Vary Application

[seekit]

Hi,

My wife had following visas:
Spouse visa from Pakistan
Start: 20 August 2013
Expiry: 20 May 2016
Total Time: 2 years, 9 months

She arrived in UK on 14 Feb 2014 that was about 6 months after visa start date.

She applied for an extension in April 2016 and got a permit with following start/expiry:
Start: 14 June 2016
Expiry: 05 January 2019
Total Time: 2 years, 6 months, 22 days

As she first entered UK on 14 Feb, 2014 her 5 years will complete on 13 Feb, 2019 but visa will expire before that i.e. 05 Jan, 2019.

I assume she can apply for ILR 28 days before completing 5 years i.e. 18 Jan, 2019, so she is short of about 13-14 days. After reading posts on this forum we have come to know that we can apply for FLR and then vary application to ILR after 13 days. Can you please advise if that will work? Also when we will submit FLR application we will be submitting all original documents, does that mean with ILR application we just need to submit extra documents and HO will automatically pull all other documents from FLR application?
Anyone ever done this? Please share your experience.

Many Thanks

[seekit]

bump

[CR001]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... n-v1.0.pdf

[fielddrive]

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... n-v1.0.pdf

This.

Application vary has worked for a few because as soon as you apply, the terms of your current leave extend under section 3a/3c.

[seekit]

Thanks both for your replies. I've read the document you specified and I think the leave will be extended under 3C would that mean she can vary application as soon as there are 28 days before her 5 year period completes? Or does she need to wait till 13th Feb when her 5 years will complete?
Also they didn't specify about the original documentation that we will submit as part of first application will they pull the documentation and attach with new (ILR) application?

[fielddrive]

I do not believe one can apply 28 days early if they are on a spouse visa. The 28 days is for people on points based work visa like Tier 1 etc.

[seekit]

Thanks for your reply. I was looking at the following forum post and advice given there. Is that incorrect?

indefinite-leave-to-remain/5-years-spou ... 56103.html

[CR001]

Thanks for your reply. I was looking at the following forum post and advice given there. Is that incorrect?

indefinite-leave-to-remain/5-years-spou ... 56103.html

Which post specifically in the topic are you referring to???

[seekit]

The last one which says the poster can apply within 28 days before completing 5 years period. Or am i missing something?

Thanks

[CR001]

The last one which says the poster can apply within 28 days before completing 5 years period. Or am i missing something?

Thanks

The user had different circumstances. They switched to spouse visa WITHIN the UK so date of visa issue is their start of the qualifying period as they were already IN the UK.

Your spouse qualifies within 28 days before reaching 5 years counted from the date they ENTERED the UK.

[seekit]

Many thanks thats what I was referring to, that she will complete her 5 years on 13th Feb 2019 as she entered UK on 14th Feb 2014 but her first visa was issued on 20th Aug 2013 hence the shortfall. So that means she can apply 28 days before 13th Feb 2019 yeah? That will mean we will submit extension application before 5th January when her visa expires lets say 4th Jan. And vary application to ILR after 13 days when she'll be within 28 days of completing her 5 years in UK.

[CR001]

Many thanks thats what I was referring to, that she will complete her 5 years on 13th Feb 2019 as she entered UK on 14th Feb 2014 but her first visa was issued on 20th Aug 2013 hence the shortfall. So that means she can apply 28 days before 13th Feb 2019 yeah? That will mean we will submit extension application before 5th January when her visa expires lets say 4th Jan. And vary application to ILR after 13 days when she'll be within 28 days of completing her 5 years in UK.

Correct yes.

[bathanza]

Many thanks thats what I was referring to, that she will complete her 5 years on 13th Feb 2019 as she entered UK on 14th Feb 2014 but her first visa was issued on 20th Aug 2013 hence the shortfall. So that means she can apply 28 days before 13th Feb 2019 yeah? That will mean we will submit extension application before 5th January when her visa expires lets say 4th Jan. And vary application to ILR after 13 days when she'll be within 28 days of completing her 5 years in UK.

