs that we have access to via our online banking? These are all identical to the versions we would receive in the mail.
- Letter from employer stating: job title, permanent employment, length of time employed, salary
- Latest P60 - these are issued electronically, is that ok?
- Contract
 
Proof of cohabitation:
We cannot find original paper copies of documents from 2018/19 - are we able to use PDFs downloaded from our online banking / utility accounts.  These include our address and are dated from when they were originally produced (i.e. they are essentially the same as those we would have received in the mail).

Currently, this is looking like:

September 2018:
-Applicant online Barclays statement
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

January 2019:
-Applicant online Barclays statement
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

May 2020:
-Applicant posted Barclays correspondence
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

September 2020:
-Applicant posted health care correspondence
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

January 2020:
-Applicant posted retirement plan correspondence
-Sponsor posted credit card (AmEx) statement

May 2020:
-Applicant posted Barclays statement
-Sponsor posted credit card (AmEx) statement

September 2020:
Applicant TBC
Sponsor TBC

Process

Our understanding is that we fill out the form and upload all of these docs as individual files as we go through it.  We then book a Biometrics appointment, attend, and the visa is approved thereafter. Is that correct?

Assume this means we don't need to worry about clashing with holidays / leaving the country, as we don't need to send out passports anywhere in the mail?

Hi

We're looking ahead to our FLR(M) application and have a few questions, highlighted in red below.

Everyone's help last time was invaluable so thanks again for looking at this and for the amazing support you guys provide!

Thanks
J&D x

***

Background:

-Applicant entered UK in January 2018 on fiancee visa and married in March 2018
-US citizen
-No children
-BRP expires on 24 September 2020
-Planning to submit FLR(M) application in early/mid September 2020

Checklist:

Mandatory Documents
- Applicant: Biometric Residence Permit
- Applicant: Previous passport
- Applicant: U.S. Passport

Other Documents
- Applicant: U.S. Passport
- Sponsor: U.K. Passport
- Consent form - Family consent - do we download this from the application form page?
- Consent form - Family declaration - do we download this from the application form page?
- Our marriage certificate (no prior marriages)

Accommodation Documents
- Council tax bill for 2020/2021
- Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement for current flat

Financial Documents  - do these docs apply to applicant, spouse, or both? Applicant earns £23.5k and sponsor £39k
- 7 months of payslips [Feb-August 2020] - these are issued electronically, is that ok?
- 7 months of bank statements with earnings [Feb-August 2020] - can these be the PDFs that we have access to via our online banking? These are all identical to the versions we would receive in the mail.
- Letter from employer stating: job title, permanent employment, length of time employed, salary
- Latest P60 - these are issued electronically, is that ok?
- Contract
 
Proof of cohabitation:
We cannot find original paper copies of documents from 2018/19 - are we able to use PDFs downloaded from our online banking / utility accounts.  These include our address and are dated from when they were originally produced (i.e. they are essentially the same as those we would have received in the mail).

Currently, this is looking like:

September 2018:
-Applicant online Barclays statement
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

January 2019:
-Applicant online Barclays statement
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

May 2020:
-Applicant posted Barclays correspondence
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

September 2020:
-Applicant posted health care correspondence
-Sponsor online Barclays statement

January 2020:
-Applicant posted retirement plan correspondence
-Sponsor posted credit card (AmEx) statement

May 2020:
-Applicant posted Barclays statement
-Sponsor posted credit card (AmEx) statement

September 2020:
Applicant TBC
Sponsor TBC

Process

Our understanding is that we fill out the form and upload all of these docs as individual files as we go through it.  We then book a Biometrics appointment, attend, and the visa is approved thereafter. Is that correct?

Assume this means we don't need to worry about clashing with holidays / leaving the country, as we don't need to send out passports anywhere in the mail?

You can use either income. Don't use both.

Bank statements must be original or stamped on every page by the bank or accompanied by a letter from the bank verifying their authenticity.
Pay slips if electronic must be accompanied by a letter from a senior official verifying their authenticity.
Your correspondence must be original and sent to you through the post. It counts for the time it was received. If you can't provide enough original documents or the spacing is not correct, you can write a letter explaining why you don't have what they ask for.

The date of the latest bank statement, pay slip and employer's letter  must be within 28 days of the day you submit your online application.

Thanks very much larabee

We will make sure to do all that and to include a letter explaining why we can't provide originals of the cohabitation proof.  Is this something which tends to create issues / jeopardise the decision?

It's frustrating as the online statements we have look almost exactly the same as those we received in the post - all that is missing is a QR / barcode and some number / letter code along the top and side of the page.  All of the relevant names, dates and address info is on there.

