Welcome back
.
- Is the gov.uk application process/site the correct path for renewals or am I missing the correct place to re-apply?
Yes, that’s the right place. The link to the application is this one:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-as-a-partner-or-dependent-child-form-flrm/apply-online-form-flr-m- For my initial application I had to provide documentation of a certain amount of liquid funds in savings because my wife was not working in the US nor UK, so the application was based on me proving financial independence. For our renewal, I have been working for a UK company for 2+ years earning GBP (the UK branch of my initial US employer of 14 years). The application process is not asking for any documentation of funds in savings but rather proof of pay stubs and UK bank statements showing the salary going into my account. Is this normal/expected and my documented savings from the initial application the abnormal/unusual circumstance?
You need to figure out which financial category you qualify to apply under.
For your initial application it sounds like you applied under Category D: Cash Savings.
If you still have all those savings in your account (£72,000 total held for at least 6 months), you can use Category D again... this is the easiest category to use as it only requires 6 months of bank statements and a statement of source of savings.
If you no longer have those savings, you will likely need to use Category A: Employment Income, where you show you have been earning at least £22,400 salary in the U.K. for a minimum of 6 months.
You will need to provide:
- 6 full months of payslips
- 6 full months of bank statements
- letter from your employer confirming all of the following:
1) current employment and salary
2) length of employment
3) length of time earning current salary
4) type of employment
- job contract
- latest P60
- I am being asked for statements mailed to both my wife and I jointly to prove we have resided together for the duration of my visa, spanning the time we have been here (2 years). Since I didn't know about this requirement and since we don't really rely on paper documents for any bills in this digital age, what can be done about providing these documents? Do we have to call a provider (internet, gas/electric utility) and have them send a copy of an old bill or is a PDF printed from an online account acceptable (this wasn't acceptable the first time around, so I'm guessing not this time either)?
The requirements for cohabitation are:
- 6 items of mail in each name
- dated every 4 months going back 2 years
- from at least 3 official sources
- they must have been received in the mail in the months they were issued... online bills/statements are not acceptable
What I would do right now is turn OFF paperless billing for EVERYTHING you can ASAP, and save ALL of your mail from now until 2024 (as you will need mail for ILR as well).
I would also go through ALL of the mail you have received in the last 2 years and see what you can use.
If you do not have enough mail, you just need to write a letter of explanation for why you do not have it.
Acceptable items of mail are:
- bank statements
- tenancy agreements
- mortgage statements
- council tax bills
- letters from the council regarding council tax
- electricity bills
- gas bills
- water bills
- credit card bills
- phone bills
- TV licence
- letters from HMRC
- letters from DVLA
- letters from the NHS
- letters from the DWP
- If our BRPs expire in March 2022, realistically how long are applications taking in this post-Brexit, current-Covid time we live in? I want to make sure I re-apply in time but also don't want to do it too early
The earliest date you can apply is 28 days before you reach 30 months in the U.K.
If you entered the U.K. in July 2019 you will reach 30 months in January 2022, so you can apply in December 2021, 28 days before that date.
The latest date you can apply is the expiry date of your BRPs. You only need to have submitted the online application before the visa expires.
FLR(M) applications have been taking anywhere from a couple of weeks to about 4 months to be issued recently, though you may have the option to pay an extra £800 per application for a decision within 24 hours of biometrics.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
