FLR Applications.......this may help

[Rob180]

Having recently gone though the mind-numbing experience of attempting to decipher the FLR Govt Guidance Notes and Appendixes,I thought it might be useful for others if I posted some answers in plain English to key questions which I had myself and hopefully have now got correct. Thanks to other forumites also with their assistance in helping clarify many of the subjects below.

English Tests

There are literally dozens of pages on this subject on the Govt website and they are not easy to decipher.

The basic facts are that for FLR the applicant needs to have an A1 English pass in Speaking and Listening issued by a Govt approved test centre. From October 2016, the minimum requirement is changing to A2.

If an applicant has previously obtained an A1 pass at a test centre which is no longer on the Government's approved list (IE: Bulats Test, Vantage Siam), this pass can still be used for the FLR application, providing it was part of a previous family route visa application. IE: If the pass was obtained for an initial Spouse Entry Visa application to the UK, the applicant does NOT have to sit another test. That of course will not apply after October, as the minimum requirement will as stated above, change to A2.

If you do need to take an A1 test you only need to meet A1 standard in Speaking and Listening even if your test has a reading and writing element in it. The A2 test from October will also only assess Speaking and Listening.

FLR VISA FEE

The application fee for FLR is now £811 an increase of £162 on the old fee.

Immigration Health Surcharge

This has been introduced recently. Before sending the FLR application, the applicant must pay this charge. There may be different rates for different people's circumstances, but it appears that the rate when applying for FLR is £500 in most cases. This is a one-off fee, it does not need to be paid again during the 30 months of FLR.

If you apply for FLR without paying this charge first and providing the reference number, your Visa application will be declined. Whether you would also lose the £811 visa fee as well is unclear.

Proof of Residence/Relationship

6 items of correspondence in joint names are required covering the period since the initial entry visa was granted. These need to be from at least 3 different sources. If you only have bills etc in single names, you will need to submit 6 for each person, all showing the same address. If for example you have 4 items in joint names, you can submit these with 2 further items each in single names as long as they all show the same address.

Proof of Employment/Income

As well as meeting the minimum income criteria, the Guidance notes state that the sponsor must provide:

6 months payslips

6 months bank statements showing salary deposits matching the payslips

A letter from the employer (s) stating job, salary, contract etc

and a contract of employment.

The contract of employment is something I did not have to provide with an Entry Visa application in 2013. I'm still trying to get verification of whether this is actually compulsory for FLR as it is yet another added hassle to an already tedious process.

When the FLR Application can be submitted

The application can be sent no earlier than 28 days before the applicant has been in the UK 30 months.

IE: If the applicant came to the UK on April 1st 2014, their 30 months will be completed on September 30th 2016. Hence their FLR application can be submitted on or after September 2nd if their entry visa is expiring in October/November for example. The exact date you may wish to apply is obviously connected to the expiry date of the applicants current Visa.

Total Cost of FLR Application

Immigration Health Care Surcharge: £500

FLR Visa Fee : £811

Biometric Enrolments at PO: £ 19.20

TOTAL: £1330.20

Add to this another £150 if you are in the unfortunate position of having to take an A1 test or can't apply for FLR until November, as an A2 pass will be required by then, making all previous A1 passes unacceptable.

The above is intended as a guide only, please check the Govt immigration rules yourselves to verify all of the above. Hopefully this thread may make the process a bit clearer for anyone applying for FLR.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Rob180

[brewsterbudgen]

Thanks Rob. Presumably it's still possible to meet the financial requirements for FLR from savings, if you're not employed?

[Rob180]

Hi Brewster, I didn't go into all of it as it would have ended up like War and Peace. Yes I'm sure you can still meet the financial requirement through savings, although I'm not sure of the amount you need. I think it's quite high though. Someone else will be able to clarify that for you soon I expect.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Rob180

[GarryUK]

Why can't you quote something from the original post, but you can quote replies? That doesn't make sense!

Thanks for the info Rob180, sadly it's not good reading for us with regard to her A1 test not going to be valid by the time we have to do our FLR in December/January. BTW, the application form/process at the moment only refers to the need for A1, although the "Approved secure English language tests and test centres" list dated 18th May 2016 does indeed start at A2. I found a link to the announcement here.

