Uk Settlement

[guru]

Whilst reading through some of the other posts, I’ve noticed that 3 months is the maximum time that a settlement visa can be postdated.

We will request the visa to be postdated in the covering letter and application form which will be for May 1st 2007.

So lets say, the visa was applied for on the first working day of January and the visa was granted in an unusually fast time on January 5th.

Would this mean the visa commence date would be April 5th with a further 28 days to utilize it, i.e. allowing entrance into the UK on May 1st?

[GU22]

Not quite

The 'extra 28 days' is not a time limit on first entering the UK. One can make one's first entry at any time before the visa expires.

However, to convert a spouse visa to ILR one must:

1) be resident in the UK with a valid visa/leave to remain.

2) have been resident in the UK for 2 years.

So, if one delays the first entry for too long the spouse visa can expire before one has been resident for the required 2 years.

One can apply for ILR up to 28 days before the 2nd anniversary of one's first entry, but the spouse visa must still be valid when one applies. It doesn't matter if it expires before the 2nd anniversary as long as it is valid when one makes the application. Once the application has been made the original visa will be automatically extended until the ILR decision has been made.

If entry to the UK is delayed for more than this 28 days after the date of the visa then it will expire before one can make the ILR application. So one will have to apply for Further Leave to Remain in order to cover the gap, because one must have a valid leave to remain when making the ILR application.

Applications for both FLR and ILR currently cost £335 by post or £500 in person. Paying this exorbitant fee is to be avoided, so one should time the initial spouse visa application accordingly.

This timing is not so important with a fiance visa, which will need to be converted to FLR after the marriage has taken place anyway. However, one needs to remember that fiance visas are only valid for 6 months. The marriage in the UK and FLR application must be made before the visa expires as it cannot be extended except in the most exceptional of circumstances.

If asking for the visa commencement date to be postponed, one should check the visa carefully when receiving it. Unfortunately requests to postpone visa dates can be overlooked, and mistakes cannot be rectified later.

Edited November 25, 2006 by GU22