Do I apply for 2nd extension or residence?

[dbl88]

Hello,
A background on me, I am a US expat who married a British national and moved to the UK on a Spouse visa back in Sept. of 2012. I have been working here in the UK since, have had 3 children with my wife, and applied and was granted a FLR(M) extension back in Sept. of 2014.
With my extension, I was given a resident permit card, which states it's expiry next month.

What I am trying to figure out is do I apply for a second extension, and how much longer do I have to apply for this if my resident permit card expires next month? My employment is in need of this information as well.

I have trying to figure this out through my own research, and have tried to see if I am eligible for a resident card, and if that will suffice. I have not yet lived here for 5 years, so I am unable to apply for ILR yet.

Any bit of information that can shed some light on what I need to do would be appreciated

[Casa]

What was the expiry date of your Spouse settlement visa? It appears that you may have applied for your FLR(M) visa 6 months too early.

If this is the case you will have to apply for another FLR(M) visa to make up the shortfall and as soon as you have been resident in the UK for a total of 5 years you will qualify for ILR.

[dbl88]

That would be really frustrating.
I correct myself, I applied for the FLR(M) in Nov 2014 BUT:
Looking at my visa now in my passport, it was only Valid from August 2012 to November 2014, which is only 26 months.

So how long is a FLR(M) valid for?

[Casa]

33 months for the Spouse entry visa, 30 months for a FLR(M) extension.

What date exactly did you submit your spouse settlement visa in 2012?

[dbl88]

I applied in Feb 2012 but my application was denied, to which I appealed and it went to tribunal, which I won the case and then was granted the visa 23/08/2012

So if I applied for the FLR(M) in Nov 2014, and its 30 months, I should have until March of this year, right?
This resident permit card expiring next month is what's throwing me off.

[Casa]

As you submitted your application before 9th July 2012 and this was later approved after appeal, I believe you were entitled to apply for ILR at the end of your 2 year visa.

Wait for others to comment on whether you can now submit a SET(M) application.

[dbl88]

That sounds good to me.

For anyone else willing to shed more light:
For some reason I was granted a 27 month Spouse visa from 23/8/2012 - 23/11/2014. I applied for FLR(m) in Nov 2014, and was granted it, but all I was sent in return was a resident permit card that expires 7/2/2017, which is 27 months after I applied for my flr(m).

So do I go by this resident permit card and start panicking that my extension is up soon, or do I have 30 months, which brings it up to April 2017?

[CR001]

You likely could have applied for ILR in 2014 already as your visa was issued under the old rules in place before 9 July 2012.