INDEFINATE LEAVE TO REMAIN OR SPOUSAL VISA EXTENSION ?

Casa wrote:

CR001 wrote:

ellingham84 wrote:@casa and @cr001, just wanted to say from someone who has gone through the spouse visa and now in the process of flrm I have read through a huge number of posts on this site and both of your contributions and answers have always been really helpful to myself and my wife - thanks!
I also enjoy the interaction between you two, especially the 'speedy fingers' comments!
Keep up the great work!

Thank you for your lovely words It is always nice to hear appreciation than the flak we usually get.

...and thanks from me. It makes up for a fairly frustrating day on the forum.

Absolutely +++1111

Dear CR001,

Thank you so so very much for your replies and patience with the replies. I very much appreciate your kindness, guidance and help - thank you.

My pending questions for your kind advice are as follows ... blush ... (feel very stupid / silly as I need so much guidance .. blush ..)

- Shade blue are the needs from the FLR (M) document.

SECTION 9 : BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE PERMIT

9.6 : Place of Issue[/color]
- In my Residence Permit, it states place of visit as UK without stating any towns / centres.
- Shall I just write United Kingdom in the column ?

9.11 Have you had your fingerprints taken as part of the previous UK immigration application made in the UK or abroad ?
- It is a Yes or No question.
- I can't remember the answer to this ?
- My residence permit was obtained in August 2013. I remember having to go to the post office for the working of the permit. I can't remember if a my fingerprints were taken then. And I can't remember if my fingerprints were taken in my first application from my home country.
- From your experience and with the year my Spousal Visa was obtained (2013) - is a finger print taken
then ? Or is there anywhere I can contact to get this info ?

9.21 Declaration : As required by the Immigration (Biometric Registration) Regulations 2008 (as amended) I confirm that I also apply for a biometric immigration document for myself and any dependants applying with me. If I am a sole applicant under the age of 16, orif any dependant child under the age of 16 is applying with me, I understand that the Home Office may make enquiries about any responsible adult nominated to be present when my / their fingerprints and / or a photograph are taken.
(TO SIGN AND DATE)
- this is to be signed and dated by me, yes, even if I am applying without children or dependants ?

SECTION 10 : PERSONAL HISTORY

10.12 : Please state what ties you have with
* the country you was born
* any other country whose nationality you hold
* any country where you have lived for more that 5 years
* You should tell us about any family, friends, or other connections with that country.
- I have my family in the country I was born. And I have my friends too. Do I write
FAMILY AND SOCIAL TIES ? And if yes, do I state the names of my family members and friends (very close ones only of course) ? Or probably to uncomplicate things, I just state FAMILY TIES and then write down the names of my nearest family to me (siblings) ?

OTHER QUESTIONS :
1) I think what I will do is to apply for the Extension of my Spousal Visa myself to safe cost. And I will apply in person. Looking through the payment options, it states that should I use a Debit Card for payment, the Debit Card has to be Delta / Maestro. And for Credit Card, it can be Visa, Mastercard / American Express (Amex). The thing is, my Debit Card is a Visa debit card. Will this be ok ?

2) In the payment detail, it states that I have to write my full name. In Malaysia, and for a Chinese - our surname comes first. It is then followed by our first and second names. Example Chin (Surname) Sue (First Name) Lin (Second name). This is the way our passport states as well. In this section, do I work as how is stated in my passport ? Or work with First name, Second name and then Surname ?

3) Just incase I have to call the UK Visas and Immigration - do you have their contact details for my contacting them ? I also wonder if I can go and see them for them to check my documents and forms before the day of my submitting them ?

4) I will be taking my English Language test soon. After that, I will ensure I pay for my Immigration Health Surcharge. I hope to make an appointment for my application in person this week. Could you advice - is the waiting period for an interview long or there could be one a week or so for me to choose from ?

Looking forward to kind feedback. And thank you again in advance for all the advices.

ps : Did you used to work for the Visas and Immigration department ? You are so very knowledgable ...

Dear CR001, CASA, I am very happy to inform that I have sat for a spoken test and have passed the test. The test certificate will arrive in about 1 week. It is now time for me to work on my visa extension application. I think I am quite ready for it.

