FLR(m) help is appreciated

Time really does fly!  I arrived in the UK in June 2019 and it's time to renew my visa.  We worked with a lawyer for my spouse visa.  Since then I was lucky enough to find this website which gives me confidence to do the renewal without a lawyer.  I'm hoping to get some assistance from the helpful experts on this forum.

Here's some background:

Married in the US:   April 20, 2019

Arrived in UK:   June 18, 2019.  No stamp in passport.

Visa expiry:  March 13, 2022

We own our home with no mortgage.

We will use cash savings for the financial section.


I have a few questions before I get started:

1.  Could someone send a link to the correct visa application?  I just want to be sure I'm using the right one.

2.  Am I right in thinking that the new visa will last for 30 months?  So if it's approved Feb 15, 2022 it will expire August 15, 2024? 

3.  I didn't get a stamp in my passport when I first arrived in the UK.  I have saved my boarding pass and baggage claim ticket.  Where in the application would I explain this and add the documentation?

4.  Our savings are in a US bank which requires a US address.  We are using my parents' address.  It seems like I should explain why the savings are in a US bank and especially why the mailing address is in the US.  Where/how can I do this in the application?

Thanks in advance for your help - it's greatly appreciated!

Time really does fly!  I arrived in the UK in June 2019 and it's time to renew my visa.  We worked with a lawyer for my spouse visa.  Since then I was lucky enough to find this website which gives me confidence to do the renewal without a lawyer.  I'm hoping to get some assistance from the helpful experts on this forum.

Here's some background:

Married in the US:   April 20, 2019

Arrived in UK:   June 18, 2019.  No stamp in passport.

Visa expiry:  March 13, 2022

We own our home with no mortgage.

We will use cash savings for the financial section.


I have a few questions before I get started:

1.  Could someone send a link to the correct visa application?  I just want to be sure I'm using the right one.

2.  Am I right in thinking that the new visa will last for 30 months?  So if it's approved Feb 15, 2022 it will expire August 15, 2024? 

3.  I didn't get a stamp in my passport when I first arrived in the UK.  I have saved my boarding pass and baggage claim ticket.  Where in the application would I explain this and add the documentation?

4.  Our savings are in a US bank which requires a US address.  We are using my parents' address.  It seems like I should explain why the savings are in a US bank and especially why the mailing address is in the US.  Where/how can I do this in the application?

Thanks in advance for your help - it's greatly appreciated!

1-  https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/family-routes

2- Yes.

3- You can explain in a letter or in the any other information section. I can't remember the upload sections, "other" if there is one, if not just put it where it looks the most relevant.

4- I don't think it's necessary to do either, they will be familiar with this sort of thing. As long as the account clearly belongs to you and they are not on it, then it's fine.

Thanks so much for the quick response!

I have already been stumped by a question, which is:

What type of visa, leave to enter or remain or other permission do you have to be in the UK?

My choices are Visit, Work, Study, Family, Settlement, Other.

Should my response be Family or Settlement?  I think Family, but want to be sure.

Thanks!

Technically, you have both a Family Visa and a Settlement Visa, so both answers could be correct (I don't really understand why both are an option).

I believe most people have been selecting Family when they've filled out the application.

Thanks!   I selected Family.

It's asking what Friends and Family I have in my country of birth.  I think it's getting at whether I would have a place to stay if my visa were refused.

I will put my parents, siblings and a couple of friends.  Surely they're not asking me to list everyone I know in the US?

It's asking what Friends and Family I have in my country of birth.  I think it's getting at whether I would have a place to stay if my visa were refused

Yes, they ask because if it's the case that your visa falls for refusal and you have to leave the UK, they will look to see what ties and support system you have in the US to help you when you return.

I will put my parents, siblings and a couple of friends.  Surely they're not asking me to list everyone I know in the US?

They want as many people as you can think of.

Start with listing your immediate family, then all extended family members, then all your friends.

Thanks.  I listed immediate family, extended family and friends up to the 1000 character limit.

Here's another question I'm not sure how to answer:

Is this the first time you have applied for a partner route, or an extension, with your current partner (including as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner)?

We obtained a spouse visa in 2019, so I'm thinking I should answer "no".  Is that correct?

Thanks!

Thanks.  I listed immediate family, extended family and friends up to the 1000 character limit.

Here's another question I'm not sure how to answer:

Is this the first time you have applied for a partner route, or an extension, with your current partner (including as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner)?

