FLR(AF) - preparation, doc checklist and questions

Hello all! Thank you in advance for the help I have and will recieve here - this forum is an incredible resource and i am so grateful for your help.

I need to apply soon to extend my visa, however I first applied for a normal spouse visa despite my husband being in the british army. So I was advised on this page to go ahead and apply for FLR(AF) with a letter explaining why should have done so the first time. My BRP expires 22nd September so hoping to get this moving ASAP.

Below is the document list I've found - 1st question: could someone advise what needs to be added for the armed forces documentation?
Applicant Documents (me)
1. My signed passport w/every page scanned - In colour? Does this matter?
2. Signed sponsor declaration - what must this include?
3. Part 1 of Consent to Checks form signed by me (part of online form)
4. Part 2 of Consent to Checks form signed by husband (part of online form)

Proof of Identity/Travel History
1. Current BRP scanned both sides
2. Husbands UK passport w/every page scanned
3. Husbands Military ID?
4. Letter from Husbands Company Commander?


Finances - we used husbands finances last time, is it ok to switch to mine? Reason being mine will be simpler to gather!
(Option 1 - Cat(A) - Salary over £18,600)
1. My printed payslips, each signed by employer, showing 6 full months of pay (Jan-July)
2. Letter from my employer including:
a.) current employment and salary
b.) length of employment
c.) length of time earning current salary - should they acknowledge slight pay rise here?
d.) type of employment
e.) table confirming each payslip, day paid in and amount
3. Copy of employment contract
4. 7 bank statements covering each payslip (Jan-July) - can these be printed and signed at bank?
5. My P60

Residence in UK
1. Tenency Agreement from Military Housing Agency

Cohabitation
1. 6 evenly spaced pieces of mail in both names - 3 or more sources
-or- 12 evenly spaced pieces of mail in either name
2. Letter explaining the holes/missing letters - due to going paperless/throwing away

Additional questions: I have not yet done my online application, is the BRP appointment scheduled as part of this process?
And secondly, what are the odds of having my documents/passport back by Christmas if I apply in August?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Hi again! I've noticed the most recent advice for FLR(AF) is from 2017 so I understand this may be a difficult case to help with. Are there any other resources anyone can recommend as far as document lists? The more time we can give the the military to help us with which documents we need, the better!

Another website said that a document checklist will be provided after the online application is submitted and fees paid....is that accurate?

Many thanks 

Below is the document list I've found - 1st question: could someone advise what needs to be added for the armed forces documentation?

Nothing much, I don’t think. Mainly just evidence of/letter confirming length of service and also any relevant accommodation documents (if living in military accommodation).

Applicant Documents (me)
1. My signed passport w/every page scanned - In colour? Does this matter?

Not in colour, I don’t think.

The instructions for the scanning requirements are here:
https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/help-support/ourinfo/prepareDocuments

2. Signed sponsor declaration - what must this include?

This is already written and is part of the online form - your husband just prints and signs it, then scans it in.

Proof of Identity/Travel History

3. Husbands Military ID?
4. Letter from Husbands Company Commander?

I think you just need a letter stating length/terms of military service.

Finances - we used husbands finances last time, is it ok to switch to mine? Reason being mine will be simpler to gather!

Yes, that’s fine.

c.) length of time earning current salary - should they acknowledge slight pay rise here?

It depends what date the payrise was.

If it was less than 6 months ago, then it must be acknowledged as they will only consider the lowest salary/payslip from the last 6 months.

If it was more than 6 months ago, it does not need to be mentioned.

4. 7 bank statements covering each payslip (Jan-July) - can these be printed and signed at bank?

Yes. If you are using online bank statements they MUST be printed and then either
- stamped by the bank on EVERY page
Or
- accompanied by a letter from the bank confirming their authenticity

Residence in UK
1. Tenency Agreement from Military Housing Agency

Are you both listed on the tenancy agreement? If not, you also need a letter from the housing agency giving you permission to live there too

Do you pay council tax? If so, you must also include your latest annual council tax bill

Additional questions: I have not yet done my online application, is the BRP appointment scheduled as part of this process?

It’s scheduled on the UKVCAS after you have applied online. You then upload your documents at any time between booking and attending the appointment.

And secondly, what are the odds of having my documents/passport back by Christmas if I apply in August?

It seems to be taking anywhere from about 2 weeks to 4 months for FLR(M) at the moment, so maybe?

When you apply there may also be the option to purchase Super Priority Processing for £800 which gets your application processed within 24 hours of biometrics, though it’s not available to everyone at the moment due to Covid.


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Another website said that a document checklist will be provided after the online application is submitted and fees paid....is that accurate?

There is a document checklist which comes up at the end of the online application but it’s quite vague and does not include everything you need.

Best thing is to keep checking here and we can make sure you have everything before you apply.

Speaking of, I just noticed that you are missing your Marriage Certificate, which is one of the most important documents .


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@ksand24 thank you so much!! This is so helpful.

Promised myself I wouldn't stress about this today but here we are  I was thinking, as I'll be applying for an armed forces visa for the first time, I'll include a few extra pieces of support for my husband's service in addition to the letter (photocopied military ID and an official document for proof of service).

I've added the marriage cert. to my list - good catch! My plan is to have all of my documents in line before completing the online application. So all documents are scanned and sent electronically now?

Thank you again!

Going through cohabitation letters now...

So between Dec 2018 and now, I would need letters for April, Aug, Dec. 2019, April, Aug, Dec 2020, April 2021 (and August?) - firstly, is this right?