Some final pointers (hopefully) hoping for your advices :

1) Question to answer in the application form :
9.11 Have you had your fingerprints taken as part of the previous UK immigration application made in the UK or abroad ?
- It is a Yes or No question.
- I can't remember the answer to this ?
- My residence permit was obtained in August 2013. I remember having to go to the post office for the working of the permit. I can't remember if a my fingerprints were taken then. And I can't remember if my fingerprints were taken in my first application from my home country.
- From your experience and with the year my Spousal Visa was obtained (2013) - is a finger print taken
then ? Or is there anywhere I can contact to get this info ?

2) My visa expires on the 1st March 2016. I am planning to book for a meeting with the Visa and Immigration organization and apply in person next week. Probably the meeting would be the last week before my visa expires. Is the timing that I plan ok ? Or do I have to do it earlier ?

3) I am looking to reprint the right documents for my filling again - for the actual application. Please could you confirm that the below documents from the website are the right ones to print and work on ?
https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family/apply
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _11-15.pdf

4) Very importantly, I can print the documents and fill them out with manually, yes, by writing all the infos needed ?

5) Below are the step by step I discover. Please could you advice I have the right steps ? And if I have missed out on anything, please could you add ?
- To pay for my Immigration Health fees online.
- To then pay for the visa fees and then apply for an individual appointment for speed application.
- To attend the appointment with filled forms and all the needed documents.

6) Below are the documents I have prepared. Please could you advice if there are any thing I have missed out or can attach (even without being asked) to ensure I present all the documents rightly and correctly ?
- My current passport.
- Passport I have held while in the UK (past passport).
- Husband's passport.
- Residence permit.
- Husband's salary slip (is this sufficient ?)
- Proof of us staying together (6 docs each of me and my husband, spread over 2 years with 3 sources)
- English language certificate.

Feeling so nervous about the whole thing. Please could you advice me on anything at all - what to avoid, what I must do, etc ?

Thank you again for your kind help.

1. Yes, you would have had to do this previously for your spouse visa. Writing month/year is fine.

2. Timing is fine. It is not a meeting or interview, you merely submit your documents, they check everything and make a decision. You should try book your appointment as soon as possible. Availability is not guaranteed.

3. Apply to remain is correct. Your second link does not work. It is form FLR(M) that you need.

4) Yes

5) I am not familiar with the whole surcharge process but you can do that so you have the reference number. To pay the visa fee comes after booking appointment step. Attend with all docs and form and your partner.

6) Below are the documents I have prepared. Please could you advice if there are any thing I have missed out or can attach (even without being asked) to ensure I present all the documents rightly and correctly ?
- My current passport.
- Passport I have held while in the UK (past passport).
- Husband's passport.
- Residence permit.
- Husband's salary slip (is this sufficient ?) You need 6 months salary slips PLUS 6 months bank statements
- Proof of us staying together (6 docs each of me and my husband, spread over 2 years with 3 sources) You might need more, not sure. Casa will likely know.
- English language certificate.

Feeling so nervous about the whole thing. Please could you advice me on anything at all - what to avoid, what I must do, etc ? It is a fairly straightforward process. I used the in person option for spouse visa and ILR and never had any problems.

Dear CR001, Casa,

I note that we have to have a 6 months salary slip and also 6 months bank statement. We went to the bank and requested for the statement and have received them today. In that, the statement is not a separated statement (monthly), it is a combined statement of from 1st June 2015 to 1st February 2016 - all spread through 6 pages (front and back).

1) Please could you advice if this type of statement is ok ?

2) Please could you also advice if my application date is on the 29th February, the statements will still work as it stops on the 1st February. If not, what will work ?

Looking forward to kind advice yet again. I hope I am not giving you both headaches as I am having one now ..

