Extending Spouse Visa

[jamesa380]

Hi all,

I am a UK citizen my wife was granted a spouse/partner visa in 2017 when we applied for a 'family of a settled person visa'

Her BRP states this expires on the 30th of April 2020. 3 months more than the 2.5 years applied for. My questions is about finding the right time to apply for the next 2.5 years.

Quoting from the gov.uk under the family visa section it states 'You can extend or switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.' leading me to now believe we can apply for the next 2.5 years any time we would like as long a its before 30th of April 2020. Is this correct?

Or do we need to leave enough time in the current visa for the new application to be completed? We intend to pay for the 'super priority service' to get a decision within 1 working day.

Thank you in advance!

[seagul]

Earliest a person can apply extension is 28 days before completing 2.5 years (30 months) from the date of arrival to UK. But as a precaution its best to apply very close to date of expiry of actual visa so that no shortfall occurs in qualifying ILR in future.

[jamesa380]

Thank you for the response, so we wouldn't be penalised if we applied for extension after 30 months aslong as it's before the expiry of the 33 month visa currently granted?

Thanks again

[CR001]

Thank you for the response, so we wouldn't be penalised if we applied for extension after 30 months aslong as it's before the expiry of the 33 month visa currently granted?

Thanks again

Correct.

[seagul]

Thank you for the response, so we wouldn't be penalised if we applied for extension after 30 months aslong as it's before the expiry of the 33 month visa currently granted?

Thanks again

No as long as you apply before the date of expiry of visa. In my opinion unless there is something major rule/fee going to change or personal circumstances going to change then why apply so earlier before the date of expiry of visa.

[jamesa380]

Thank you all for the clarification!

[jamesa380]

Good evening all,

I am UK citizen and my wife is currently living with me on a "family of a settled person visa" her visa and BRP were granted in 2017 and we will be applying for the next 2.5 years in January 2020.

My question is will we need to provide all of the same information and documents that were required in the initial application? Meaning more letters from family and friends, photos of our relationship, another A2 English language certificate etc.

Thank you in advance for the help!

[CR001]

My question is will we need to provide all of the same information and documents that were required in the initial application? Meaning more letters from family and friends, photos of our relationship, another A2 English language certificate etc.

You only need to prove the financial requirement, English A2 (or B1 if you wish) and proof of cohabitation for the 2 years preceding the extension application date.

Letters and photos of you together is not needed.

[Amber]

Good evening,

I would like to know if we are able to start the online application for my wife's spouse visa extension a few weeks before we actually hit the submit button so we can can get a good look at the application form and exactly what it's going to ask us.

Are we able to view the document upload portal after beginning the application online to double check what it requires and come back to get more documents it if we need to before we submit? I believe I have everything required but wanted to see exactly what it's going to ask for in the hope not to under or over prepare and cause confusion. Hope it's not a stupid question

Kind regards,
James

[geoeng]

Yes, you can start the application a while before you submit it (not entirely sure, but I think they hold the information for 6 months before you would have to start over, unfortunately the actual time limit doesn't appear to be listed on the application page). Just be careful what information you do put in is correct as there are threads on this forum where some have made it too far to go back and make any changes. Old paper versions of the application form are widely available online and the questions on the online form are substantially the same, so these can be a good reference.

You cannot access the document upload portal until after you have submitted the application as far as I know. It is just a site to upload documents though with a list of categories you can file documents under, it doesn't specify what has to be uploaded so you're not missing out on much. Completing the application will generate a checklist of the expected supporting evidence and it sounds like you probably already have a good idea of what you will have to provide.

[jamesa380]

Thank you very much for the info here

Kind regards,
James

[jamesa380]

Hi all,

Another question regarding documentation to prove cohabitation.

When my wife moved to the UK we stayed for just under one month in my fathers house, which was the original accommodation used on the first application.

We then moved into a rented apartment for 6-months. we have the tenancy agreement from the estate agents in both our names stating the duration of the let.

After this we have now lived for two years in our own home which is in a mortgage in my name only.

my plan for documentation to prove cohabitation for the last 2 1/2 years is a letter from my father stating the 28 days we lives with him.

Then the tenancy agreement in both names along with a water and council tax bill in both names.

After this we have council tax bills and water bills in both names covering the two years in our own home. Each council tax bill is for one year each and each water bill is for 3 months each. Will this be enough? My wife also has a bank statement with our address for each month she's been in the UK if we need to fill in any extra and we also have gas and electric utilities for the last 7 months in both names if needed

I will be providing separate documentation to prove ownership of the property etc in terms of providing adequate accommodation for the future

Kind regards,
James

[CR001]

You only need evidence for the last 2 years immediately preceding date of application.

[jamesa380]

Ah okay thank you,

In that case I would be providing 2 years worth of council tax bills which is just two bills covering a year period each along with water bills covering a 6-month period each of the last 2 years. That would be 6 individual utility bills that cover the two-year period in joint names

do you believe this will be enough or should we also be submitting extra individual pieces such as bank statements etc

Thanks again,
James

[CR001]

You need 3 to 6 sources spread evenly for every 3 to 4 months.

[jamesa380]

Thank very much.

Am I able to double check we are applying at the right time for an extension? My wife would have been in the UK for 33 months on the 30th of January 2020. Her BRP states expiry on the 30th of April 2020.

