Urgent Advice Please.

Urgent Advice Please.
« on: Today at 10:22:23 AM » Quote Modify Remove

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Hi all,

I am in a worrying situation regarding my wifes spouse visa, it runs out on Monday, I thought it was towards the end of the month silly of me to presume but we have had a very difficult few months regarding personal issues

(in short - She was raped, we didn't abort the baby as this was not morally right for us, she had the baby just before Christmas and we gave it up for adoption, a terrible few months for us to endure she is now on the long road to recovery mentally and getting over the caesarean section.

I thought with her already having the spouse visa, it would be easy enough to for her to apply for an extension FLR M (we went back to her home country to live for 10 months) hence I think we need this type of visa.

To my horror I see they have changed the rules regarding the English speaking test, I have been in contact with the approved centres many places I just got through to a receptionist who didn't know or care what to do, I understand we need an open centre to take the test. I got a conflicting story from the immigration advice line this morning saying she needed to study for 40 to 50 hours before being able to take the test, she already speaking English to a good level so she doesn't need the tuition.

(I know this scenario does not apply to U.S Citizens, but I was hoping one of you might be able to offer some advice on my situation.)

The earliest she can take the test is next week with the results available in 5 days after the test, I need to submit these with the application.

Do you think with a covering letter explaining our circumstances they would accept it being handed in late by a couple of weeks?, I understand we lose the right to appeal as she will be classed as an overstayer. They immigration helpline just advised her to go back to her country and reapply fro therebut with the cost involved for flights and the time apart when she needs me the most, this is a situation we both couldn't deal with

I am at a loss what to do if anyone could offer any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Mark.

are you British or settled in the UK?

what is your wife's nationality?

You have a bit of a rough time and whilst there may some chance of discretion you are right to get on with applying as a matter of urgency .
To get more help it may be good to give exact dates and type of visa and state which country you wife is from . It looks like there is a bit of confusion between life in the UK and the English language requirement .

I am British, settled here

My wife is Guatemalan.

She is currently on a spouse visa that runs out on the 9th Jan.

Thanks for your replies so far

there is no need to apply for FLR(M) on the grounds that she was outside the UK for 10 months. She can apply for ILR. There is nothing in the rules to say that she cannot have been outside the UK more than a certain number of days to apply for ILR. The fact that you were in her home country together is helpful (if she had been outside the UK for 10 months on her own, you would have to explain why.

However she will need to pass either the Life in the UK test, or an ESOL course with citizenship element, and have a letter showing she has made progression from one level to the next. if her English is at ESOL entry 3 or above at assessment then she will need to take the Life in the UK test. UKBA would usually expect for an ESOL qualification that the applicant had studied a minimum number of hours so the Life in the UK test may be a better option

Considering you only have until Monday, I would suggest the following

- See if you can book a last minute Life in the UK test this week. If you can't, then consider submitting the ILR applicatoin in time and booking the Life in the UK test in the meantime. Does she has alternative photo ID such as a UK driving licence?

- If you think the Life in the UK test is beyond her level of competence, then you could consider either

- booking her on an intensive ESOL course, applying for ILR in time, and explaining she will submit the ESOL certificate in due course (explaining why she has not take the course thus far).

- appling for FLR(M) in time, booking her on English course on the UKBA list of approved English language tests, for this she only needs to pass a course at a very basic level, and in speaking and listening only, there is no requirement for a set number of hours of study, she can just take a test.

Greenie wrote:there is no need to apply for FLR(M) on the grounds that she was outside the UK for 10 months. She can apply for ILR. There is nothing in the rules to say that she cannot have been outside the UK more than a certain number of days to apply for ILR. The fact that you were in her home country together is helpful (if she had been outside the UK for 10 months on her own, you would have to explain why.

However she will need to pass either the Life in the UK test, or an ESOL course with citizenship element, and have a letter showing she has made progression from one level to the next. if her English is at ESOL entry 3 or above at assessment then she will need to take the Life in the UK test. UKBA would usually expect for an ESOL qualification that the applicant had studied a minimum number of hours so the Life in the UK test may be a better option

Considering you only have until Monday, I would suggest the following

- See if you can book a last minute Life in the UK test this week. If you can't, then consider submitting the ILR applicatoin in time and booking the Life in the UK test in the meantime. Does she has alternative photo ID such as a UK driving licence?

- If you think the Life in the UK test is beyond her level of competence, then you could consider either

- booking her on an intensive ESOL course, applying for ILR in time, and explaining she will submit the ESOL certificate in due course (explaining why she has not take the course thus far).

- appling for FLR(M) in time, booking her on English course on the UKBA list of approved English language tests, for this she only needs to pass a course at a very basic level, and in speaking and listening only, there is no requirement for a set number of hours of study, she can just take a test.

I think FLR M would be better for us in terms of my wife being able to pass the Key English Test or whatever equivilent one they specify on their list, quickly. The Life in the UK is beyond her at the moment....

The problem I see is that i need to submit our passports with the application for the visa, but I'll need a photographic I.D for her to sit the exam, she doesn't have any other form of I.D with her here

Thanks for your replies so far I really appreciate your advice.

she shouldn't overstay in order to take the english test. If you are set on FLR(M) then you should either

a) ask the English language test provider whether she can provide a certified copy of the passport/other evidence in these circumstances.

if the answer to a) is no

b) submit a certified copy of the passport with the application and explain that the original will be submitted with the English language certificate in due course.

I strongly advise you to see legal advice on this application.

My wife took her biometrics in Guatemala before she was issued her spouse visa , I have no correspondance from this.

Do i need to provide evidence? Won't they already have this on record?

I'm presuming they already have access to this information so I don't need to provide anything, can someone confirm this for me, thanks.

On further reading of the flr m application form it states - "Any satisfactory evidence you wish to submit in support of your request to be exempted from the English language requirement on the basis of exceptional compassionate circumstances"

I am considering explaing our situation in this section as a reason for not attending a English language test on the basis of exceptional compassionate circumstances.

What do you think?