1. Statements are fine.

2. Suggest get a statement for the last couple of weeks before your appointment.

Dear CR001,

Thank you for your kind reply. I am now checking through all the documents I have collected. Just to make sure all are ok :

1) On the Relationship section that we need to provide evidence of me and my husband are staying together. We have to provide 12 items of correspondences (6 each for me and 6 for my husband) from 3 different sources for 2 years. I have prepared the following. Please could you advice they are sufficient :
a. My Husband :
- January 2016 (Annual Mortgage Statement from Barclays)
- January 2015 (Annual Mortgage Statement from Barclays)
- January 2014 (Annual Mortgage Statement from Barclays)
- 1 April 2014 (Clean Water and Sewerage Bill from Affinity Water)
- 1 April 2015 (Clean Water and Sewerage Bill from Affinity Water)
- 24th October 2014 (Annual Electricity Summary from E-On)
- 24th October 2015 (Annual Electricity Summary from E-On)
- 12th February 2015 (Garden Waste Invoice from the Council)
- 6th January 2016 (Letter from Sky on a contract we signed up with them.
* thought it is best to prepare more documents than not enough.

b. Myself :
- 11th January 2016 (Letter from NHS for a cervical screening test)
- 14th November 2015 (Statement from Lloyds Bank)
- 14th May 2015 (Statement from Lloyds Bank)
- 14th November 2014 (Statement from Lloyds Bank)
- 14th May 2014 (Statement from Lloyds Bank)
- 31st December 2015 (Statement from Natwest)
- 30th June 2015 (Statement from Natwest)
- 27th February 2015 (Statement from Natwest)
- 30th April 2014 (Statement from Natwest)

- Will the above be sufficient ?

Looking forward to kind feedback.

Thank you.

You need more if you don't have many or any in joint names.

What about council tax, HMRC letters, Job Centre letters, phone bills, any other letters (even if junk mail)

Dear CR001, CASA,

Thank you for kind reply. I will try to find more documents. Sadly we don't have any sent to us - addressed to both our names except for our council tax (but my formal name is not stated - it stated my baptism name (which I will explain later) that is not my formal name.

In all cases, I am having a final look at the forms for filling. Would appreciate your kind advices on the following. Shade blue are the queries from the form I have to fill :

1) 1.7 : Any other name(s) by which you are or have been known :
- my baptism name is Annie and I have been known as Annie by my friends, my husband calls me Annie – Annie is the name I use daily.
- it is not in my formal documentations except for my council tax letters (which I should change to my real formal name) where my husband accidently registered me as Annie with the council (for council tax only, but for voting – it is my formal name that is being used).
- with this situation that I have, do I declare Annie in the 1.7 part of the form ?
- do I also have to have a cover letter for it ?
- checking through my last application (for my first application of Spousal Visa, I see that the solicitor who handled my case stated Annie in this section also which I am not sure if it is valid.

2) 2.2 : Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiance(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor ? YES / NO
- Just to ensure I answer this rightly.
- The first time I applied for a Spousal Visa was 2.5 years ago. I obtained my spousal visa for the first time then.
- This is the first time I apply for the extension of the spousal visa. (I think it is through the 5 years route).
- Since the question is if this is the first time I have applied for a visa / extension of stay .. etc .. should I mark YES ? Or could it be NO because the 'extension of stay' they have meant does not mean the extension that I am applying for ?

3) Section 7B – Maintenance – it says :
You only need to complete this section if:
(i) You qualify for an exemption from meeting the income threshold element of the financial requirement.
(ii) You were granted leave to enter or remain as a partner under Chapter 8 of the Immigration Rules following an application submitted before 9 July 2012.

My husband and I don't qualify for any exemption and we applied for our first Leave to Remain in 2013. This means there is no need to fill this section, yes ? I am not sure if my solicitor who did my application in 2013 filled this section, but from the copy of doc he emailed me, it looked like he did fill this section in for me then. Please could you confirm my understanding is correct – that we do not have to fill this section ?

4) 9.12 Have you had your fingerprints taken as part of a previous UK immigration application made in the UK or abroad ? YES / NO
- I honestly can't remember this. What should I do in this case ?
- I do remember going to a postoffice near the town I live in to take pictures and then working on my Biometric residence permit, also paying some costs on the regards.
- Please could you advice if I may have had my fingerprints taken during the working of my last Biometric (for my Residence Permit / Spouse or Partner Leave to Remain ?