Anybody know the level required for ILR? And if she takes and passes that level this year, will it be valid when we do ILR in just over 3 years time? I ask the latter as it's always been accepted that you can use the same test that you passed for the initial application for the FLR application even though it would have expired. No point aiming for a higher level if it'll have expired and need to be taken again, especially if the cost goes up relative to the level being taken.

Edited May 25, 2016 by GarryUK

[Rob180]

Hi Garry, the rules are different for ILR. For that, the applicant must pass an English test at B1 level, but only for Speaking and Listening. B1 is a significantly higher level than A1, but as that's nearly 3 years away for your wife, she has enough time to get to that level. If you foresee major difficulties with that, then the best thing would be for her to enrol in English classes. There are free community based one's now in many cities. They would assess her current level and advise how much tuition she would need to get to B1 level.

For ILR, applicants must also pass the ridiculous Life In The UK Test which contains utterly stupid questions like... which book was wriitten by Jane Austen? And.... what is the national flower of Wales?. Such questions are clearly essential for a Thai citizen to know if they are going to integrate into UK society.

The UK Govt are so keen apparently for people to be able to learn English that they put the clause 'no recourse to public funds' on both Entry and FLR visas which actually means you cannot attend College to learn English unless you pay the full course tuition fees at Overseas Rate which is way too expensive for most people. The clause below rules people out, unless they have been in the UK for 3 YEARS prior to the start of their course. That makes a mockery of the Govt's trumpeting of the need for people to learn English. It's just a totally ridiculous contradiction.

© you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the full three year period before the first day of the first academic year of the course - eg, if your course begins in October 2016 you must have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands from 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2016.

I think a B1 pass obtained this year would still be acceptable in 3 years, but I wouldn't worry about that just now. If you have doubts about your wife passing A2, I would get her on some English classes soon and by January she would surely pass it.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Rob180

[brewsterbudgen]

It seems strange that the B1 test for ILR is only Listening and Speaking, yet presumably the Life in the UK test requires a high level of reading comprehension (and possibly writing?).

[GarryUK]

Her English is fine, it's the additional cost we are going to have to pay that doesn't make good reading.

[Rob180]

Strange would be an understatement. Although I expect reading and writing will become part of the B1 test at some point as the Government continue on their crusade to make everything as difficult as possible for someone from outwith the EU to get visas.

The Life in the UK Test is 24 multiple choice questions based on a book. The PASS mark is 75%. Rather difficult to learn if you cannot read and write English. The Govt may argue that you have 2.5 years to learn between FLR and ILR and yes that may be enough time to learn it by attending English classes if necessary, but to me it's just a load of nonsense created to make obtaining ILR as difficult as possible as well as adding yet more expense to the process.

I

[bobrussell]

The crusade is not about making it difficult to get ILR although there is no reason why such an important process should be that simple.

One of the main ideas is to make every applicant able to communicate adequately in English. The concern seems to stem from certain communities where English language skills are non existent years after arrival in the UK. Basic communication skills can only be beneficial and assist some degree of integration.

I very much doubt that the British/Thai community is high on the concerns list. They tend to be more than happy to integrate.

Having to learn the information in the LitUK book may appear pointless to some but my sister in law (took the test) is far more aware of British history than my wife, who did not take the test. She worked hard to pass and had post it notes all over the house, with reminders and notes! She also was very proud to complete each stage of her route to naturalisation and is booking her passport interview at the moment.

I can see nothing wrong with settlers being made to improve their skills as they progress through the process. The cost is another story!

[GarryUK]

Long way off, but just a thought....

What happens if they fail the Life In The UK test? And how soon can you sit it so as to allow time for retake(s)?

[Rob180]

Not sure about dates Garry, but I think you can re-sit it until you pass it.

[Trevor1809]

Op whilst you correctly state that the health surcharge is £500 that did not stop the Home Office forcing me to pay £2000 before I could get a fast track visa appointment for my wife.

This matter has been referred to the Parliamentary Ombudsman but to be honest the Ombudsman has shown little interest in investigating the mal administration by the Home Office.