As her 33 in the UK months comes to an end on the 30th of January 2020 we are thinking of submitting the application around the 15th or 16th of January so it's within the 28 days of reaching 33 months in the UK.

Is this correct?

Kind regards,
James

[Korekt]

My wife would have been in the UK for 33 months on the 30th of January 2020. Her BRP states expiry on the 30th of April 2020.

Do you mean 30 months on 30 January 2020?

Was their visa issued in July 2017? On what date did they enter the UK?

[geoeng]

Am I able to double check we are applying at the right time for an extension? My wife would have been in the UK for 33 months on the 30th of January 2020. Her BRP states expiry on the 30th of April 2020.

As her 33 in the UK months comes to an end on the 30th of January 2020 we are thinking of submitting the application around the 15th or 16th of January so it's within the 28 days of reaching 33 months in the UK.

A bit confused on the timeline there. The initial spouse visa (entry clearance) is usually granted for a period of 33 months while extensions (further leave to remain) are usually granted for a period of 30 months. Would it be correct to assume that she would have been in the UK on a spouse visa for 30 months in January and the 33 month BRP expires in April? Or was she previously in the UK on a different visa type (which wouldn't count towards the time towards ILR under this category anyway)?

Regardless, to qualify for ILR you must have completed a continuous period of 60 months in the UK with leave to enter/remain as a partner. This is ultimately what you are trying to achieve in timing the applications. For the first spouse visa extension you would be aiming to apply between 28 days prior to completing 30 months in the UK holding a spouse visa and the expiry of the initial visa in order to stay on track in meeting the 60 month target without needing additional extensions.

My personal opinion only: If you're applying prior to having 30 months in the UK and are planning on using the super priority service, you're not leaving yourself a lot of wiggle room in submitting the ILR application in a couple years in case something comes up; the earliest date you can apply and visa expiry date will be quite close together. You're plan would still work, just make sure you stay on top of your calendar.

[jamesa380]

Thank you for the replys and apologies for the confusion!

Yes 30 months will be reached on January 30th and 33 on April 30th.

She entered the UK on the 30th of July 2017. The very first day she was able to under her new visa. We were very keen to get her here after some time apart!

So I need to make sure the decision ideally is made after the 30th of January? We were planning on using super priority yes so might need to leave a little later.

My last payslip used for financial requirement will be dated 31st of December 2019 and my supporting letters on January 10th. The newest payslip and bank statement should not be more than 28 days old at time of application if that's correct?

Thanks again

James

[geoeng]

My last payslip used for financial requirement will be dated 31st of December 2019 and my supporting letters on January 10th. The newest payslip and bank statement should not be more than 28 days old at time of application if that's correct?

Correct.

So I need to make sure the decision ideally is made after the 30th of January? We were planning on using super priority yes so might need to leave a little later.

Not necessarily, mostly just saying keep track of when you can apply for ILR and when the visa expires. You would have at least a few weeks in which to apply using your plan. There are threads on here of people forgetting or having to travel out of the country and then being in a rush, so just wanted to reinforce the importance of keeping track of dates. I entirely understand wanting to be done with the whole immigration process as soon as possible.

[seagul]

.

My last payslip used for financial requirement will be dated 31st of December 2019 and my supporting letters on January 10th. The newest payslip and bank statement should not be more than 28 days old at time of application if that's correct?

Thanks again

James

Only applies when everything you have in hands because apart of 28 days the documents shouldn't be dated after the date of application

[jamesa380]

Thanks all,

To clarify as long documents that need to be younger and 28 days are so at the time of submitting the online application it does not matter if if they are over 28 days when we book the next visa appointment if there is not any appointments immediately available for example

Kind regards,
James

[seagul]

Thanks all,

To clarify as long documents that need to be younger and 28 days are so at the time of submitting the online application it does not matter if if they are over 28 days when we book the next visa appointment if there is not any appointments immediately available for example

Kind regards,
James

Yes

[jamesa380]

Thank you!

Okay I'm hoping this will be the last question I need to ask!

My salary for the last 6 months has been £24500 and all 6 of my payslips I will be submitting reflect this salary.

However being December I have received a small yearly pay rise that will be reflected in my January 2020 payslip and onwards for a new salary of £25112

Is it wise to just submit my current payslips with a letter from my employer stating the old salary or a letter stating the new salary but explained that these previous payslips show my previous salary and the new salary won't show until Jan 2020 payslip.

I might be wrong but I believe there's a question on the application asking if you've been on this continuous salary for a certain period of time? Would I now need to answer no to that question as I've had a small pay rise this month?

I do have a letter from my employer explaining the new pay rise but it's not have my address on it only my name

Thank you again!

James

[geoeng]

Because it's over the financial requirement already, I don't think it matters either way. If you are going to mention it, it's probably best to make clear when the increase starts and what the previous salary was, which it sounds like you already have. If you have continuously earned above the financial requirement, you should be able to answer that way without being at a specific salary for certain amount of time if you have been with the same employer for at least the last 6 months (I can't recall the exact wording of the question). In general, if you have doubts about any of the answers to the questions, you can try to clarify why you answered a certain way in a cover letter submitted with the supporting documentation. Doubt not having your address on the employer letter will make a difference as long as it has your name on it.