Would it help if we printed these and took them to the bank to get them stamped / approved as originals?

Thanks very much larabee

We will make sure to do all that and to include a letter explaining why we can't provide originals of the cohabitation proof.  Is this something which tends to create issues / jeopardise the decision?

It's frustrating as the online statements we have look almost exactly the same as those we received in the post - all that is missing is a QR / barcode and some number / letter code along the top and side of the page.  All of the relevant names, dates and address info is on there.

Would it help if we printed these and took them to the bank to get them stamped / approved as originals?

Usually people who can't provide enough mail are in that situation because they have been living with relatives so don't have any bills in their names. Can you look again to see if you can find something from the times you are missing?
The stamped bank statements are fine for the financial requirement but not for the correspondence requirement.

Change everything to paper now and set your bank statements to monthly, so you will have no difficulty next time.

It's frustrating as the online statements we have look almost exactly the same as those we received in the post - all that is missing is a QR / barcode and some number / letter code along the top and side of the page.  All of the relevant names, dates and address info is on there.

Would it help if we printed these and took them to the bank to get them stamped / approved as originals?

It is very frustrating, but unfortunately, using online statements defeats the object of the correspondence requirement.

It's not about just having statements/bills in your names, it's about showing that they were physically delivered to your house in the months that they were issued, thereby 'proving' that you were both physically present in the house on those dates in order to receive the paper copies in person.

Online statements are not definite evidence that you were physically living in the house on those dates, because:
a) you didn't receive a hard copy of them on the dates they were issued
b) the address on your bank statements might be different to the address where you actually live... for example, you might have started out living with family members and forgotten to change the address on the account when you moved.

As another example, I have a US bank account which is registered to my aunt's house in the US, for which I get online statements only. 

Does that mean that, if I print them out, they can be used concrete proof I have been living at that address in the US for the last few years?  No, they can't. They are not proof of anything, because I do not live in the US and I have not lived in the US for 12 years (I have also never lived at my aunt's address... I was living 2 states over).

Now, if the US bank issued paper statements only, in theory the only way I could get those paper statements would be if I was physically living at that address in the US and therefore I was there to receive those statements in person.

Of course, that reasoning isn't completely foolproof, because my aunt could have mailed all the paper statements to me in the UK, or I could have picked them up when I went over to visit her... but paper statements are the evidence that UKVI uses to determine whether or not you have been living together for the last 2 years.

Thanks very much larrabee and ksand24

We've turned our flat upside down this morning looking for postal docs from 2018 / early 2019 and are struggling.  We had paper statements turned on and had amassed a massive amount of them, so think these must have been lost when we moved address earlier this year.

We have found a couple extra bits.  How is the below looking (these are all paper originals)?

July 2018:
-Sponsor Barclays statement

October 2018:
-Applicant pension document

May 2019:
-Applicant Barclays correspondence

July 2019:
-Joint Barclays statement

September 2019:
-Applicant health care correspondence

January 2020:
-Applicant retirement plan correspondence
-Sponsor credit card (AmEx) statement

May 2020:
-Applicant Barclays statement
-Sponsor credit card (AmEx) statement

September 2020:
TBC


One thing we're a bit unclear on is how the person reviewing the docs would know the difference between a posted letter and a PDF - would it not be advisable for us to submit some digital versions where we have gaps (we could even print them and then re-scan them?).

We have found a couple extra bits.  How is the below looking (these are all paper originals)?

From your list, you can use:

September 2018
1. Sponsor:
1. Applicant: pension document (dated October but you might get away with using it) (Source 1)

January 2019
2. Sponsor:
2. Applicant:

May 2019
3. Sponsor:
3. Applicant: Barclays correspondence (Source 2)

September 2019
4. Sponsor:
4. Applicant: health care correspondence (Source 3)

January 2020
5. Sponsor:
5. Applicant:

May 2020
6. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement (Source 4)
6. Applicant: Barclays statement

September 2020
7. Sponsor:
7. Applicant: health care correspondence

So, you need 6 documents in each name from 3 or more sources.
At the moment, you have:
- 4 sources
- 1 document out of 6 in the sponsor's name
- 5 documents out of 6 in the applicant's name

Has the sponsor not received ANY paper mail at all in their name in the last 2 years?

