Fiancée visa extension process

[jrp777]

Hello,

My fiancée is in the UK on a fiancée visa, which expires on the 25/06/2020. We were due to get married on 02/05/2020, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are not able to get married until September this year (the Register offices in our Area (North Yorkshire) are not taking re-bookings until then).

Whilst it is possible that we may be able to secure an automatic extension to our visa (if the Home Office decide to offer these), this is by no means certain and we have being exploring options for requesting an extension to the visa, citing extenuating circumstances (i.e. the outbreak preventing the marriage taking place).

Has anyone got experience of applying for a fiancée visa extension and what the process for doing this is? I.e. would we need to do a new application for a fiancée visa or is there a different form we need to submit?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Korekt]

what the process for doing this is? I.e. would we need to do a new application for a fiancée visa or is there a different form we need to submit?

Yes. FLR I believe under E-LTRP.1.11. of Appendix FM as quoted below.

It would be better for HO to grant an automatic extension as it appears the inability to get married is through no fault of yours.

E-LTRP.1.11. If the applicant is in the UK with leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner and the marriage or civil partnership did not take place during that period of leave, there must be good reason why and evidence that it will take place within the next 6 months.

[jrp777]

Hopefully they will extend the visa, but the ball is definitely in their court.

Do you know we can apply for the extension (assuming one isn’t automatically given?). Is this done online?

[Korekt]

Yes.

Leave to remain or further leave to remain.

[ercalil]

Hi!

A couple of us in a similar situation were having a bit of discussion about the topic here: immigration-for-family-members/fiancee- ... l#p1896662

Regarding the 6 months extension for the fiancée visa, it's been hard to find much info about it online, but having a play around the Gov UK website I found the way of doing it is to go through the same application process you would for your first FLR after getting married (so go here and select to apply from inside the UK as a partner: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse )

I semi-filled a dummy application form and at some point it asks you this:


So you can choose to extend your fiancée visa there.

I don't know what's the fee though, as it requires you to finish the form to get to the payment/fee part and I don't intend to do that yet at this point. But my guess is it's going to be the same fee as for a normal FLR so might be something around 1k-1.5kGBP?

[CR001]

Hi!

A couple of us in a similar situation were having a bit of discussion about the topic here: immigration-for-family-members/fiancee- ... l#p1896662

Regarding the 6 months extension for the fiancée visa, it's been hard to find much info about it online, but having a play around the Gov UK website I found the way of doing it is to go through the same application process you would for your first FLR after getting married (so go here and select to apply from inside the UK as a partner: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse )

I semi-filled a dummy application form and at some point it asks you this:


So you can choose to extend your fiancée visa there.

I don't know what's the fee though, as it requires you to finish the form to get to the payment/fee part and I don't intend to do that yet at this point. But my guess is it's going to be the same fee as for a normal FLR so might be something around 1k-1.5kGBP?

The fee would be the normal fee, in country fee is £1033 plus IHS of £1000 if relevant.

[ercalil]

I guess yes, however being a six months extension I would expect the IHS to be something around £200 as the £1000 is for a 2.5 years normal FLR extension, so I would guess a total of around £1200 (I'm not really sure if that's how it works though)

[CR001]

I guess yes, however being a six months extension I would expect the IHS to be something around £200 as the £1000 is for a 2.5 years normal FLR extension, so I would guess a total of around £1200 (I'm not really sure if that's how it works though)

A 6 month visa does NOT have an IHS payable.

[ercalil]

Right, no IHS for visas of 6 months or less, however this would be an extension of 6 months to an original 6 months visa, so a total stay of 1 year... As most travel insurances don't cover more than 6 months travel it would make sense that the extra 6 months were paid via IHS and health access was covered this way?

[jrp777]

Hi!

A couple of us in a similar situation were having a bit of discussion about the topic here: immigration-for-family-members/fiancee- ... l#p1896662

Regarding the 6 months extension for the fiancée visa, it's been hard to find much info about it online, but having a play around the Gov UK website I found the way of doing it is to go through the same application process you would for your first FLR after getting married (so go here and select to apply from inside the UK as a partner: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse )

I semi-filled a dummy application form and at some point it asks you this:


So you can choose to extend your fiancée visa there.