We obtained a spouse visa in 2019, so I'm thinking I should answer "no".  Is that correct?

Thanks!

No is correct. The first time was your spouse visa.

Thanks.

My husband has a 25 year old child from a prior relationship.

The application asks if my husband has "any other children in the UK that are not applying on this application?"

There's no age mentioned in the question, so I answered Yes. 

It then asks for the child's information including birthdate, birth certificate, address, passport details, the mother's name and address and a utility bill from her home.  It's asking for evidence of the contact the mother has with the child, and evidence of the contact that I have with the child.

Is this required for an adult child?  I thought was only required for children under 18.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

No, you only include dependant children under 18.

They only ask because, in the case that the visa falls for refusal, they will look to see if you have any children under 18 in the UK whose lives would be seriously affected if you had to return to the US.


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Thanks very much for all your helpful responses!

I completed an initial draft of the application.  Here are my questions:

1.  We own our home, but my husband is the only name on the deed.  I responded that I own my home - is that correct?

2.  We don't have a mortgage so I didn't check the box about providing evidence of monthly housing costs.  I assume this is referring to mortgage or rent and not utility or insurance charges?  I checked the box about providing evidence of council tax costs.

3.  On the question “Have you lived with your partner since your marriage” I checked Yes.  But I didn’t move to the UK until about 2 months later when my visa was approved.  So should I check No?

4.  Could you and your partner live outside the UK if necessary?  I checked Yes since we could move to the US.  But since he doesn’t currently have the right to live in the US should the answer be No?

5.  The Finance section has a question asking for the source of my cash savings.  I said it was from the sale of stock I received as part of my compensation during my work at xxx from 1988-2010.  Is that sufficient or should I provide more detail?   It says I need to provide a declaration of the source of funds.  Is this a separate document I would need to attach along with my other documentation?

6.  What type of ceremony was your wedding?  I responded with the name of the officiant, number of guests and our relationship to them and that the ceremony included a poem written by my husband.  Is that sufficient?

7.  I just want to confirm I should check “No” on the question about whether my husband has “any other children in the UK that are not applying on this application?”   His child is 25.  I know they’re getting at whether he has children that need support, but there’s no age caveat in the question.

Thanks again for all your help.

1.  We own our home, but my husband is the only name on the deed.  I responded that I own my home - is that correct?

Yes, that's correct - they mean 'you' as a couple, not you as an individual

2.  We don't have a mortgage so I didn't check the box about providing evidence of monthly housing costs.  I assume this is referring to mortgage or rent and not utility or insurance charges?  I checked the box about providing evidence of council tax costs.

Yes, for the monthly housing costs they mean:
- monthly mortgage payment
and
- monthly council tax payment

So, if you don't have a mortgage, you just provide the council tax document in the housing costs section

3.  On the question “Have you lived with your partner since your marriage” I checked Yes.  But I didn’t move to the UK until about 2 months later when my visa was approved.  So should I check No?

You check YES.

They are basically making sure that you have lived with your partner for the length of your spousal visa, to confirm that you qualify for FLR(M).

So, if you check NO, you are implying that you have never lived with your partner and therefore don't qualify for the visa..

4.  Could you and your partner live outside the UK if necessary?  I checked Yes since we could move to the US.  But since he doesn’t currently have the right to live in the US should the answer be No?

The answer must be YES... because there is nothing stopping him from applying for a US visa, or both of you applying for a visa for any other country in the world.

Suitable reasons for ticking NO, would be:
1) your lives would be in danger if you returned to the US, due to:
- terrorism
- war
- famine
- natural disasters
- domestic abuse
2) your husband is permanently banned from entering the US (i.e. due to criminal convictions or previous refused visas) and will never qualify for a visa to live there
3) it's unlikely you will be granted visas to any other country

5.  The Finance section has a question asking for the source of my cash savings.  I said it was from the sale of stock I received as part of my compensation during my work at xxx from 1988-2010.  Is that sufficient or should I provide more detail?   It says I need to provide a declaration of the source of funds.  Is this a separate document I would need to attach along with my other documentation?

You should provide a separate statement on a sheet of paper stating that the funds are from the sale of stock. You will also need to provide the paperwork to show the stock ownership and sale, plus the deposit into your bank account.

6.  What type of ceremony was your wedding?  I responded with the name of the officiant, number of guests and our relationship to them and that the ceremony included a poem written by my husband.  Is that sufficient?

Too complicated.

