Hi,

My partners FLR visa expires on 26.02.09. He is not in a position to take his life in the Uk test so applying for FLR again.

I thought the application for renewal had to be made 28 days before his visa expired, i.e 29.01.08, I am sure I read this on the UK boarders site but can't find it again. I know on the form it does say application before the current visa expires. Am I confusing ILR visa applications with FLR applications.

When I rang to book a personal appointment as have read that its taking a long time for postal application the help line said the earliest he could renew was 28 days before so made the appointment for the 9th February.

Can anyone confirm that for a FLR(M) we do not need to do this 28 days before the visa expires as whilst not wanting to be disrespectful not sure I can trust 100% what I've been told

For any application to extend leave to remain you must apply before the current leave expires. The application can be made up to 28 days before the expiry date.

Yes, postal applications do seem to take a long time to be processed. However, once the application has been made his current leave will be automatically extended until the application has been decided. So you do not need to worry about him being in the UK without leave to remain, provided you post it in time.

Therefore, unless you or he need your passports back quickly, why give the government an extra £200? The cost of these applications is a big enough rip off as it is without paying extra when you don't have to.

Post it.