What about:
- Tenancy agreements
- Mortgage statements
- Council tax bills
- water bills
- electricity bills
- gas bills
- phone bills
- TV/broadband bills
- TV licence
- letters from the NHS
- letters from HMRC
- letters from DVLA
- letters from DWP

Even things like the following might work (though technically they are not 'official' sources):
- letters/bills from store cards
- invoices/receipts from online order deliveries

One thing we're a bit unclear on is how the person reviewing the docs would know the difference between a posted letter and a PDF - would it not be advisable for us to submit some digital versions where we have gaps (we could even print them and then re-scan them?).

If you did that, you would have to explain in a letter that they are digital versions and that you are including them because you do not have any paper documents for those months. You would also need to explain WHY you do not have any paper documents for those months.

One thing we're a bit unclear on is how the person reviewing the docs would know the difference between a posted letter and a PDF - would it not be advisable for us to submit some digital versions where we have gaps (we could even print them and then re-scan them?).

Well, you said yourself that the PDF copies are missing the QR / barcode and some number / letter code along the top and side of the page.

To be honest, I don't think it would necessarily be a bad idea to include the online statements if you absolutely can't fill the gaps but I would make sure to let them know in the letter which items were received in the post and which you had to resort to using online statements for... that way you could not be accused of deception.

From your list, you can use:

September 2018
1. Sponsor:
1. Applicant: pension document (dated October but you might get away with using it) (Source 1)

January 2019
2. Sponsor:
2. Applicant:

May 2019
3. Sponsor:
3. Applicant: Barclays correspondence (Source 2)

September 2019
4. Sponsor:
4. Applicant: health care correspondence (Source 3)

January 2020
5. Sponsor:
5. Applicant:

May 2020
6. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement (Source 4)
6. Applicant: Barclays statement

September 2020
7. Sponsor:
7. Applicant: health care correspondence

So, you need 6 documents in each name from 3 or more sources.
At the moment, you have:
- 4 sources
- 1 document out of 6 in the sponsor's name
- 5 documents out of 6 in the applicant's name

Has the sponsor not received ANY paper mail at all in their name in the last 2 years?

What about:
- Tenancy agreements
- Mortgage statements
- Council tax bills
- water bills
- electricity bills
- gas bills
- phone bills
- TV/broadband bills
- TV licence
- letters from the NHS
- letters from HMRC
- letters from DVLA
- letters from DWP

Even things like the following might work (though technically they are not 'official' sources):
- letters/bills from store cards
- invoices/receipts from online order deliveries

If you did that, you would have to explain in a letter that they are digital versions and that you are including them because you do not have any paper documents for those months. You would also need to explain WHY you do not have any paper documents for those months.

Thanks very much - just amended this list below as it was missing a couple of things:

September 2018
1. Sponsor:
1. Applicant: pension document (dated October but you might get away with using it) (Source 1)

January 2019
2. Sponsor:
2. Applicant:

May 2019
3. Sponsor:
3. Applicant: Barclays correspondence (Source 2)

September 2019
4. Sponsor:
4. Applicant: health care correspondence (Source 3)

January 2020
5. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement (Source 4)
5. Applicant: pensions correspondence (Source 5)

May 2020
6. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement
6. Applicant: Barclays statement

August/September 2020
7. Sponsor: TBC
7. Applicant: TBC

By my count that is:

- 5 sources
- 2 document out of 6 in the sponsor's name
- 5 documents out of 6 in the applicant's name

Plus we will have another two from August/September 2020, once they arrive.

Would it not be good to include the joint bank statement from July 2019 in here?

We are really nonplussed about where all our paper docs have gone - they must have been lost during our flat move. We are really concerned/annoyed at ourselves about this as we had been very diligent in collecting them!

Appreciate it may be difficult for you to give advice on this, but is this the sort of thing that applications are refused over? 

Appreciate it may be difficult for you to give advice on this, but is this the sort of thing that applications are refused over? 

I've never seen an application refused over the correspondence evidence.

If someone stands to be refused for other reasons, they very often mention everything else which is not perfect too, so that sort of thing might be mentioned at that point.

Thanks very much - just amended this list below as it was missing a couple of things:

September 2018
1. Sponsor:
1. Applicant: pension document (dated October but you might get away with using it) (Source 1)

January 2019
2. Sponsor:
2. Applicant:

May 2019
3. Sponsor:
3. Applicant: Barclays correspondence (Source 2)

September 2019
4. Sponsor:
4. Applicant: health care correspondence (Source 3)

January 2020
5. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement (Source 4)
5. Applicant: pensions correspondence (Source 5)

May 2020
6. Sponsor: credit card (AmEx) statement
6. Applicant: Barclays statement

August/September 2020
7. Sponsor: TBC
7. Applicant: TBC

By my count that is:

- 5 sources
- 2 document out of 6 in the sponsor's name
- 5 documents out of 6 in the applicant's name

I only count 4 sources:
- 2 pension documents
- 2 bank documents
- 1 healthcare document
- 2 credit card documents

Would it not be good to include the joint bank statement from July 2019 in here?

