A question on FLR(M)

[ksriramanarasimhan]

Dear members,
I received my ILR in August 2016. I moved from Tier 1 General to ILR.

My wife's visa as Tier 1 dependent expires in June 2017 and I would like to know which form I should use for her extension - is it FLR(M) or another application as Tier 1 general dependent.

The guidelines in government website is quite confusing. This is what I see in the eligibility criteria -

You need a ‘family of a settled person’ visa if you want to stay (‘remain’) with a family member or partner (for example, spouse) who’s living in the UK permanently and you’re:

already in the UK
from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
You can apply if you’re eligible and you need to:

extend your existing ‘family of a settled person’ visa
switch to a ‘family of a settled person’ visa

You may need to apply in a different way if:

you’re outside the UK
your partner’s from the EEA or Switzerland
your partner originally had a temporary visa as a worker
you’re the victim of domestic violence or your partner has died
you applied for a ‘family of a settled person’ visa before 9 July 2012
you want to reunite with a partner or parent who has asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK



This is where my confusion comes from - your partner originally had a temporary visa as a worker.

The rules for this are given here - https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-general/family-members

I apologise in advance if this has been discussed and answered a number of times but I could not get a reference.

Could someone please advise if I should go for FLR(M) or another Tier 1 dependent.

[CR001]

Tier 1 Dependent.

FLR(M) will reset her clock to zero and a NEW 5 year residence period.

[ksriramanarasimhan]

I do not mind the clock getting reset to 0. At this moment FLR(M) looks like a cost effective option (due to my financial situation). I would like to know if there is any chance the application could be rejected if I apply FLR(M) instead of Tier 1 dependent.

[CR001]

It is your choice, FLR(M) should not be rejected if you meet the financial requirements and your spouse meets the English requirement etc.

FLR(M) will be 2 x 2.5 year visas, IHS of £500 payable for each extension plus £811 postal visa fee or £1311 in person fee (current fees) each time.


If she only requires one extension on Tier 1 G dep, wouldn't that be more cost efficient long term?

[ksriramanarasimhan]

IHS of £500 payable - are you sure? My ILR is valid until Dec 2024 and for my wife the system is calculating the amount payable as £1600

[CR001]

She applies ALONE - DO NOT put your details in. It is only £500 IHS.