Further Leave to Remain Timing Question

[djdigman]

Hi all

 

My wife has now been living in England for coming up to 2 1/2 years and her Spouse Visa/leave to remain is due to expire in September - 9th Sept. to be precise

 

What is the earliest she should apply for FLR M?  I have heard that up to 3 months before is OK? However,presumably it is better to do it as close to to the expiration date as possible so as to ensure that the next 30 month period takes you over 5 years (for ILR purposes).

 

Any help appreciated as always.

 

Regards

 

Michael

[Elad]

Hi

Can you give us the exact date your wife first entered the UK?

[rasg]

3 hours ago, djdigman said:

What is the earliest she should apply for FLR M?  I have heard that up to 3 months before is OK? However,presumably it is better to do it as close to to the expiration date as possible so as to ensure that the next 30 month period takes you over 5 years (for ILR purposes).

I think you'll find it's 28 days. Because the whole process is now digital I would leave it until the day before expiry or the day of expiry but that's just me. NO chance that I would think about applying early and having ILR refused for the sake of a day or two. If you were trying to avoid a visa price rise I could understand why you would want to apply, but it's the only reason I can think of. We did exactly that for my wife a few weeks ago and her new BRP arrived in less than five weeks.

[djdigman]

10 hours ago, Elad said:

Hi

Can you give us the exact date your wife first entered the UK?

17th December 2016. It appears she was given 33 months as, like I said, expiry on her residents permit is 9th Sept this year.

[Elad]

Your wife can apply for FLR from 12 August (28 days before expiry). She will be given a further 30 months which should start from 9 September 2019 and expire on 9 march 2022. 

 

If your wife entered the UK 17 December 2016, then she will be time qualified to apply for ILR from 19 November 2021 (60 months less 28 days).

 

 

[djdigman]

Many thanks for the reply.  Is there any strict rule which states I must wait until 28 days before expiration of the visa?  Would I not be OK submitting the visa in the next few weeks knowing now that I would be over the 5 year ILR threshold, should it the 30 FLR be granted.

 

I ask as my wife is currently 8 months pregnant and due end of July.  If I wait until August, chances are that the baby will have been born and it is just more paperwork etc to have to fill out.  I'm fortunate in that the financial side of things etc. isn't an issue .   It's more having to sort birth certificates etc.

[Elad]

Hi

UK Visas & Immigration always recommend applying 28 days before the expiry date, as this will ensure FLR is 30 months from the expiry date. However, there's nothing stopping you from applying before the 28 days as long as it doesn't affect your wife's ILR application, and in your case i think you could actually apply from today 17 June giving you an expiry of 17 December 2021. Maybe wait until the end of the month just to be on the safe side.

 

Can someone confirm that I'm correct in saying this?   

[rasg]

My only comment would be this. Are you sure that the extra three months that is added on to the initial settlement visa is part of the time that can be used as time towards ILR? So many things are not. My wife's six month settlement (Fiancée) visa is not and I have been told that the time between applying for FLR and the actual decision is not. The extra three months on a 33 month settlement visa, if you get married in Thailand, is to get affairs in order before the move to the UK. Just asking the question as I don't know.

[Elad]

Hi rasg

I can confidently say that the time used towards the ILR application starts from the initial entry stamp that was stamped by an immigration officer on entering the UK.

djdigman's wife entered the UK on 17 December 2016, therefore she is time qualified to apply for ILR from 19 November 2021, which is 5 years less 28 days.

[rasg]

That's fine then but why anybody feels the need to apply early, unless a price rise is coming up, is beyond me.

[djdigman]

On 6/17/2019 at 9:51 PM, rasg said:

That's fine then but why anybody feels the need to apply early, unless a price rise is coming up, is beyond me.

In our case it's really to avoid having to go to the visa centre a few weeks after giving birth.

 

Thanks for input both.

[globalThailand]

On 6/17/2019 at 9:51 PM, rasg said:

That's fine then but why anybody feels the need to apply early, unless a price rise is coming up, is beyond me.

Good question... I considered doing so myself but I think that's because things were not so clear to me a while back.  My reasoning was the decision could take 8 weeks and, if we applied 28 days before the current visa expired, my wife could potentially be overstaying.  Fortunately that's not the case as I understand the current leave to remain is automatically extended until a decision is made on the FLR application.

 

Actually that does beg the question-- once the forms are submitted and the applicant is waiting on a result, what happens if your wife is asked to produce an 'expired' BRP?

 

BTW-- congrats to the OP on the imminent arrival ????