Looking forward to further advices, and thousand thanks in advance for them.

1. Follow what your solicitor did previously. HO will have a record of this in their system so best to keep things the same.

2. I think it is yes as it is your first extension after an initial period of leave granted.

3. If not relevant, leave blank.

4. You need to answer yes. You have had this done when you applied for your current visa.

Dear CR001,

Thank you for kind reply.

I am happy to inform I have compiled all the documents needed for the working of my visa extension. I am feeling quite nervous though - having used a solicitor in the past, I am doing it personally now.

As regards to the following :

4) 9.12 Have you had your fingerprints taken as part of a previous UK immigration application made in the UK or abroad ? YES / NO

Is this when I went to a post office for my pictures to be taken and then pay some costs - for the biometric working ? If yes, I may be able to remember the name of the place and a month involved. I don't think I will be able to remember the date though ..

Let me know if my thought is correct ?

Many thanks, Casa, CR001,

Today is the day I fill in the documents and then have signature placed on them.

As I am filling the form, I find the below situation :

1) Page 7 : Payment Details FLR (M)
- it seems that I have got to fill in all the payment details.
- I have actually paid the fees when I book my appointment - I paid the visa fees, special service fees, and also the IHS fees all on the same day.
- with this situation, do I still have to complete the above mentioned form ? It is unclear - if I fill my details in, will they assume I have not paid and charge me again ? Because all cards details have to be stated on the page.

2) Photos : I took some photos from Tesco's photo box. It is for the British Passport type of photo. Is this the right type for my application ?

Dear CASA,

Many thanks for kind advice.

I hope these will some of the very last questions :

1) Page 65, Section 14 - Consent for the Home Office to Request verification checks.
- for this page, it is only applied to account with joint names for bank or utility company.
- my husband and I are submitting separate documents. Only our Council Tax has both our names.
- Do I treat the council tax as bank / utility company and have my husband sign accordingly ?

2) Page 66, Section 14 - Consent for the Home Office to request verification checks.
- for this page, it is for 'If the account with the bank or utility company relates to another person who is to provide the applicant with financial support, that person should sign the following declaration.
- and in the paragraph it states, 'I am a friend / relative of the applicant ...'
- my husband is providing me with financial support at the moment. And he is relative - although he is closer than relative.
- should my husband sign this page too ?

3) Page 28, 7.3A Income from salaried employment.
- It says, 'Only complete this section if you and / or your sponsor are working'.
- My sponsor is working but I am not working.
- Though I took a year off work, I was however employed to a company until end October last year on unpaid leave. I have not worked since.
- Do I keep my section empty and only fill in the section for my husband / sponsor ?

4) Any reminders / advices you can give me for the application ? Ex - what items people normally forget, what I must always remember to include, etc etc you can think of.

Dear CASA,

Many thanks for kind advice.

I hope these will some of the very last questions :

1) Page 65, Section 14 - Consent for the Home Office to Request verification checks.
- for this page, it is only applied to account with joint names for bank or utility company.
- my husband and I are submitting separate documents. Only our Council Tax has both our names.
- Do I treat the council tax as bank / utility company and have my husband sign accordingly ?

2) Page 66, Section 14 - Consent for the Home Office to request verification checks.
- for this page, it is for 'If the account with the bank or utility company relates to another person who is to provide the applicant with financial support, that person should sign the following declaration.
- and in the paragraph it states, 'I am a friend / relative of the applicant ...'
- my husband is providing me with financial support at the moment. And he is relative - although he is closer than relative.
- should my husband sign this page too ?

3) Page 28, 7.3A Income from salaried employment.
- It says, 'Only complete this section if you and / or your sponsor are working'.
- My sponsor is working but I am not working.
- Though I took a year off work, I was however employed to a company until end October last year on unpaid leave. I have not worked since.
- Do I keep my section empty and only fill in the section for my husband / sponsor ?

4) Any reminders / advices you can give me for the application ? Ex - what items people normally forget, what I must always remember to include, etc etc you can think of.