FLR (O) renewal & Schengen visa

[smogmag]

Dear All,

A convoluted problem, please bear with me. My Thai wife has had two UK visas. In July 2010 she was granted Limited Leave to Remain for 3 years. Then In March 2014, after some wrangling, she was granted Discretionary Leave to Remain for 3 years. I was told to use Form FLR(O). We live in the North-East of England.

We visit Germany regularly to see members of my family. Until now this has posed no problem... simply send off the forms to the German Consulate in Edinburgh together with my UK passport and her Thai passport and bingo, back comes the Schengen visa. However, the system has now been taken over by VFS. As an aside, event though there are still no fees for spouses of UK nationals, VFS have now introduced a 'service charge' of £19.95 or in other words, a visa fee by the 'back door'. We now also have to travel to Edinburgh to have her finger-prints taken!

The Schengen visa rules state that there must be 90 days remaining on my wife's visa in order for her to be granted a visa. We fly back from Germany on 28th Dec and her visa is due for renewal on 18th March = 80 days!

Does anyone have any info on how strict this rule is (ie the 90 day rule)?

One solution I thought of was to renew her UK visa early so as to qualify for a Schengen visa. Is this permitted or must you apply for renewal closer to the actual date (ie 18th March)?

I'm also baffled by which form to use? It seems to me (and I freely admit to being confused by the whole process) that I should be using FLR(DL) as my wife has 2 UK born children. Does anyone know which form I should use and if it is FLR(DL) do we qualify for a waiving of the fees?

Thank you in advance and apologies for the long-windedness of this post.

[CR001]

Was her first limot3d leave to remain for three years also discretionary leave to remain?

What re the exact dates of her visa and category of visas?

How long has she been in the UK and on what visas?

[smogmag]

Thank you for replying so quickly. very kind of you. She entered the UK with me and our daughter in January 2010 on a 6 month Tourist Visa as we intended to go back to Thailand. However, in April 2010 she became pregnant with our son and we therefore decided to apply to stay in the UK. This was granted for 3 years. The letter states although she does not qualify for leave to remain in the UK, nevertheless the Secretary of State has decided that discretion should be exercised in her favour and she has therefore been granted limited leave to remain in accordance with the principles set out in the Home Office Policy on Discretionary Leave. The second visa was applied for on form FLR(O) and states exactly the same words.It ends by saying that she has been granted Discretionary Leave to Remain until 18th March 2017 after which she should apply for an extension.

Hope this answers your questions. Thanks again

Steve

[smogmag]

An update - the German consulate in Edinburgh says that they have a little leeway with the '90 day rule' and the fact that my wife will still have 80 days should not be a problem.... just now need advice on what visa I should be applying for for her?