Visa status (after about 5 years in UK)

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all healthy and well!

I feel like I should be an expert at this by now but I am still confused on where/how to update my visa. I arrived in the UK on April 1st 2016 on a spousal visa and did my renewal July 31 2018. My residence permit will expire on Feb 3 2021. I believe my next step is to apply for indefinite. leave to remain?

I was hoping to visit family in the US in March or April, but now a bit concerned about delays.

So my questions is what am I applying for? This would NOT be FLR(M) because I already did this right? Do I just apply for a visa that is indefinite leave to remain?

Finally, how long will this take and is there a priority service so I can have my updated visa in time so I can travel to visit family in US by late March/April?

Many thanks,

Lori



 

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all healthy and well!

I feel like I should be an expert at this by now but I am still confused on where/how to update my visa. I arrived in the UK on April 1st 2016 on a spousal visa and did my renewal July 31 2018. My residence permit will expire on Feb 3 2021. I believe my next step is to apply for indefinite. leave to remain?

I was hoping to visit family in the US in March or April, but now a bit concerned about delays.

So my questions is what am I applying for? This would NOT be FLR(M) because I already did this right? Do I just apply for a visa that is indefinite leave to remain?

Finally, how long will this take and is there a priority service so I can have my updated visa in time so I can travel to visit family in US by late March/April?

Many thanks,

Lori

Unfortunately it looks like your current permission to remain will expire before you qualify for ILR as you applied for your FLR too early. You won't qualify for ILR until 28 days before 5 years from April 1st which is the beginning of March.

Also, have you passed your life in the UK test? This is one of the requirements for ILR.

You may be able to apply for FLR then apply to vary your application once the conditions for ILR are met.

Oh this sucks so bad.  You applied for your renewal too early.

So you’ll need to apply for another FLR(M), wait for that to be processed (no priority options due to COVID).  So 4-6 months for processing (can’t travel).  Then you can apply for ILR once you pass the LIUK test and have the money (the two applications will cost a bomb).  ILR will take a solid 6 months to process (again no travel). 

But most of us don’t think we will be able to travel until 2022 anyways so maybe no big deal?  Hugs!

Hi everyone,

How can this be? I feel like I applied to finish my FLR(M) near the deadline on my residence card. In fact I had to rush to get my US passport renewal so I could make the deadline so not sure how this is possible? If I apply for a FLR (M) do I get another 2.5 years?

Is there any experts I could contact to figure out a better way?

Many thanks,

Lori



 

Hi everyone,

How can this be? I feel like I applied to finish my FLR(M) near the deadline on my residence card. In fact I had to rush to get my US passport renewal so I could make the deadline so not sure how this is possible? If I apply for a FLR (M) do I get another 2.5 years?

What date did your original spousal visa expire?

If you arrived in April 2016, it should have been valid until January 2019. In order for the ILR timing to work out, you should not have applied for FLR(M) until 28 days before you reached 2.5 years in the U.K... so for you, that would have been in September 2018.

Unfortunately, as you applied in July 2018, your FLR(M) visa will now expire before you can qualify to apply for ILR (as you cannot apply for ILR until 4th March 2021), so you will instead need to apply for another 2.5-year FLR(M) and then apply for ILR after you have received it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My visa was definitely not due in September I remember clearly I just made the deadline. I wonder if the problem is because I left a month or so later in theUK after my first visa was given to me in the US. Maybe there are basing it on my original visa date rather than the date I arrived in the UK.

Well I assume I can apply for the FLR(M) and then just apply for ILR after I receive my FLR(M) or do I have to wait for that to expire before I apply for ILR?


Many thanks!

Lori

I arrived in the UK on April 1st 2016 on a spousal visa and did my renewal July 31 2018. My residence permit will expire on Feb 3 2021.

In a previous thread, you mentioned that your visa expired June 15 2018?  But then you renewed after that on July 31 2018?

"OK I better get started on this -- my visa expires June 15th!"
https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=93879.0

What are all the dates of your timeline thus far?

What are the validity and expiry dates of all previous visas?  On what day did you move to the UK with your original visa?

My visa was definitely not due in September I remember clearly I just made the deadline. I wonder if the problem is because I left a month or so later in theUK after my first visa was given to me in the US. Maybe there are basing it on my original visa date rather than the date I arrived in the UK.

