DLR Extension Application FLR(O) - A Few Important Questions

Hello. I am preparing to submit my application for an extension of my DLR (using Form FLR(O) which I presume to be correct), granted commencing in Jan. 2011 and due to expire in early Jan 2014. These forums were of great assistance to me then, and continue to be now... I don't know what I'd have done without these forums, but my appreciation is great. But I have a few questions on my current application that I'm having difficulty working out from the information I can find here, and I'm hoping somebody can help me out.

First of all, my background. I arrived as a visitor in late 2009. I'm an American citizen married to a British citizen. When I was visiting, my wife (British) was unexpectedly diagnosed with a severe illness which caused me to need to stay and take up permanent residence here. I applied for FLR(M) on the basis of Article 8 and was rejected by the Home Office, but I appealed and was granted DLR by Immigration Tribunal. My 3 years expires at the beginning of January 2014 and I'm am finalising my application forms to submit in the first few days of December.

These are my questions:

1. FLR(O) is the correct form, right? I feel fairly confident on this one, but really want to be certain.

2. The guidance documentation says that I can submit FLR(O) before the end of my permitted stay in the UK. I thought I read something on the UKBA website that states that I must submit at least 4 weeks before the end of my permitted stay. Which one is correct? I plan to make my submission 4 weeks-and-a-few-days before the end of my permitted stay, but want to make certain that I get everything to them well in time. I'd submit it sooner, but am waiting on the receipt of a few supporting documents.

3. FLR(O) Section 2 has space for details about my UK Spouse but the text says: "If you have a partner and/or any children under 18 who are living with you in the UK and who are applying with you for an
extension of stay as your dependants, it is mandatory to complete this section as required. Please note that this application
will be invalid if you do not." Obviously, my spouse is a citizen so she doesn't need to apply for an extension of stay, nor is she my dependent. But, she is "living with me in the UK", so is she "applying *with* me for *my* extension of stay? I'm paranoid that I'm reading the above sentence the wrong way. It seems to me that I do not need to fill out this section at all, and yet my original application was an FLR(M), which while declined and replaced with DLR, still is based on my marriage to a UK citizen. So, do I fill this section out or not? If not, I will certainly write about my spouse in my cover letter... surely they must want to know about my spouse since this is an Article 8 case. I don't want to be charged double for my application, since my wife isn't applying to stay, yet I don't want to leave the information blank if the Home Office requires information about her.

4. Form FLR(O) Section 5 (Your Home and Finances). Question 5.5 "Are you receiving any public funds"? (Checkboxes below with various Public Funds options). I *think* from what I've read on these forums that my answer is "NO". But, specifically, my wife and I make a joint claim for Working Tax Credits. All WTC claims for couples are done as joint claims, and if only one member of the couple qualifies for WTC based on nationality, the claim is granted. However, as of 2010, since we do not have children and I am subject to immigration control, we do *not* receive the couples component of the WTC. My wife receives her lot, into her own account (not joint), and I receive nothing. Therefore, for the purposes of question 5.5, I don't believe that I would answer in the affirmative for receiving funds. And yet, my name is still part of a joint claim. How do I correctly fill in this section?


Thank you very much for your replies!!!

I just wish to clarify that if you know the answer to *any* of my four questions, I would still greatly appreciate your help. I'm hoping to finish up my application paperwork this upcoming weekend and send everything off on the 2nd of Dec. so please don't hesitate if you can give me a bit of insight.

Thank you.

Flr(o) is correct apply by post from 28 days before your leave expires as you were on the old DLR claiming public funds is fine.

Amber_ wrote:Flr(o) is correct apply by post from 28 days before your leave expires as you were on the old DLR claiming public funds is fine.

Thank you very much for your help! I'm afraid I was confused by your statement that I must "apply by post from 28 days...". Does that mean I must post my application prior to 28 days from the date my leave expires, or that I must post my application inside of the 28 days prior to my leave expiry?

Also, I have one further question of massive importance to me right now, which was not answered (I'm filling out the form right now, and sending it within 48 hours). On Form FLR(O) Section 2, must I fill in my spouse's information if she is a UK citizen and is NOT applying to stay (since she already has the right to?) I'm afraid the phrasing on the form is confusing me. If not, is it OK if I volunteer information about my wife in this section anyhow, or would that cause confusion to the adjudicating officer? Since my application for DLR was for Article 8 Family Life due to my marriage to a UK citizen, I feel like I should fill out information about my wife somewhere. But maybe I should just leave that for my cover letter?