[Rob180]

Just an update on the information in my initial post:

Contracts of Employment: It appears that this is not necessary if you provide the required bank statements and payslips which show the required level of income over the 6 months prior to date of application along with a letter from your employer which confirms your job, length of contract and salary etc.

All documents: the guidance notes state all documents must be originals, but there is a clause in an appendix which explains what you should do if you don't have the originals:

Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence

Family members - specified evidence

1. (e) Where the decision-maker is satisfied that there is a valid reason why a specified document(s) cannot be supplied, e.g. because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost, he or she may exercise discretion not to apply the requirement for the document(s) or to request alternative or additional information or document(s) be submitted by the applicant.
2. (f) Before making a decision under Appendix FM or this Appendix, the decision-maker may contact the applicant or their representative in writing or otherwise to request further information or documents. The material requested must be received at the address specified in the request within a reasonable timescale specified in the request.

From that, it appears they can waive the requirement for a particular original document, however it appears that the best thing to do is to get a certified copy from an Amphur, which is what I intend to do for a lost original birth certificate. (Or wherever it is you need the original document from).

I will update this thread through the process of completing and submitting the application (early Sep approximately).

The only thing I can say that's good about this process and the FLR M Guidance Notes is that I'll never have to do another one.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Rob180

[Rob180]

I am now at the point of having to obtain certified birth certificates from an Amphur in Thailand which will have to be mailed to the UK, as emailed/scanned certificates would apparently be classed as 'copies'. Fortunately I will be able to get these, but I'm not sure what they expect people to do who DON'T have anyone in Thailand to obtain and mail them? Once they are here they are going to a translation agency as the Home Office appear to be unable to pay someone multi-lingual to read a birth certificate......more hassle, more expense.

[crazydrummerpauly]

On 25/05/2016 at 2:18 PM, Rob180 said:

Hi Brewster, I didn't go into all of it as it would have ended up like War and Peace. Yes I'm sure you can still meet the financial requirement through savings, although I'm not sure of the amount you need. I think it's quite high though. Someone else will be able to clarify that for you soon I expect.

From reading up a while back, if things haven't changed, then the financial requirements for the FLR are no different to those for the initial Leave to Enter requirements.  This is because they are both based on 2.5 years in the UK.  The savings required if there is NO income at all would therefore be £62,500 - from£18,600 x 2.5 Plus £16,000.  When there is income, or incomes from both partners,  take the combined annual incomes from £18,600, and divide by 2.5, then add £16,000 to get the savings element required if both inomes fall short of the £18,600.  If this is out of date, please correct me.  (If the combined incomes pass the £18,600 matk there is no need for savings of course.)

A different part - when it first came onto the scene, i thought the NHS surcharge was £200 a year and every part-year would be charged as a whole year, so the 2.5 years would cost £200 x 3, £600 not £500 ?  Is that wrong ?

Edited August 2, 2016 by crazydrummerpauly

[crazydrummerpauly]

On 24/07/2016 at 9:03 AM, Rob180 said:

Just an update on the information in my initial post:

Contracts of Employment: It appears that this is not necessary if you provide the required bank statements and payslips which show the required level of income over the 6 months prior to date of application along with a letter from your employer which confirms your job, length of contract and salary etc.

All documents: the guidance notes state all documents must be originals, but there is a clause in an appendix which explains what you should do if you don't have the originals:

Immigration Rules Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence

Family members - specified evidence

1. (e) Where the decision-maker is satisfied that there is a valid reason why a specified document(s) cannot be supplied, e.g. because it is not issued in a particular country or has been permanently lost, he or she may exercise discretion not to apply the requirement for the document(s) or to request alternative or additional information or document(s) be submitted by the applicant.
2. (f) Before making a decision under Appendix FM or this Appendix, the decision-maker may contact the applicant or their representative in writing or otherwise to request further information or documents. The material requested must be received at the address specified in the request within a reasonable timescale specified in the request.

 

From that, it appears they can waive the requirement for a particular original document, however it appears that the best thing to do is to get a certified copy from an Amphur, which is what I intend to do for a lost original birth certificate. (Or wherever it is you need the original document from).

 

I will update this thread through the process of completing and submitting the application (early Sep approximately).

 

The only thing I can say that's good about this process and the FLR M Guidance Notes is that I'll never have to do another one.