No, because it’s from the wrong month, so it messes up the 4-month spacing and won’t meet the requirements.

Appreciate it may be difficult for you to give advice on this, but is this the sort of thing that applications are refused over?

As long as you provide an explanation for the missing documents, it shouldn’t be a problem.

I’m just trying to see if we can get you as many suitable paper documents as possible, so that you meet more of the requirement and have less to explain in a letter.

Some people think they have no documents they can use, but some digging around actually means they are able to find enough documents to meet the requirements.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks so much for your responses guys

We'll keep looking, but are very doubtful we're going to find anything else now unfortunately.

Our plan in therefore to include digital copies where we don't have posted one, and to draft a letter explaining that these were lost in the home moving process.

Will likely share that letter with you guys once we've drafted it - hope that's ok!

It looks like we have everything else from the list of required docs, but will need to wait until late August (we get paid at the end of each month) before we can finalise all the employment docs and submit.  Do you know if we can begin the online process this far in advance, or is there a time limit on it? 

Thanks again! 

Thanks so much for your responses guys

We'll keep looking, but are very doubtful we're going to find anything else now unfortunately.

Our plan in therefore to include digital copies where we don't have posted one, and to draft a letter explaining that these were lost in the home moving process.

Will likely share that letter with you guys once we've drafted it - hope that's ok!

It looks like we have everything else from the list of required docs, but will need to wait until late August (we get paid at the end of each month) before we can finalise all the employment docs and submit.  Do you know if we can begin the online process this far in advance, or is there a time limit on it? 

Thanks again! 

That's fine, just keep the letter brief and to the point.
You'll be ok to start the application now and save as you go.

That's fine, just keep the letter brief and to the point.
You'll be ok to start the application now and save as you go.

Thanks larrabee

I've pasted our draft letter below.

Dear Sir / Madam

RE: Proof of cohabitation

We are writing in support of [APPLICANT'S NAME] application to extend her stay in the UK as the spouse of [SPONSOR'S NAME] (form FLR (M)).

As part of our application we have included proof of cohabitation through paper copies of original mail we received to the addresses at which we have jointly lived over the past two years - covering the period September 2018-September 2020.

We had kept records of postal mail received throughout the period we have lived together, but unfortunately lost some of these during a recent home move.

We have been unable to provide paper copies from the following months:
·         September 2018 – [SPONSOR'S NAME]
·         January 2019 – [SPONSOR'S NAME]
·         January 2019 – [APPLICANT'S NAME]

In lieu of these, and to support our application, we have included digital copies of official correspondence from those months.  We have also attached a piece of original paper copy mail to [SPONSOR'S NAME] from July 2018.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries.

Yours faithfully
 
 [NAME] and [NAME]

Thanks so much for reviewing this!

We're in the process of completing the online form and will scan / upload documents in the coming weeks.

Is there anything else we should be prepared for?  This seems like a much more straightforward process than last time!

Thanks again

Thanks larrabee

I've pasted our draft letter below.

Dear Sir / Madam

RE: Proof of cohabitation

We are writing in support of [APPLICANT'S NAME] application to extend her stay in the UK as the spouse of [SPONSOR'S NAME] (form FLR (M)).

As part of our application we have included proof of cohabitation through paper copies of original mail we received to the addresses at which we have jointly lived over the past two years - covering the period September 2018-September 2020.

We had kept records of postal mail received throughout the period we have lived together, but unfortunately lost some of these during a recent home move.

We have been unable to provide paper copies from the following months:
·         September 2018 – [SPONSOR'S NAME]
·         January 2019 – [SPONSOR'S NAME]
·         January 2019 – [APPLICANT'S NAME]

In lieu of these, and to support our application, we have included digital copies of official correspondence from those months.  We have also attached a piece of original paper copy mail to [SPONSOR'S NAME] from July 2018.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries.

Yours faithfully
 
 [NAME] and [NAME]

Thanks so much for reviewing this!

We're in the process of completing the online form and will scan / upload documents in the coming weeks.

Is there anything else we should be prepared for?  This seems like a much more straightforward process than last time!

Thanks again

Your letter looks great.

Just keep an eye out on the forum and the official site for any Covid related changes to the process.