Thanks again!

Just for the sake of helpful documentation, should anybody else reference this post in future, the answer to my final question about whether to include Spouse information on Form FLR(O) if she/he is not applying for an extension of stay (in my case, due to the fact that my spouse is a UK citizen) has been answered by the Home Office. As of 01 December 2013, Form FLR(O) has been updated with wording which clearly states that Spouse/partner/children information *IS* to be included in Section 2, whether or not they are applying for an extension to stay.

All my questions have been answered now. Thanks again.

I've read the following info which applies from 1st December 2013:-


The Secretary of State published a new set of application forms for use from 1 December 2013 by applicants who are already in the UK, two addressing the Armed Forces cases, but also the FLR (FP) - for use in place of the FLR (O), for persons applying for limited leave to remain in the UK on the basis of family life as a partner on the 10-year route to settlement, family life as a parent of a child in the UK (five-year and 10-year routes to settlement), private life in the UK, and family or private life where the applicant knows they do not meet the requirements of the rules, but would like to apply anyway.

naija99 wrote:I've read the following info which applies from 1st December 2013:-


The Secretary of State published a new set of application forms for use from 1 December 2013 by applicants who are already in the UK, two addressing the Armed Forces cases, but also the FLR (FP) - for use in place of the FLR (O), for persons applying for limited leave to remain in the UK on the basis of family life as a partner on the 10-year route to settlement, family life as a parent of a child in the UK (five-year and 10-year routes to settlement), private life in the UK, and family or private life where the applicant knows they do not meet the requirements of the rules, but would like to apply anyway.

Oh, God, no (trying not to panic). Does this just mean that I've sent away the wrong information package? I just sent out my FLR(O) today, Special Delivery, with all of my supporting documents! When I was finishing form FLR(O) this weekend, I was still using FLR(O) Version October 2013 (which was current as of Saturday). I only found out as of Sunday , December first that the form had updated to version 2013 and refilled it out from scratch using the "Other" Reasons checkbox, as I had done only hours earlier on the "old" FLR(O) form. I had no idea about a new set of forms! What should I do?

Ok, crisis averted it appears. I've put in so much effort in the careful preparation of my submission that I just about had a heart attack when I read your reply about form FLR(FP).

Thankfully, according to the UKBA, they will accept Form FLR(O) for such submissions up to and including 22 December 2013 according to the following link:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... 7-newforms

"You should use the new forms if you apply on or after 1 December 2013. However, we will continue to accept applications made on the previous version of forms FLR(O), FLR(M) and SET(DV) up to and including 22 December 2013."

Hi JTenebrous..

I am in the exact same situation as you.

I am helping my unmarried partner to fill out the new December FLR(O) form, and we are stuck at section 2. I myself am British, and at Section 2 it states;

"If you have a partner and/or any children under 18 who are living with you in the UK, it is mandatory to complete this section as required. This section should be completed whether your partner and children are applying for an extension of stay or not. Please note that this application will be invalid if you do not".

So, I am British, obviously as such I am not applying for an extension as a dependant. As I understand it, as it says "should be completed whether your partner are applying for an extension of stay or not" then I should put my details, however the problem is, if I do then do I have to provide two photographs of myself too? Because in the photograph box it says "you must provide two identical photographs of each dependant who is applying". So does that mean it is mandatory to provide my details but not mandatory to provide two photographs?!?

Furthermore, at Section 8 - Documents, 8A there is a box that states;

"The current passport(s) or travel document(s) of each dependant included in section 2 and applying for an extension of stay in the UK with you..."

So, do I have to provide my passport as well as my unmarried partners!?

Any help you could offer would be great!

helpplease! wrote:Hi JTenebrous..
Any help you could offer would be great!

Hi. As I've been asking questions in this topic myself, I'm not the best person to be answering them, and I wouldn't want to mislead, so hopefully somebody more experienced will respond. In my case, I did *not* send passport-style photos of my partner, because she is *not* applying. Hopefully that was correct, because I've already sent away the submission, and the section 2 instructions did not "seem" to me ambiguous on that point. Again, I will leave it to somebody more experienced to confirm. Best of luck, though!