I don't know what's the fee though, as it requires you to finish the form to get to the payment/fee part and I don't intend to do that yet at this point. But my guess is it's going to be the same fee as for a normal FLR so might be something around 1k-1.5kGBP?

The fee would be the normal fee, in country fee is £1033 plus IHS of £1000 if relevant.

Thanks for finding this, very useful!

[jrp777]

Hi,

Following on from this post, does anyone know what supporting evidence would need to be submitted with the extension request and how this would be submitted?

[nick1961]

I think the fee is £1523 but I am not sure.

The issue is that this is a penalty that we would not normally have had to pay but for the wedding ban.

The Home Office has said that there will be no penalties for circumstances beyond anyone's control. £1523 is a penalty by any definition.

Even worse, if you complete the FLR then my understanding means the immigration route to ILR becomes a 10-year process rather than a 5-year process. With numerous extra years of NHS surcharge and several extra visa fees. No recourse to public funds for 10 years rather than 5 years.

Allowing for inflation of visa and NHS surcharge fees I would envisage a total extra cost of £10,000 to £15,000.

This is a massive penalty by any definition and it is shocking in a democracy that no political or media representative is holding the Home Office to account for lying. Saying there will be no penalty or adverse immigration consequences for circumstances beyond anyone's control might be good pr but it blatantly false.

Unless the Govt relent and extend Fiance visas they are being completely disingenuous saying there are no penalties or adverse consequences on future applications. 5 years to 10 years route is a massive adverse consequence.

[jrp777]

Just out of interest, why would extension of the fiancee visa necessitate going onto a 10 year route?

I agree, if that is the case, that it would be totally unfair.

I believe I have seen that you can change from an FLR(FP) visa to an FLR(M), which does seem to permit a change from the 10 year route to 5 years.

Going back to the topic, has anyone applied for a fiancee visa extension previously? Do they know what evidence would need to be submitted at this stage?

[nick1961]

I think the documents are probably the same as the ones required for the original fiancee visa. Probably additional documents (as for the FLR m visa) of jointly addressed and received correspondence might be necessary. Given the COVID-19 situation then I believe they will have to be understanding if applicants can't supply documentation such as stamped banked statements. Some banks may choose not to do this right now.

I think you are probably right that you can convert back into a five-year route. Hopefully that is the case but the FLR FM as a partner is highlighted as a ten-year route.

Looking at this Gov.UK link it appears the extension cost will be £993 or £1033

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... april-2020

Not so punitive but I had a letter from UKVI saying :-

"We have put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. We recognise that further adjustments are likely to be required to cater for all scenarios, and we are working through these, to ensure that people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control."

The letter then goes on to say that a visa extension to 31st May was not the correct pathway and that a FLR application should be made before expiry on 31st May.

The letter also says that "Our commitment remains that no-one with legal status, like (my fiancee's name), will be negatively impacted or suffer any detriment."

I'm not sure how they square that statement with the obligation to pay an additional £1033 that would not have to be paid were it not for the COVID-19 outbreak. That extra fee is obviously a negative impact and detrimental.

The fairest thing to do would be to extend existing fiancee visas until such a time that marriage can take place and an FLR (m) application can be submitted.

[ercalil]

I guess one would have to apply for the extension and pay the fee and the letter seems to imply that they might refund it once they figured out stuff further down the line? We'll see, but those words certainly give some hope. May I ask, is that email/letter a reply from an enquiry put through their helpline or did you get it as a response from your efforts to get through to them via your MP etc?

Also I've been checking and it seems other than the CIH email Home Office don't have a regular email that we can contact them on, just a phone line… Anyone knows if that's correct?

[jrp777]

I think the documents are probably the same as the ones required for the original fiancee visa. Probably additional documents (as for the FLR m visa) of jointly addressed and received correspondence might be necessary. Given the COVID-19 situation then I believe they will have to be understanding if applicants can't supply documentation such as stamped banked statements. Some banks may choose not to do this right now.

I think you are probably right that you can convert back into a five-year route. Hopefully that is the case but the FLR FM as a partner is highlighted as a ten-year route.

Looking at this Gov.UK link it appears the extension cost will be £993 or £1033

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... april-2020

Not so punitive but I had a letter from UKVI saying :-

"We have put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. We recognise that further adjustments are likely to be required to cater for all scenarios, and we are working through these, to ensure that people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control."