Hmm, spousal visas are issued for 33 months (2 years and 9 months) in order to give you 3 months’ extra leeway to enter the U.K. and still be able to qualify for ILR before your 2.5-year FLR(M) expires.

If it was in fact the case that your spousal visa expired around July 2018, then that means UKVI made an error and it was issued for the wrong length of time (sounds like maybe 27 months instead of 33 months?).

Well I assume I can apply for the FLR(M) and then just apply for ILR after I receive my FLR(M) or do I have to wait for that to expire before I apply for ILR?

You can apply for ILR as soon as you have the FLR(M) and you have reached your 5 years in the UK.

Unfortunately though, this means paying twice:
£2593 for FLR(M) (£1033 visa fee plus £1560 IHS surcharge)
And then
£2389 for ILR

Having said that, do you still have a copy of your original BRP card from the spousal visa?

If you have proof that it was issued incorrectly and it should have been made valid for an extra 6 months, then technically that means it’s UKVI’s fault that you cannot qualify for ILR before your FLR(M) expires... and in that case, I wonder if you might have a case for asking them to correct the mistake and perhaps getting your current visa extended for those few extra months without having to apply for FLR(M) again.

I’ve only ever seen this be done for the original spousal visa when the applicant realised their visa had been issued for the incorrect length of time, but it might be worth trying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh thanks Aquila!  Glad you found that thread, yes it was due June 15th and I sent out by June 12th. I meant to say I received the letter confirming grant to leave to remain on July 31. So on my card it says it was issues to me July 31st. And it shows it expires 03-02-21.

The letter says I was granted leaved to remain on the 5 year route. It also stated I was granted a period of 30 months limited leave to remain.

What did I do wrong ?

Many thanks!

Lori

What about your original spousal visa?

That’s the important one here, because if you arrived in the U.K. in April 2016, it should NOT have expired in June 2018... it should have been valid until either December 2018 or January 2019.

What are the EXACT dates of:
- the start and end date of your 30-day spousal visa vignette in your passport

- the day you arrived in the U.K. on the spousal visa

- the valid from and expiry date of your spousal visa BRP card

If you didn’t enter for a month after getting the spousal visa, and it expired on 15th June 2018, then it may have started on 15 March 2016... and if that is the case, then you were issued the wrong visa to start with... a 27-month spousal visa instead of a 33-month spousal visa.

27-month spousal visas have not been issued since July 2012, under the old immigration rules, but we did have one person on the forum who was issued a 27-month visa accidentally. They were able to get their spousal visa extended to 33 months, as they realised the error before they applied for FLR(M).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi  Ksand24,

My original spousal 30 day visa vignette was valid from 15/03/16 to 14/4/16. I arrived April 1st 2016

I should note I had another 30 day visa the month before but could not make the deadline so applied for an extension. That was from 29/01/16 to 28/2/16 but it was approved and I applied before the deadline.

Would that have caused  the problem?

Thanks so much for all your help everyone!

Okay, what were the valid from and expiry dates printed on your actual BRP issued for the spousal visa?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ksand24,
According to the letter I received I was originally given permission to enter UK as SPOUSE/CP from 29 Jan 2016 to 29 October 2018.

So does this mean they made a mistake if my expiration date for my first residence card was June 15th 2018?

Thanks! 

ksand24,
According to the letter I received I was originally given permission to enter UK as SPOUSE/CP from 29 Jan 2016 to 29 October 2018.

So does this mean they made a mistake if my expiration date for my first residence card was June 15th 2018?

Thanks!

Yes, it looks like your visa was issued for the wrong length of time: 27 months instead of 33 months.

I assume it expired on June 15th 2018 because you applied for an extension to the 30-day vignette, which started on March 15th 2016. However, it should have expired on 15th December 2018.

There is a form to report errors with BRP validity, but since you did not get the visa corrected before you applied for FLR(M) and the visa in question is no longer valid, I’m not sure if anything can be done about it now or not.

The link is here:
https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/report-problem

It may be worth contacting Beth at Medivisas (based in London) to ask if anything can be done regarding applying for ILR.

Also, here’s a link to the thread of the other forum member who had the same problem with her spousal visa. She reported the error and got it fixed, but she was able to sort it all out while her spousal visa was still valid and before she applied for FLR(M):
https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=97370.0


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk