FLR (M) : My experience of it and some information which may help

[Rob180]

I have recently submitted an FLR (M) application for my wife which was granted without any issues. However, to be honest, the contradictions and undecipherable codswallop in the 'Guidance' Notes would have driven me crazy if it were not for the help of many other people on this forum........so thank you to all who assisted me in threads and in private messages.

 

If anyone is having problems with this process please feel free to ask me any questions here or in private messages. I will update this thread in the next few days and list everything I submitted with the application for the benefit of others. Hopefully it will save people countless hours trying to decipher the application, guidance notes and the Government website which I found as useful as an ash tray on a motorbike.

 

Before I provide details of what I submitted there are a few things to be aware of before you even start to complete the application:

 

1. If you haven't done so already, start collecting utility bills and letters such as from hospitals/medical appointments/tax offices and any others which have your spouse's and your own name on them. If you don't have any in joint names, create some by getting your spouse's name put on them and/or collect any that are in your spouse's sole name.

 

2. All documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates etc that are in Thai require to be translated to English and the translations certified as authentic/genuine by a professional translation agency. If you have a translated document that has not been certified they will not accept it. This can all take time, so as soon as you know what documents and translations you need the better.

 

3. Before you send the FLR (M) application you must pay the NHS Surcharge of £500 for the forthcoming 2.5 year extension of leave to remain and provide the reference number on the application form.

 

4. The minimum English requirement for FLR is now A2, so if your spouse has an A1 pass only, they will have to sit another test and pass at A2 or above before submitting the FLR application.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Rob180

[Martyjustice]

FLR-M. Must be a Brit thing. Not Forward Looking Radar. Something like an Immigrant Visa?


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[Aranyrammie]

Hi Rob180. When did they change it to A2? I must have blinked.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[7by7]

17 minutes ago, Aranyrammie said:

Hi Rob180. When did they change it to A2? I must have blinked.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

 

The change was announced in January 2016, New A2 English requirement in the family route; although that announcement didn't give an actual date for the change, just saying it would not be implemented before October 2016.

 

From A2 English language requirement for the family route. Statement of intent regarding changes to the Immigration Rules

Quote

5. The new A2 English language requirement for non-EEA national partners and parents applying for further leave to remain on the family route will be introduced from 1 May 2017.  It will apply to those required to apply for further leave to remain on a 5-year route to settlement as a partner or parent on or after that date.  This statement of intent provides details about the new requirement, the speaking and listening qualifications which applicants can use to meet it, the approved tests available and the exemptions which will apply.

(7by7 emphasis)

 

[Aranyrammie]

And my wife nervous enough already! I'll have to pick my moment to tell her.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[stuartsko]

Took my wife to Leeds in December to do her A2, very similar to the A1 but she had to tell the assessor a little bit about her life in the U.K. I.e., where she works, what I do for work, what she enjoys doing in her spare time.. she passed it with no problems, as I'm sure any Thai that has spent a few years living in England would. I would tell your partners they have nothing to worry about.

[Rob180]

Apologies about the A1/A2 confusion. I typed in October 16 by mistake, it is in fact May 17 the implementation date for A2 as pointed out above by 7by7.  

 

I also apologise for not updating this thread sooner, other events prevented me having the time to do it. It should be updated with the FLR application information in the next few days.

 

Cheers

Edited April 2, 2017 by Rob180

[Rob180]

Below is the list of documents/evidence I submitted for the FLR application, income requirement met through salaried employment:

 

Prior to submitting the FLR (M) form you must pay the Immmigration Health Charge which is £500 and once you have done this, the reference number must be stated on the application form.

 

1.   FLR (M) application form, with payment of the VISA FEE, which is now up to £993.

2.   Marriage Certificate with certified Thai translation.

3.   Own divorce certificate.

4.   Wife's divorce certificate (translated to English and certified as genuine by Translation Agency in UK)

5.   Wife's English pass certificates. 

6.   Birth certificates for wife's child/children (translated to English and certified as genuine by Translation Agency in UK))

7.   6 household bills in joint names spread over past 2 years

8.   Own original bank statements for previous 6 months, most recent of which  not to be more than 28 days old.

9.   Own original payslips for previous 6 months, showing employer's name,most recent of which  not to be more than 28 days old.

