Planning ahead for FLR(M)

Hi everyone,

You were all so helpful with my first application that I'm back for more! I'm way ahead of the game here as my spouse visa doesn't expire until September 2021 but I wanted to check in to make sure I'm on the right track. I feel pretty confident but would like some reassurance that I've not forgotten anything.

I entered the UK on my spouse visa on 27 December 2018 and my BRP expires 22 September 2021. I know I can apply from 31 May (28 days before I reach 30 months) but I plan to apply in early August to allow for more leeway when applying for ILR when the time comes.

I did not change my name before I applied but plan to do so next summer ahead of our vow renewal in July 2021. Hopefully I will be able to change my passport in June 2021 and then apply for FLR(M) using my husband's surname in August. I believe I won't need apply to change the name on my BRP as I'll be applying for FLR(M) within 90 days of my name change?

We are currently renting a flat but will hopefully be buying a house this year...fingers crossed. I may be back with more questions about that later.

We both are in salaried, permanent jobs and earn over the threshold & plan to apply using my income.

We turned off paperless for everything when I got here so have at least one document (often two) in each of our names for every month - either a phone bill or credit card statement. Hopefully that should make the correspondence requirement a breeze as I've been filing it all away pretty diligently! If we have to shift it by a month either way, that will be fine as we have items for those months too.

Here's what I have as my checklist for the application:

Application documents
my updated passport (with new last name)
my previous passport (in maiden name, with original entry vignette)
husband/sponsor’s passport
my BRP (expires 22 Sep 2021)
declaration forms (only sign 1 & 2, leave 3 blank as no 3rd party support?)

Accommodation
original tenancy agreement (only sponsor’s name) + letter from landlord (?) + latest council tax bill (both names) OR
Land Registry document (Scotland) + latest mortgage statement + latest council tax statement

Finances
6 (but probably actually 7) full months of ORIGINAL payslips (dated no more than 28 days before applying) - will either switch to mailed payslips this December OR get letter verifying
6 (but probably actually 7) full months of ORIGINAL bank statements (dated no more than 28 days before applying) - will request to be mailed from RBS
employer letter from HR (dated no more than 28 days before applying) stating the following:
     i) current employment and salary
     ii) length of employment
     iii) length of time earning current salary
     iv) type of employment

Optional but recommended:
original job contract (I only have a PDF of my unconditional offer letter but could probably get this from HR)
latest P60

Relationship
marriage certificate
correspondence (6 items, spread evenly over two years)

• August 2021 - TBD (optional)
• April 2021 - TBD
• December 2020 - TBD
• August 2020 - TBD
• April 2020 - sponsor (18 Apr 20) + applicant (17 Apr 20) credit card statements
• December 2019 - sponsor + applicant phone bills (separate names; both 26 Dec 19)
• August 2019 - sponsor credit card statement (18 Aug 19) + applicant NHS cervical screening reminder (20 Aug 19)

This has been quite a long post so thanks for wading through it. Any comments helpful & much appreciated! [/list]

You're so well organised! That all looks great. 

I would just say, be careful that you don't loose all your carefully collected correspondence when you move. We regularly hear of that happening.

If you wanted to, you could get your life in the UK test done early, just to get that out of the way.

You're so well organised! That all looks great. 

I would just say, be careful that you don't loose all your carefully collected correspondence when you move. We regularly hear of that happening.

If you wanted to, you could get your life in the UK test done early, just to get that out of the way.

Thanks larrabee! Glad to hear it all looks good (so far). Organisation is definitely one of my strong suits so that's really coming in handy - especially as my husband is the opposite of organised!!

I have all of our post in an expandable file that I will be guarding with my life when the time comes for us to move.

I planned to do my Life in the UK test this summer but have postponed it due to Covid...hoping to tick that box early next year once we've settled (fingers crossed) into a new home in Glasgow.

My renewal is starting to creep up and there are a few questions that have popped up that I'd appreciate answers to if possible.

As with lots of other things, our vow renewal has now been cancelled for this summer so we're bringing my FLR renewal forward a bit just to get it out of the way. I'm now planning to renew my passport / change my name next month (May) and then submit my renewal in early July, following my June payslip.

I've confirmed with my job that they are happy to provide the letter / verification of my payslips, which is excellent.

The questions I have at this stage are:

• What (if any) documentation do I need to provide for the time I/we have spent staying with my MIL since I arrived? Do I need a signed letter from her & proof she owns the house..? I stayed at her house near Glasgow Jan - Mar 2020 while I started a new job and my husband stayed at our flat in Elgin. I took screenshots of our messages/calls during this time and kept my train ticket for when I returned to Elgin in March. Then we both stayed at her house from December 2020 - March 2021 while buying our house.
• I ordered a copy of the title sheet for our new house (which is in my husband's name) from the Registers of Scotland for £3 and the full doc they sent me is 74 pages, is that normal & do I have the correct document?

That's all for now - will no doubt be back closer to the time for a check of my documents.

Nearly there now! I would really appreciate a check of my document list below.