I'm not 100% sure, but i have read threads where those paragraphs have been treated as no longer reliable ways to proceed.  They are seen as very Pre-July 2012 and the draconian changes on that date.  So that the cautiious / paranoid approach now (mine) is to NOT assume there will be any second chance to supply originals or missing docs - basically, get everything into the first submission or risk a prompt refusal with no contact from the ECO to ask for missing docs.  By the way, the difference between the UK culture on immigration and the Australian way of doing things is huge.  There an applicant is connected to a named officer - an actual human being - working as a 'case officer' and giving feedback rather than just a cold hard Yes or No.

Edited August 2, 2016 by crazydrummerpauly

[7by7]

12 hours ago, Rob180 said:

I am now at the point of having to obtain certified birth certificates from an Amphur in Thailand which will have to be mailed to the UK, as emailed/scanned certificates would apparently be classed as 'copies'. Fortunately I will be able to get these, but I'm not sure what they expect people to do who DON'T have anyone in Thailand to obtain and mail them? Once they are here they are going to a translation agency as the Home Office appear to be unable to pay someone multi-lingual to read a birth certificate......more hassle, more expense.

A little bit of forethought would have avoided the hassle and expense.

When my wife and step daughter came to the UK we brought their birth certificates, my wife's divorce certificate, our marriage certificate plus certified translations of each with us as we were certain they would be needed for various purposes in the UK; which, of course, they were; and not just their LTR and citizenship applications.

The Home Office, like all other government departments, does not have any money of it's own; the money comes from the taxpayer. Why should the taxpayer pay for translating documents supplied by visa and LTR applicants?

[7by7]

51 minutes ago, crazydrummerpauly said:

From reading up a while back, if things haven't changed, then the financial requirements for the FLR are no different to those for the initial Leave to Enter requirements.  This is because they are both based on 2.5 years in the UK.  The savings required if there is NO income at all would therefore be £62,500 - from£18,600 x 2.5 Plus £16,000.  When there is income, or incomes from both partners,  take the combined annual incomes from £18,600, and divide by 2.5, then add £16,000 to get the savings element required if both inomes fall short of the £18,600.  If this is out of date, please correct me.  (If the combined incomes pass the £18,600 matk there is no need for savings of course.)

A different part - when it first came onto the scene, i thought the NHS surcharge was £200 a year and every part-year would be charged as a whole year, so the 2.5 years would cost £200 x 3, £600 not £500 ?  Is that wrong ?

You are essentially correct on the financial requirement.

It is the same for FLR and the initial visa, and savings over £16,000 can be used to reduce the amount of income required.

The difference being that if using income, for the initial visa only the sponsor's income can be used, whereas for FLR it can be the sponsor's, the applicant's or a combination of both.

The same for ILR, except that if using savings all savings can be used, not just those above £16,000.

The health surcharge is £200 p.a., rounded up to the next 6 months. So for FLR it is £200 x 2.5 = £500.

 

[crazydrummerpauly]

Hi 7x7.  Unless this old table is now out of date, then as far as i can see the big difference at the ILR stage, is not that the £16,000 is not taken off savings, but that the financial cover only needs to be for 1 Year, not 2.5.  So for example in the table, column 'Amount Which Can Be Used' second from right, Row 4 (£25,000), the amount of income needed is only £9,600, because it is not divided by 2.5 yrs.  But the £16,000 is still deducted from the total savings to get the amount that can be set against the £18,600.  Hope this is still correct, i am aware of how regularly things change.

.picasa.ini

Edited August 2, 2016 by crazydrummerpauly

[TCA]

That's correct Pauly. Appendix FM 1.7 confirms that:

At the indefinite leave to remain stage, the whole of the amount above £16,000 can be used. And the following equation is to be used:

(x minus 16,000) = y

Where x is the total amount of cash savings held by the applicant, their partner, or both jointly for at least the 6 months prior to the date of application and under their control. And y is the amount which can be used towards the financial requirement.

Therefore to meet the financial requirement of £18,600 at ILR, £34,600 cash is required. Why they didn't use this figure in the table you inserted in your post I don't know. Instead of saying if you have savings of £33,000 then you need another £1,600 of income.