The letter then goes on to say that a visa extension to 31st May was not the correct pathway and that a FLR application should be made before expiry on 31st May.

The letter also says that "Our commitment remains that no-one with legal status, like (my fiancee's name), will be negatively impacted or suffer any detriment."

I'm not sure how they square that statement with the obligation to pay an additional £1033 that would not have to be paid were it not for the COVID-19 outbreak. That extra fee is obviously a negative impact and detrimental.

The fairest thing to do would be to extend existing fiancee visas until such a time that marriage can take place and an FLR (m) application can be submitted.

Hi,

In terms of providing jointly addressed and received correspondence (i.e. evidence of co-habitation), I was under the impression this wasn't required for the first Spouse Visa application (and therefore not a fiancee visa extension). I understood it was only for the first renewal of the spouse visa and for un-married couples who have lived together for 2 years or more.

To clarify, my partner has only been living with me since January of this year. It has proved quite hard to get evidence of co-habitation, as most utility suppliers will only take one name on an account. The move towards having correspondence online rather than with paper bills also doesn't help. Any tips of what we can do to collect this evidence would be much appreciated.

Further to the other response, it would be good if you could confirm where the UKVI letter came from.

[andyse1]

For info my MP forwarded me a response they got from the home office a couple of days ago. This was in reply to me asking if there were any provisions in place for those on fiance visas who could not get married. I have pasted it below but it does not say anything new.

It notes they "may make further adjustments" and says you can apply for a further 6 month fiance visa under current rules (but as mentioned above this will cost £1000 or so unless they announce anything).

We have put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, including automatic extensions of visas and modifying immigration requirements to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances totally beyond their control. We continue to monitor the situation closely and may make further adjustments where appropriate and necessary.

There is an existing provision under the family Immigration Rules that allows a person in the UK with leave as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, to extend their stay for a further six-months if the marriage or civil partnership did not take place during the initial period of leave, if there is good reason why and evidence that it will take place within the next six months.

Further guidance about family visas can be found on our website at: www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spous ... ner-spouse

[] can also regularly check our website for updates which can be found at: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-1 ... -residents.

[nick1961]

It looks like the recent announcement to automatically extend to 31st July the visas of those that had visas extended to 31st May solves the problem for those that received official notification of that 31st May extension. I read it as making it unnecessary to apply for an FLR extension if anyone received the 31st May initial extension.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... -residents

"If you have already had your visa extended to 31 May 2020 your visa will be extended automatically to 31 July 2020."

The UKVI reply referencing the FLR route came from an Assistant Account Manager for MP's account.

Since my fiancee got the extension to 31st May then we are assuming the words "your visa will be extended automatically to 31 July 2020" are applicable. More so given the Govt statements that no penalty or detriment will apply to people on visas impacted by Covid-19.

[ercalil]

However the extensions still seem to be referred to people with temporary visas who don't intend to stay permanently in the UK but can't go back to their countries, it seems to be implied that any settlement visas (including fiancé visas?) should still apply for extension/switch through the usual channels. Fiancé visas seem to be a grey in-between case that still has not been properly addressed by any of HO's communications.

Also not clear yet that registers would be celebrating weddings before 31st of July, whereas on the other hand enough flights might already be running for HO to consider that further extensions are not required.

[southbear]

Like the original poster, my partner is in the UK on a fiancée visa and our wedding was not able to go ahead in May. My partner’s visa expires on 15 June, so I have been looking at our options with some urgency. I thought people might be interested to hear what I’ve been told, which I have to say is not very helpful, and to see if anyone else has had any better advice. Apologies in advance for the length of this message.

Having previously been unable to get a sensible answer from the Coronavirus Immigration Helpcentre (CIH) in April, I raised the issue with my MP on 12 May. His office sent a request for information to the Home Office on 15 May. At this time, no response has been forthcoming. However, I’ve seen other people have learnt via their MPs that they should seek a 6 month extension to their fiancée visas. I therefore started down this route by creating a dummy account to see what was required. I was also encouraged to hear from a guy in Scotland in the same situation that the Home Office had advised him there would be no fee.