All they need to know is the type of ceremony. Was it:
- Religious (Church)
or
- Civil (Registry office)
or
- another type of service

7.  I just want to confirm I should check “No” on the question about whether my husband has “any other children in the UK that are not applying on this application?”   His child is 25.  I know they’re getting at whether he has children that need support, but there’s no age caveat in the question.

That's correct.

The only reason you would include his 25-year-old child is if they are an adult dependant who is completely physically and financially dependent on him (i.e. they cannot look after themselves).

Thanks very much.

The stock sale documentation is a bit tricky because it was a series of transactions that first were paid to a brokerage account, then a different bank account, then my savings account.  This all happened before I applied for my spouse visa and luckily our attorney had me do thorough documentation which I still have.

I'll put that together along with our other documentation and come back with a complete list.

Thanks again.

Thanks for all your responses so far. 

My cash savings are from several sales of stock in 2018 and 2019.  Is it necessary to provide documentation of the sale and deposit into my savings account if it happened several years ago?  I sold it anticipating we'd need it to purchase our home, but we moved further out of London and reduced our budget.  It's several transactions that were first deposited into an intermediary account, then I transferred from that account to my savings account, but the amounts don't match, so the documentation isn't neat and tidy.

Here's a list of my documentation.  I'm really grateful for the advice on the forum to save documentation.  We opened a joint bank account and I asked my husband to request a council tax bill back in May 2020 which is turning out to be really useful.

Application Documents
-  My US passport (all pages)
-  Signed sponsor's declaration
-  Signed consent to checks forms Parts 1 and 2
-  Cover Letter - is this needed?

Proof of Identity
-  Husband's UK passport (all pages)
-  My BRP card (both sides)

Finances
-  Bank Statement 31/12/21 (covers 01/10/21 - 31/12/21)
-  Bank Statement 30/09/21 (covers 01/07/21 - 30/09/21)
-  Bank Statement 30/06/21 (covers 01/04/21 - 30/06/21)
-  Letter from Bank verifying account
-  Statement of source of funds
-  Proof of Sales of Stock and Source of Funds (TBD)

Residence in UK
Accommodation
-  Latest Council Tax Bill (17/03/21)
-  Land Registry Document (04/01/22)

Cohabitation

January 2020
  Applicant:  Bank Statement (07/12/19 - 06/01/20)
  Sponsor:    Insurance Renewal quote 07/01/20  Source 1

May 2020
  Joint:  Council Tax Bill 13/05/20  Source 2

September 2020
  Joint:  Bank Statement (20/07/20 - 19/09/20)  Source 3

January 2021
  Joint:  Bank Statement (20/12/20 - 19/01/21)

May 2021:
  Joint:  Bank Statement (20/04/21 - 19/05/21)

September 2021:
  Joint:  Bank Statement (20/08/21 - 19/09/21)

January 2022:
  Joint:  Water Bill 05/01/22   Source 4

Other
Marriage Certificate (both sides)
Boarding pass & baggage ticket showing travel to UK because of lack of passport stamp.  I'm not sure where I should put this.  Cover letter?

Thanks for your continued support on my application.  I think I'm hitting the home stretch!

Thanks for all your responses so far. 

My cash savings are from several sales of stock in 2018 and 2019.  Is it necessary to provide documentation of the sale and deposit into my savings account if it happened several years ago?  I sold it anticipating we'd need it to purchase our home, but we moved further out of London and reduced our budget.  It's several transactions that were first deposited into an intermediary account, then I transferred from that account to my savings account, but the amounts don't match, so the documentation isn't neat and tidy.

Just reading through the requirements in Appendix FM 1.7 again, it only mentions providing evidence of the stocks/shares if you liquidated them during the 6-month period before applying.

So, I believe you should be okay to just provide a written statement declaring the source of the funds.

Application Documents
-  My US passport (all pages)
-  Signed sponsor's declaration
-  Signed consent to checks forms Parts 1 and 2
-  Cover Letter - is this needed?

A cover letter is not a requirement, but if you have anything you need to explain about the application or the documents you are including... for example, your lack of a passport stamp when you first arrived, you can include one.

If you do include a cover letter, I would put it in the 'Other' documents section.

Other
Marriage Certificate (both sides)
Boarding pass & baggage ticket showing travel to UK because of lack of passport stamp.  I'm not sure where I should put this.  Cover letter?

I would put the boarding pass and baggage ticket in the Other section... along with the cover letter.