Spousal Visa Expiration, Divorce & Court Dates

I am a Canadian citizen who married a BC and are now divorced. The Decree Absolute has been issued but finances and residency for my toddler son has not been sorted out. My ex-husband has filed an application into Court to deal with finances and the court date is for after my Spousal Visa expires. He has also filed another application to stop me from returning to Canada with my son. I have a family solicitor who has filed an application to allow me to leave with my son. As my spousal visa expires in about 10 weeks and I have Court hearings/applications/ pending, can I be allowed to stay here while the decision is made for me to return back home with my son. If so, on what grounds can I apply to stay briefly? My son is a BC. Thanks for any help given.

you can apply on form FLR(O) and ask for further leave to remain to enable you to take part in the court proceedings. You should provide evidence of how long the proceedings are likely to take for example if you have a letter from the court with hearing dates, and if your solicitor can also give an indication of this. Both applications for ancillary relief (finances) and for child residency/contact can take many months/years to be resolved unless the parties can come to an agreement.

Thank you for suggesting the FLR (O) Form, I will look into that. I will talk to my solicitor about providing me with the definite Court dates. Appreciate you taking the time to reply to my query.

If I use the FLR (0) form does that mean I do not need to engage an immigration lawyer?

FLR(O) is an application form!

Whether or not you need to consult an immigration lawyer for advice regarding your circumstances is irrelevant to which application form you need to use.

if you qualify for legal aid then it might be worthwhile but if you don't then you should be able to make the application yourself, Just make sure you provide evidence to show that you are required to be in the UK to take part in court proceedings, and how long these proceedings are likely to take. Also evidence that your husband has applied to prevent you from leaving the UK with your child. If the child is having contact with the father then also provide evidence of this as it is also relevent.

Greenie - I do qualify for legal aid - my divorce and all court proceedings are being funded by legal aid under the proviso that based on a financial settlement I will pay it back. I will look at consulting an immigration lawyer, thank you again.

Sushdmehta - I did look up the FLR(0) form. I was just asking if I do submit the FLR(0) form do I still need an immigration lawyer, or would I be duplicating efforts. Greenie has answered me. Thank you.

if you qualify for free legal help for immigration you dont have to pay the money back, this is only the case for divorce cases because it is subject to the statutory charge as the property/money is linked to the proceedings for which you receive the legal aid.

Thank you for all your advice. It's going to help me immensely.

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