Sounds right. Are you in a position to go a premium route to extend? You'll then have your approval letter, BRP etc. Although not required as you'll be covered under section 3C via the varying route.

[seekit]

Thanks. No we would not want to go premium as it is a lot of money and we are not in a hurry to travel anywhere.
Can you please also let us know if my wife would need to sit in English exam? Last time for extension application in 2016, we sent NARIC letter of comparability and english language statement from NARIC and her original degree certificate. Can we reuse it? I don't think it mentions any expiry date.

[Londoner007]

You can use the certificate again

[seekit]

Hi Guys, One of my friend mentioned that my wife can apply for ILR direct and once biometric letter is received we ignore that and HO will send another letter after 15-20 days that way we will get extra days and her 5 years will complete. According to him HO send biometric letter three times.
I wasn't sure if that is even possible so I thought I'd check if anyone know if its possible. Also according to him HO will not reject our application straightaway instead they'll take payment and issue biometric letter before making any progress on application. Please advise

Many Thanks

[seagul]

Hi Guys, One of my friend mentioned that my wife can apply for ILR direct and once biometric letter is received we ignore that and HO will send another letter after 15-20 days that way we will get extra days and her 5 years will complete. According to him HO send biometric letter three times.
I wasn't sure if that is even possible so I thought I'd check if anyone know if its possible. Also according to him HO will not reject our application straightaway instead they'll take payment and issue biometric letter before making any progress on application. Please advise

Many Thanks

Don't take that risk because HO might put your partner into 10 years of settlement route where only for 15 days you have to further wait 5 more years for getting ILR.

[seekit]

Thanks, I'll go with the vary application route then. Just out of interest can you please let me know how can they put her to 10 year route?

[CR001]

I do not believe one can apply 28 days early if they are on a spouse visa. The 28 days is for people on points based work visa like Tier 1 etc.

Incorrect. The 28 days prior to meeting the residence requirement applies to all visa categories. It is the start of the residence point that is different for spouse visa holders and PBS route visa holders.

[CR001]

Thanks, I'll go with the vary application route then. Just out of interest can you please let me know how can they put her to 10 year route?

The 10 year route, i.e. FLR(FP) Partner route, is usually only done when you DO NOT meet the financial and English requirements.

[seekit]

Hi CR001, Thanks for your reply so it doesn't apply in my case then? Can you please comment for my other post about applying for ILR instead of varying application and ignoring first biometric letter to overcome shortfall?

[seekit]

Hi, Just to update if it is useful for anyone that my wife got her ILR. We applied for her extension using online form and paid fee + IHS fee. At the end they mentioned you can submit your documents in 3-4 weeks time and also enrol for biometric. We didn't submit the documents and not enrolled for biometric and instead we applied again for ILR after few days when her 5 years were completed, we gave the reference of extension application when they asked have u got any application already with HomeOffice. We submitted all the documents for ILR only and enrolled for biometric. They refunded us application fee soon and refunded IHS fee later when she got her ILR approved. So it all worked out well for us and we saved money by not applying for extension only.

Many thanks for everyone who helped.

[seagul]

Hi, Just to update if it is useful for anyone that my wife got her ILR. We applied for her extension using online form and paid fee + IHS fee. At the end they mentioned you can submit your documents in 3-4 weeks time and also enrol for biometric. We didn't submit the documents and not enrolled for biometric and instead we applied again for ILR after few days when her 5 years were completed, we gave the reference of extension application when they asked have u got any application already with HomeOffice. We submitted all the documents for ILR only and enrolled for biometric. They refunded us application fee soon and refunded IHS fee later when she got her ILR approved. So it all worked out well for us and we saved money by not applying for extension only.

Many thanks for everyone who helped.

Its called varying an application which is absolutely acceptable. In my opinion you managed it very intelligently to save additional application & IHS fee. Because there was a gap of only few days and that's why it worked smoothly.