Secondly, I've found 25 pieces of mail in my name, and only 3 of those land on the above months. My husband is even worse, and we have 1 item in both our names (but none in his name alone). This is a combination of us making an effort to go paperless, my husband leaving most things in his mum's address, and just throwing mail away. My question is, do I stick to the above dates with my 3 pieces of mail, and write a letter to explain the rest?

Thank you!!

Going through cohabitation letters now...

So between Dec 2018 and now, I would need letters for April, Aug, Dec. 2019, April, Aug, Dec 2020, April 2021 (and August?) - firstly, is this right?

You only need to cover the last 2 years, so you will need documents for:
August 2019
December 2019
April 2019
August 2020
December 2020
April 2021
August 2021

Secondly, I've found 25 pieces of mail in my name, and only 3 of those land on the above months. My husband is even worse, and we have 1 item in both our names (but none in his name alone). This is a combination of us making an effort to go paperless, my husband leaving most things in his mum's address, and just throwing mail away. My question is, do I stick to the above dates with my 3 pieces of mail, and write a letter to explain the rest?

The number one rule when you move to the UK on a spousal visa:
Turn OFF paperless statements for EVERYTHING as soon as you arrive in the UK and save ALL mail for the next 5 years, as you will need paper letters/bills/statements for all your visa applications.

So, you will want to make sure you STOP paperless for as many things as you can ASAP.

If most of your stuff is currently paperless, then all you can really do is provide as much as you can for the right months and write a letter of explanation for why you don’t have documents for the right months.

One other option, depending on when you end up applying, is to try to use slightly different months instead... if you apply during August, you could use the following months instead:
July 2019
November 2019
March 2019
July 2020
November 2020
March 2021
July 2021


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Hiya, wondering if you could please let me know if this is a sufficient letter from my employer? (sensitive info removed) Thank you very much!

To Visa & Immigration Officials,

I am writing to confirm the employment details of EH. E is currently a Technical Sales Specialist at X, of which I am the Director and E’s line manager. E started this position on X January 2021 (just over 7 months ago) and it is a permanent, full-time position. Her initial salary was X per annum, which has been raised by X% to X per annum on X April 2021 following her successful completion of the 3 month probation period.

I'll also include a table of my payslips and when they were paid.

Hiya, wondering if you could please let me know if this is a sufficient letter from my employer? (sensitive info removed) Thank you very much!

To Visa & Immigration Officials,

I am writing to confirm the employment details of EH. E is currently a Technical Sales Specialist at X, of which I am the Director and E’s line manager. E started this position on X January 2021 (just over 7 months ago) and it is a permanent, full-time position. Her initial salary was X per annum, which has been raised by X% to X per annum on X April 2021 following her successful completion of the 3 month probation period.

I'll also include a table of my payslips and when they were paid.

You don't need to include a table of your payslips, just the actual payslips themselves.

And yep, that letter looks fine.


To add to KSand's point above about evenly spaced mail, for my FLR renewal I wrote out the 3 month period each piece of mail needed to cover (Jan-March, Apr-June, and so one) and then selected mail from within those 3 months. I did include a cover sheet that set out the 3 month periods and the piece of mail (Lloyds/Thames water/etc) and did it this way because I had one section that was very close together (lik March and April) and another then far apart (like April to August). I was able to successfully get my visa doing this, but you *definitely* want to keep as much mail as you can and turn off paperless ASAP.

You don't need to include a table of your payslips, just the actual payslips themselves.

If the payslips are issued electronically, a table must be included in the letter, in order to verify the authenticity of each payslip.

The table should include the following information:
- payslip date
- gross pay
- net pay
- date paid into bank account

Plus, the letter should include an explanation of any discrepancies between the date/amount on the payslip and the date/amount of the bank deposit, for example, if the payslip is dated July 31st but the pay was deposited into the bank account on July 30th, because of the weekend.


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Thank you very much for the clarification. The payslips are electronic so I'll need the table. My company also switched to using a new system 3 months ago so the payslips look visibly different - should this be explained in the letter as well?

I'll be writing the a letter explaining the gaps in my cohabitation evidence next.

Here is the letter explaining why I will be applying to extend as FLR(AF) instead of FLR(M).....please could you tell me if this is sufficient? Many thanks!!

To Visa & Immigration Officials,

I am writing to you to explain the reasoning for my choice of application. I currently hold a FLR(M) visa, but I am applying to extend for a FLR(AF).

When I originally applied for my spousal visa 2.5 years ago, my husband was serving in HM Armed Forces (3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment) but we expected him to end his service at some point during that time. After considered career planning, he is still a serving member of HM Armed Forces, and we do not expect this to change for the foreseeable future.

Please find included the following documents as evidence of my husband’s service:
•   Letter to Confirm Service from Officer Commanding
•   Proof of service including Joint Personal Administration
•   Copy of Military ID
•   License to Occupy our Service Family Accommodation (SFA)

I ask that my application please be considered for approval along the route of FLR(AF).

Kind regards,
EH

Another question - I am just getting my last documents in order but time is running out. Is it ok to go ahead and submit the online application in order to "stop the clock"?

Still trying to come up with a form of words for the lack of mail in my husband's name 

Another question - I am just getting my last documents in order but time is running out. Is it ok to go ahead and submit the online application in order to "stop the clock"?

Still trying to come up with a form of words for the lack of mail in my husband's name 

Your documents need to be dated on/before the date of the online application.

Just be honest, you've already mentioned the reasons here in this thread.

Many many thanks @larrabee - I'll do that!

If you have a moment could you read over the previous letter? It's purpose is to explain why I am applying to extend for FLR(AF) and not FLR(M), hoping it is clear enough.

Thank you so much!