 

[crazydrummerpauly]

57 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

You are essentially correct on the financial requirement.

It is the same for FLR and the initial visa, and savings over £16,000 can be used to reduce the amount of income required.

The difference being that if using income, for the initial visa only the sponsor's income can be used, whereas for FLR it can be the sponsor's, the applicant's or a combination of both.

The same for ILR, except that if using savings all savings can be used, not just those above £16,000.

The health surcharge is £200 p.a., rounded up to the next 6 months. So for FLR it is £200 x 2.5 = £500.

 

Hi - i'm confused on the NHS charge.  I paid this for initial entry clearance - 

Description: Immigration Health Surcharge Payment
Unit price: $912.00 USD
Qty: 1
Amount: $912.00 USD

And the conversion now from US$ to GBP is this :  $912 = £688.855.

Have i been robbed or ... ?

 

[Rob180]

5 hours ago, crazydrummerpauly said:

 

Hi - i'm confused on the NHS charge.  I paid this for initial entry clearance - 

Description: Immigration Health Surcharge Payment Unit price: $912.00 USD Qty: 1 Amount: $912.00 USD

And the conversion now from US$ to GBP is this :  $912 = £688.855.

Have i been robbed or ... ?

 

No idea why it's £688 unless the currency has devalued by £188. Being 'robbed' is in my opinion part of this whole process, but I won't bother going into that.

 

Thanks for the info about 'missing' documents. I'm going to get things certified.

 

This FLR process reminds me of when I was 16 and the foreman used to give me the worst jobs possible if he saw I was inactive. One day he ordered me to cut the grass outside the factory which was about 2 square miles with a 12 inch flymo. It was mind-numbing, boring, repetitive, tiring, tedious, hair-tearing and never-ending......much the same as an FLR application, but at least it didn't cost £1311.

 

 

5 hours ago, crazydrummerpauly said:

 

 

[Rob180]

On 8/2/2016 at 0:26 PM, crazydrummerpauly said:

Hi - i'm confused on the NHS charge.  I paid this for initial entry clearance - 

Description: Immigration Health Surcharge Payment
Unit price: $912.00 USD
Qty: 1
Amount: $912.00 USD

And the conversion now from US$ to GBP is this :  $912 = £688.855.

Have i been robbed or ... ?

 

 I have now fortunately managed to obtain ORIGINAL certificates for the application, so I no longer need to worry about which type of copies would have been acceptable. I think this is still an issue which would be good for people to have clarified. The guidance notes and appendices refer to certified copies being acceptable, but they don't specify if that means the original certified paper copy which would have to be mailed from Thailand OR whether that document scanned and emailed would be acceptable.

 

I now need to have the certificates translated to English then this application should be completed and ready to go on time within the next 2 weeks. Here is a list of what is going to be sent along with the application form (Category A: salaried employment route)

 

1. Marriage certificate, with translation.

2. Divorce certificates if either person has been previously married, with translations.

3. Birth certificates of applicant's children, whether part of FLR application or not, with translations.

4. A1 English pass certificates. (from October it's A2)

5. Proof of accommodation - mortgage statement and 2 letters from mortgage company.

6. 6 months original bank statements prior to application date

7. 6 months original payslips prior to application date, showing name of employer.

8. Letter from employer stating length of employment, annual salary, type of contract, salary during the 6 months pre date of application.

9. 6 pieces of correspondence in joint names, IE bills, medical letters etc.

10. Passport of applicant.

11. Passport of sponsor (or copy of every page)

12. 2 passport photos of applicant with full name on back.

13. 1 passport photo of sponsor with full name on back.

14. Immigration Healthcare Surcharge Number, £500 fee to be paid BEFORE submitting application.

15. Cover letter expanding on anything if necessary

 

 

If there is anything NOT on that list anyone thinks I need to add, please let me know......thanks.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2016 by Rob180

[TCA]

On the subject of copies, I'd say that anything that is emailed, scanned or photocopied is a copy. My interpretation is that the only way that any of these can be used is if they are then certified. If you then use an emailed version of the certified copy, then that's just another copy in my book, but if there are reasonable circumstances preventing the applicant from using the 'original' certified copy, then I'd have thought an explanatory note would suffice.

 

All in my humble opinion.