I've scanned everything that I have so far and have completed the online application (up to the declaration forms). Just waiting for the final financial docs after I get paid next week then I'll do a final (final) check of my online app and submit the first week of August.

For background, we have no children, we own our home and we are relying solely on my (permanent, salaried) income as I earn above the required £18600 and haven't changed jobs in the last 6 months.

Application docs
I've scanned every page of each passport.
- my current passport (with new last name)
- my previous passport (with maiden name + entry vignette)
- my husband's passport
- my BRP (expires 22 Sep 2021)
- declaration forms (I sign part 1, husband signs part 2, will leave part 3 blank)

Accommodation
We bought our first home in March (woo!) and it is in my husband's name only.
- signed letter from my MIL confirming that I stayed at her house Jan - Mar 2020 and my husband and I both stayed there Dec 2020 - Mar 2021
- Land Registry document (bought online 18 July)
- latest mortgage statement (PDF received from bank 24 June)
- latest council tax statement (jointly addressed)

Finances
I'm relying on my income only as I earn above the required £18600. I am (generally) paid the 27th of each month.
- payslips December 2020 - July 2021 (electronically issued)
- bank statements covering that period & all payslips (will have these posted to me)
- letter from employer confirming current employment, gross salary, length of employment, length of time on current salary, type of employment, and that my payslips are genuine / accurate)
- PDF of job contract
- latest P60

Relationship
- marriage certificate
- proof of texts / calls while living apart Jan - Mar 2020
Correspondence
March 2019 - joint council tax (14 March 2019)
July 2019 - sponsor credit card statement (18 July) + me letter from HMRC (4 July)
November 2019 - sponsor phone bill (26 November) + me phone bill (26 November)
March 2020 - joint council tax (17 March 2020)
July 2020 - sponsor credit card statement (18 July) + me credit card statement (17 July)
November 2020 - sponsor credit card statement (18 November) + me credit card statement (17 November)
March 2021 - joint council tax (15 March 2021) (also in accommodation section)
July 2021 - sponsor letter from car insurance (16 July) + me credit card statement (17 July)

I am still using my maiden name at work and, as with others, my correspondence is a variety of my maiden name, married name, and first and/or middle initials + surname. I am assuming none of that will be a problem!

Thanks very much in advance.

You haven’t quite got everything in the correct upload sections so just going to rearrange your documents a bit.

The only thing I see missing is the signed sponsor’s declaration, which is in addition to the Part 1 and Part 2 consent to checks forms.

Application documents
- my current passport (with new last name)
- my previous passport (with maiden name + entry vignette)
- declaration forms (I sign part 1, husband signs part 2, will leave part 3 blank)
- signed sponsor’s declaration

Proof of Identity/Travel History
- my husband's passport
- my BRP (expires 22 Sep 2021)

Residence in the U.K.
Accommodation
- Land Registry document (bought online 18 July)
- latest mortgage statement (PDF received from bank 24 June)
- latest council tax statement (jointly addressed)
Cohabitation
March 2019 - joint council tax (14 March 2019)
July 2019 - sponsor credit card statement (18 July) + me letter from HMRC (4 July)
November 2019 - sponsor phone bill (26 November) + me phone bill (26 November)
March 2020 - joint council tax (17 March 2020)
July 2020 - sponsor credit card statement (18 July) + me credit card statement (17 July)
November 2020 - sponsor credit card statement (18 November) + me credit card statement (17 November)
March 2021 - joint council tax (15 March 2021) (also in accommodation section)
July 2021 - sponsor letter from car insurance (16 July) + me credit card statement (17 July)
- signed letter from my MIL confirming that I stayed at her house Jan - Mar 2020 and my husband and I both stayed there Dec 2020 - Mar 2021
- proof of texts / calls while living apart Jan - Mar 2020

Finances
- payslips December 2020 - July 2021 (electronically issued)
- bank statements covering that period & all payslips (will have these posted to me)
- letter from employer confirming current employment, gross salary, length of employment, length of time on current salary, type of employment, and that my payslips are genuine / accurate)
- PDF of job contract
- latest P60

Other
- marriage certificate

I am still using my maiden name at work and, as with others, my correspondence is a variety of my maiden name, married name, and first and/or middle initials + surname. I am assuming none of that will be a problem!

No, not a problem.


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Thanks for the response ksand I submitted my application tonight and have my biometrics on the 15th! We paid for super priority so not long to go now...

Good luck!

Got an email this morning that we were approved! 🥳 Almost exactly 24 hours after my biometrics appointment.

I want to give a big thanks to everyone for their help - much, much less stressful than my first visa application but still a big relief to get the approval email today.

Now onto collecting more post in preparation for ILR in December 2023 and booking my LIUK test for the next couple of months!

Got an email this morning that we were approved! 🥳 Almost exactly 24 hours after my biometrics appointment.

I want to give a big thanks to everyone for their help - much, much less stressful than my first visa application but still a big relief to get the approval email today.

Now onto collecting more post in preparation for ILR in December 2023 and booking my LIUK test for the next couple of months!

Congratulations!!!