On looking at the application, I was puzzled to see that proof of two years cohabitation in the UK was required, which is not applicable to a fiancée visa, and also concerned by the amount of evidence of cohabitation a couple if required to produce. The most puzzling thing, however, was that that when I get to the end of the application, I was directed to a payment site for the Immigration Health Surcharge, which indicated that I was applying for a FLR(m) visa with a duration of 2.5 years and that a payment of £1,000 would be required. I should say at this point that I’d selected Option 6 on the form copied earlier in this thread, which is the option for when a couple has not yet married. My dummy application gave no indication of what fee might be required for the extension after paying the IHS.

At this point, I telephoned UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) on their 0300 number to ask for guidance. A gentleman told me that this was a Covid-19 issue and that I should telephone the CIH on the 0800 number. I duly telephoned the CIH number and was told by a lady that she needed to escalate my case to the Home Office and that someone would contact me within 5 days. Later the same day, a lady phoned to say that my partner would need to apply for a six month extension to her fiancée visa. I explained that I had already tried that approach and the application form did not seem applicable. She told me that I would need to contact UKVI to seek clarification on the application process. I also asked whether there would be a fee to pay. She said she didn’t know and would find out for me. Later she called me to say that I would need to pay the standard application fee unless I could demonstrate hardship.

The next day, I telephoned UKVI on their 0800 number and put my questions to the gentleman who answered. He told me that I had been given wrong advice by the CIH. He told me that it was not normally possible to extend a fiancée visa. Instead, my partner should contact the CIH and ask for an extension of her visa to 31 July. If it wasn’t possible to get married by that date, my partner should apply for a 2.5 year Partner Visa. I pointed out that this would not be applicable because my partner and I hadn’t lived together for two years. His reply was that one of the exemptions the Home Office had introduced was allowing people to switch visa categories without leaving the country and that the two year requirement would be waived if I wrote a covering letter to explain I would be getting married on a new date. I have to say I was quite sceptical about this advice and I asked him why the CIH had told me something different. He said that they had a lot of temporary staff and were not always up to date with the correct advice.

I was still sceptical about whether this advice was correct when I came across the website of a solicitors called Gulbenkian Andonian. They have a page which also mentions that the correct route for people with fiancée visas who wished to extend is to apply for a Partner Visa. Their advice appears to predate the Covid-19 situation as it mentioned that applicants using this route will need to leave the UK while their applications were being decided. This did, however, explain the male adviser’s point to me about my partner not needing to leave the country to do this.

Tomorrow, therefore, I will phone to the CIH line once again to see what they have to say about extending my partner’s visa to 31 July. In the meantime, here are a few other thoughts/questions on my mind:

1) Has anyone formally extended their fiancée visa?
2) Has anyone else heard that there will be no cost for this?
3) Is the application for extending a fiancée visa badly set up (which is why it requests 2.5 years of IHS payment) or has the Home Office removed this option and the application form is reflecting the fact that Spouse Visa application is the correct route?
5) Is there a 5 year penalty involved in using the Partner Visa route over the Marriage Visa route for us in terms of IHS payments and public funds for as mentioned by nick1961 above?
6) Given that an FLR application by law extends a visa until a decision is made, does requesting an extension to 31 July leave an applicant vulnerable to the charge of overstaying?

[ercalil]

I wouldn't know the answer to any of the questions from the previous post (very detailed and interesting contribution, however now I'm really confused as I assumed fiancé visa extensions were certainly possible! ), however for info I would like to share that I came across a comment in Facebook from a solicitor saying that for some of his clients currently in this situation (fiancé visa, wedding postponed due to covid19), he's sending out the spouse visa applications anyway and asking HO to put them on hold until the wedding certificate can be submitted or to exercise discretion quoting Kevin Foster's comment about no one being penalised by HO on visa issues during covid19. I thought it was very interesting and I'm seriously considering giving it a go if unable to get married before end of July, i.e. proceeding with the spouse visa application directly (spouse of EU citizen with settled status, in my case) instead of asking for any extension...

[jrp777]

Thanks as well for your post, it is very informative.

Unfortunately, I can't answer any of your questions, however I did speak to JCWI on the 27th of April.

They gave similar advice and advised to apply for an FLR(FP) partner visa. I was confused by this, as further research indicated it looked like the wrong visa, given:

- We also haven't been living together for 2 years (although it would appear to be waived by your previous post providing a covering letter is provided, if correct). We would have some difficulties setting up proof of address during this timescale as well.
- This visa has a 10 year route towards indefinite leave to remain, although I understand it is possible to switch to the 5 year route later.