10. Recent letter from employer confirming my job title, salary, job contract and time in employment.

11. Recent mortgage statements, for proof of accommodation.

12. Both our passports were submitted.

13. Cover letter explaining anything which was not fully explained on the application form.

14. 2/3 additional household bills each, in sole names (not required if you have 6 in joint, but I sent them anyway).

15. 2 passport photos of applicant  (check guidance regarding acceptable size/format)

16. 1 passport photo of spouse/sponsor (check guidance regarding acceptable size/format)

 

 

My wife's application was processed and approved surprisingly quickly. It took about 4 weeks from date of submission. Once the application is submitted, you will receive a letter advising the applicant to enrol their biometrics at a Post Office. This process was straightforward and cost about £20. Expect to have to join a queue though. Only certain main post offices can enrol biometrics so phoning about to check where your nearest one is will save you wasting time travelling. If you don't live in a big city you may find you will have to go to one to complete this process as not all towns have POs that can provide the biometrics service.

 

All documents you submit in Thai, must be accompanied by English translations. The translations must also be certified as genuine by a translation agency or they will not be accepted. That means you must take/email your documents to a translation agency for certification. This is an added hassle, but it was not particularly expensive and the company I used were efficient and excellent. Not sure if I can name them here, but if anyone wants the company's name, please send me a message.

 

The FLR (M) application form and Guidance Notes are 2 documents I'll be happy never to see again. Neither are particularly clear and the Guidance Notes actually contain contradictory statements, including some which are on the same page. Allow yourself plenty of time to start working on this form. Personally I found the Guidance Notes worse than useless and without the help of other forumites in here I would certainly have torn my hair out long ago.

 

I hope that this post is helpful to anyone applying for FLR in the future.

 

Cheers

Edited April 25, 2017 by Rob180
add visa fee

[rasg]

Good info for anybody needing FLR. The minimum pass for English is CEFR A2 after 17th May. The number that is provided for the English test is more important than the actual certificate as they check online.

 

Royal Mail list the POs that do biometrics on their website.

 

 

[7by7]

2 hours ago, Rob180 said:

Once the application is submitted, you will receive a letter advising the applicant to enrol their biometrics at a Post Office. This process was straightforward and cost about £20. Expect to have to join a queue though. Only certain main post offices can enrol biometrics so phoning about to check where your nearest one is will save you wasting time travelling.

 You can find the nearest Post Office offering this service by using their Branch Finder and checking "Home Office Biometric Enrolment" in the "Refine branch services (optional" drop down box.

 

2 hours ago, Rob180 said:

All documents you submit in Thai, must be accompanied by English translations. The translations must also be certified as genuine by a translation agency or they will not be accepted. That means you must take/email your documents to a translation agency for certification

 The certified translations used for the initial visa application can be used again for both FLR and ILR applications, even if they were done in Thailand; they can also be used for a British citizenship application and any other official purpose in the UK. There is no need to get new ones.

 

2 hours ago, Rob180 said:

The FLR (M) application form and Guidance Notes are 2 documents I'll be happy never to see again. Neither are particularly clear and the Guidance Notes actually contain contradictory statements, including some which are on the same page.

One of the problems being that the same form is used by several categories of applicant; including those on the old 2 year route, i.e. those who made their initial spouse/partner visa application before 9th July 2012,  those on the current 5 year route, i.e. those who applied for their initial spouse/partner visa on or after 9th July 2012, and those who entered the UK with a fiance visa and are now applying for FLR after the marriage.

 

So not all parts of the form and guidance will be relevant to all applicants and both require careful reading to find out which parts are relevant to you and which are not.

 

2 hours ago, Rob180 said:

I hope that this post is helpful to anyone applying for FLR in the future.

Very; thank you.

[Rob180]

Thanks, I hope this at least gives others the basis of what's required. If you already have documents such as divorce and birth certificates translated from Thai and certified, the process is a bit less of a pain. Unfortunately, all my wife's originals were still in Thailand which increased the difficulties, but it's all went through ok in the end.

 

Thanks again to 7by7, RASG and others in here who helped with the process. Without the help of this forum I think I would have cracked up!

Edited May 21, 2017 by Rob180