FLM Granted... now what?

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I just received an email that further leave to remain in the UK has been granted to me! According to the letter in the email, the BRP should be coming within a week. I was excited yesterday to receive the news, and so was my husband. Now my question is... what should I do next? I know that one of the first things I want to do is get a National Insurance Number, as well as get my husband to include my name on various bills. What else should I focus on doing? One of my goals is to start working, but I know that is going to have to be put on hold until I get a bank account, and until I start getting mail to open a bank account lol. 

(Here is a little bit more background; I originally came in England in March on a Visitor Visa, and was only meant to stay a week. COVID happened, and my ticket back to the States kept getting cancelled. My husband and I decided to apply for FLR back in July under COVID concessions. We both felt like we took a chance with this, but thank goodness the whole process went smoothly!)

Congratulations !

The main things to do are:
- get yourself added to bills
- apply for a National Insurance Number
- register with a GP, if you haven't already (you will need proof of address for this - ideally a council tax statement with your name on it)
- open a bank account (you will need proof of address for this as well)

You can apply for a National Insurance Number (NIN) here:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

Note that you can apply for jobs, and even start working, before you get your National Insurance number, but if you do start working before getting it, you will be taxed at the basic or emergency rate until you get the NIN.

For the bank account, I'd recommend trying different banks to see if they will let you open an account... I know some people have found it tricky to find a bank that will open an account for them, so you may need to shop around.

Thank you for the info! Now, can I apply for my NIN before getting my BRP, or should I wait for the BRP to arrive?

I am probably going to wait on applying until I get my NIN sorted. I want to make sure that I have everything else sorted before rushing into work right away lol. My husband and I are going to work on adding my name to bills this weekend as well. I feel like we both have a lot of work ahead of us.

I was thinking of trying my husband's bank first to see if they'll accept me. I've heard how tricky it is for Americans to open up a bank account here; I am kind of nervous about that bit, and having to do a bit of shopping around.

Congratulations! 

Best to wait for the BRP to arrive.

With reference to the bank account.

It might be an old fashioned concept, but why don't you convert your husbands account to a joint account.

I would imagine that would be easier to set up at this stage,  and when you have some banking history you can set up separate  personal accounts if you need them, and then use the joint account for rent/mortgage/utilities etc. 

With reference to the bank account.

It might be an old fashioned concept, but why don't you convert your husbands account to a joint account.

I would imagine that would be easier to set up at this stage,  and when you have some banking history you can set up separate  personal accounts if you need them, and then use the joint account for rent/mortgage/utilities etc.

Strangely enough, it seems to be more difficult to get a bank to add a visa holder to a spouse’s account (creating a joint account) than it is for the visa holder to open an individual account themselves.

I’m not really sure why this is, but quite a few people on the forum have said this has happened to them, and so they ended up having to open an individual bank account instead.

Best thing to do, though, is ask around - try different banks and see what they will or won’t allow you to do.


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Strangely enough, it seems to be more difficult to get a bank to add a visa holder to a spouse’s account (creating a joint account) than it is for the visa holder to open an individual account themselves.

I’m not really sure why this is, but quite a few people on the forum have said this has happened to them, and so they ended up having to open an individual bank account instead.

Best thing to do, though, is ask around - try different banks and see what they will or won’t allow you to do.


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This is what I've heard, which is the main reason why I was thinking of opening an individual account first.

Thank you guys so much for the advice! I am just so excited that I finally get to have a normal life with my husband here.