FLR(M) Advice to speed up process

SunshineAllYear · Post by **SunshineAllYear** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:09 am

Hiya,

I'd appreciate your advice. I will need to apply for an FLR(M) extension at some point as my current FLR(M) visa expires 28 November 2019. The issue is I need to travel back to Australia on 29 November for my sister's wedding (I'm maid of honour) so I need to do everything I can to try and get my BRP before I leave the country. I understand that the earliest I can submit my online application is 28 days before my visa expiry date. I will pay for the super priority service but the UKVI website says there are significant delays in getting an appointment. I am worried that if I have to wait until 28 days before my visa expiry to submit my application and then I find that there's a 4 week waiting time until the next appointment, then even if I pay for super priority and assuming I do actually get my visa processed within 48 hours, I won't have my BRP in time before I leave for Australia. So my questions are:
1. Am I right that the earliest I can submit my online application is 28 days before my visa expiry date? Or is it actually 28 days from the biometric appointment date?
2. If I have to wait until 28 days before my visa expiry date to submit my online application, is there any way to book my biometric appointment soon, for say, the day which is 27 days before my visa expiry date? I looked on the UKVCAS website and it says you can book appointments 28 days in advance but I'm not sure if you can book it before you've submitted the online application.
3. Does anyone have any advice on how I can time things to get my application processed as quickly as possible?
4. Does anyone know how long the current waiting time for a biometric appointment is? I am willing to pay extra for more premium times and travel to other parts of the UK to get an appointment quicker.

Apologies for the long ramble. Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Jaune08 · Post by **Jaune08** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:39 am

SunshineAllYear wrote: ↑
Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:09 am
1. Am I right that the earliest I can submit my online application is 28 days before my visa expiry date?

Hey! My understanding is this 28 days rule is actually a strong recommendation to avoid any shortfalls towards settlement (ILR), which means that if you apply no earlier than 28 days before your visa expires, you will easy meet the 60 months requirement when applying for ILR after this fist extension.

In theory, you can even apply for Premium service in early/mid November if that suits you. Just keep in mind that in the future, when applying for ILR (like permanent residence), you will need 60 months in total and you might face issues if you apply earlier this time, because you might need those 15-20 days in the future to meet the requirement.

SunshineAllYear wrote: ↑
Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:09 am
4. Does anyone know how long the current waiting time for a biometric appointment is? I am willing to pay extra for more premium times and travel to other parts of the UK to get an appointment quicker.

You can also do that, book an appointment somewhere else in the UK. For the estimated waiting time, I recommend you to call directly to the UKVCAS centre of your interest.

seagul · Post by **seagul** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:10 am

SunshineAllYear wrote: ↑
Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:09 am
Hiya,

I'd appreciate your advice. I will need to apply for an FLR(M) extension at some point as my current FLR(M) visa expires 28 November 2019. The issue is I need to travel back to Australia on 29 November for my sister's wedding (I'm maid of honour) so I need to do everything I can to try and get my BRP before I leave the country. I understand that the earliest I can submit my online application is 28 days before my visa expiry date. I will pay for the super priority service but the UKVI website says there are significant delays in getting an appointment. I am worried that if I have to wait until 28 days before my visa expiry to submit my application and then I find that there's a 4 week waiting time until the next appointment, then even if I pay for super priority and assuming I do actually get my visa processed within 48 hours, I won't have my BRP in time before I leave for Australia. So my questions are:
1. Am I right that the earliest I can submit my online application is 28 days before my visa expiry date? Or is it actually 28 days from the biometric appointment date?
2. If I have to wait until 28 days before my visa expiry date to submit my online application, is there any way to book my biometric appointment soon, for say, the day which is 27 days before my visa expiry date? I looked on the UKVCAS website and it says you can book appointments 28 days in advance but I'm not sure if you can book it before you've submitted the online application.
3. Does anyone have any advice on how I can time things to get my application processed as quickly as possible?
4. Does anyone know how long the current waiting time for a biometric appointment is? I am willing to pay extra for more premium times and travel to other parts of the UK to get an appointment quicker.

Apologies for the long ramble. Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

There is a very easy solution of it. I guess your current spouse visa must have been issued for 33 months which is expiring in 28th November 2019. Simply apply your extension 28 days before completing 30 months since you arrived to UK/switched into spouse visa which is allowed by UKVI and that will give you plenty of time to get your decision/BRP before you travel.

SunshineAllYear · Post by **SunshineAllYear** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:58 am

Thank you so much for the speedy responses. My current FLR(M) was issued for only 30 months, not 33 months. I applied for my current visa from here in the UK using the same day service so I'm not sure if that's why I didn't get 33 months? I switched from Tier 2 to FLR(M). So unfortunately, I don't have this extra time to count towards my ILR application

seagul · Post by **seagul** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 2:40 pm

SunshineAllYear wrote: ↑
Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:58 am
Thank you so much for the speedy responses. My current FLR(M) was issued for only 30 months, not 33 months. I applied for my current visa from here in the UK using the same day service so I'm not sure if that's why I didn't get 33 months? I switched from Tier 2 to FLR(M). So unfortunately, I don't have this extra time to count towards my ILR application

Then I m afraid you will have no choice than applying 28 days before of your visa expiry. Also note you cannot book biometrics appointment in advance because first you have to apply & pay and once you have paid then that date will be considered as the date of application.

Jaune08 · Post by **Jaune08** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 5:34 pm

SunshineAllYear wrote: ↑
Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:58 am
My current FLR(M) was issued for only 30 months, not 33 months. I applied for my current visa from here in the UK using the same day service so I'm not sure if that's why I didn't get 33 months?

Oh, because the 33 months visas are issued when spouse applications are made outside the UK.

If your visa was issued for only 30 months, then you'd have to follow seagul's advice: to apply 28 days before your visa expires. Otherwise, you may face a shortfall towards ILR

Korekt · Post by **Korekt** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 8:24 pm

You may apply 28 days before completing 30 months using Super Priority service, and ask for up to 28 days to be added.

I agree that for the Super Priority service, an early biometrics appointment would be useful otherwise it's a bit of a waste.

TanJL · Post by **TanJL** » Mon Sep 23, 2019 3:46 pm

If you start the application form now, get as many documents ready as possible to apply literally the 1st of November online, I imagine you would be fine. Start scanning everything so you're ready to upload immediately and could theoretically get an appointment within a few days.
We were able to get an appointment within a week of applying online, but we could have had one sooner if we had gone to other locations or paid extra for out of hours or enhanced appointments.
So if you start planning now, make sure you can get your financial documents to date within 28 days before 1st of November and then you can apply the earliest date possible and hopefully get an appointment the same week.

SunshineAllYear · Post by **SunshineAllYear** » Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:30 pm

Thank you everyone for your replies, it was super helpful

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