I likewise encountered similar problems with the helplines. It would be great if they could publish more detailed information online, as a single source of truth instead of having to speak to multiple different departments, most of whom don't know what the requirements are.

Today, I called the helpline again (note they are now picking up straightaway in most cases) and they advised to apply for an extension to the 31st of July as per this link: https://gov.smartwebportal.co.uk/homeof ... 0NeMb5P1tE

Again the scenario that this application applies to doesn't apply to us, as my fiancee doesn't want to leave the UK after the 31st of July.

Finally, regarding new dates for weddings, our venue is only taking bookings from September this year as we already have a booking there. Other venues are only taking them for January 2021 and these would require giving notice again.

[southbear]

Thanks for the replies. Yesterday, I spoke to a helpful lady on the UKVI helpline who told me that she has also been assigned to take calls on the CIH line. She told me that the Home Office advice was that people with fiancé visas should apply for a six month extension but that they were still waiting for guidance about how visa holders should do this. It would involve providing evidence that a marriage would take place in the six month extension period.

I told her about the advice I had been given on Friday to apply for a Partner Visa and she told me that was wrong. She said that I should ignore this advice as she didn’t want me spending £2,000 on an application that was not the right process. I then asked about the online application for an extension to 31 July and she confirmed jrp777's view above that this was only for people who were delayed leaving the UK and was not for fiancé visa holders.

I pointed out that without taking any action, my partner would soon become an overstayer. She reiterated the Home Office commitment that "no one would be unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control". She acknowledged that it was a stressful situation but that I should wait for further advice to come from the Home Office. She seemed to think that our visas would be extended automatically and advised me to continue to check the website for advice.

I have to say that this leave me feeling very uncomfortable. I will be phoning again and would be interested to hear if anyone has any news in the meantime.

[jrp777]

Hi,

Just to provide some further regarding our discussions with the helplines (I sent my post last thing last night).

I rang the Coronavirus Immigration Help Centre (0800 678 1767) yesterday (1st of June) morning at around 9.15am and they advised to apply for an extension to the 31st of July using this link: https://gov.smartwebportal.co.uk/homeof ... _form.html

Obviously, this is the wrong form/approach to use as it is for those planning to leave after the 31st of July.

However, there are some other things they said on the call which were interesting (if incorrect):

- I was advised that we can’t get a 6 month extension at the moment. I presume that this is NOT referring to the 6 month fiancee visa extension available using the process on the .gov.uk homepage, but an automatic extension. They advised that the Home office are only doing extensions of 2 months at a time (presumably for people who can't leave the UK, but they weren't too specific when I asked them).

They advised to email the home office team on CIH@homeoffice.gov.uk at later date, if the 31st were fast approaching and no further extension had been provided to September. They advised to say once flight restrictions are lifted, we want to get a six month extension. They will then apparently notify us as to what they can do.

I'm not trying to cause confusion, but hopefully this will be a useful demonstration of the contradictory information that is being given out at the moment.

I sent another email to the CIH email address to see if they can clarify things. I will post if I get a response.

[jrp777]

Thanks for the replies. Yesterday, I spoke to a helpful lady on the UKVI helpline who told me that she has also been assigned to take calls on the CIH line. She told me that the Home Office advice was that people with fiancé visas should apply for a six month extension but that they were still waiting for guidance about how visa holders should do this. It would involve providing evidence that a marriage would take place in the six month extension period.

I told her about the advice I had been given on Friday to apply for a Partner Visa and she told me that was wrong. She said that I should ignore this advice as she didn’t want me spending £2,000 on an application that was not the right process. I then asked about the online application for an extension to 31 July and she confirmed jrp777's view above that this was only for people who were delayed leaving the UK and was not for fiancé visa holders.

I pointed out that without taking any action, my partner would soon become an overstayer. She reiterated the Home Office commitment that "no one would be unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control". She acknowledged that it was a stressful situation but that I should wait for further advice to come from the Home Office. She seemed to think that our visas would be extended automatically and advised me to continue to check the website for advice.

I have to say that this leave me feeling very uncomfortable. I will be phoning again and would be interested to hear if anyone has any news in the meantime.

Hi, just wondering, have you received any further update on this?