Help with FLR(M)/SET (M) & new English language requirem

[ILR009]

Hi all,
I received ILR in February on 10 year long residence and my immigration history is as follows:

From October 2000 to July 2001 (Work permit)
From September 2001 to September 2006 (student visa plus one extension of student visa)
From September 2006 to January 2008 (Work permit + one extension that was valid till September 2009)
From January 2008 to January 2010 (HSMP)
From January 2010 (Tier 1 as extension of HSMP valid till Jan 2013)
February 2011 received ILR.

My wife joined me here in the UK in October 2004 and her immigration history is as follows:

From October 2004 to September 2006 (student dependent)
From September 2006 to January 2008 (Work permit dependant)
From January 2008 to January 2010 (HSMP dependent)
From January 2010 to current date (dependent of Tier 1(general) that is valid until January 2013)


Now according to home office her current visa as dependent of Tier 1(general) is invalid and she should change to FLR(M) then she can apply for ILR and her time spend on Tier1 dependent would count towards ILR application.

My first question is because my wife has already completed more than 2 years as my dependent visa category (HSMP + Tier1) does she need to apply for FLR (M) before applying for SET (M)?

I understand that in10 long residence category dependents are not allowed but some people reported in this forum getting ILR for dependents in 10 year long residence category by using a specific solicitor.

If she needs to apply in FLR (M) category , then after that how long she will have to wait for applying for ILR in SET(M) category.


My second question is there any time limit to for my wife to apply for FLR (M)?


We were thinking of applying for her extension under FLR (M) category, where from November 2010 you need to fulfil new English language requirement for partners and it was very difficult to get the dates for the right type of test in near future.

Last week I noticed on UKBA website new changes where masters degree done in the UK is enough to satisfy the requirement. As my wife has done Masters degree in the UK according to new changes (I have copied the relevant part below)

[quote]“You mention Bachelors degrees but will you accept Master’s Degrees
and PhDs?
As a concession the UK Border Agency will also accept the following
qualifications as meeting the English language requirement for spouses and
partners:-
• Any masters degree or PhD obtained in the UK
• Any masters degree or PhD obtained in one of the specified majority
speaking countries; Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Belize, Dominica,
Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis,
St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK
and the USA
or
• Any Master’s degree or PhD, not obtained in the UK or specified
majority English speaking country above, which UK NARIC have
assessed and verified as being taught or research in English and
confirmation from UK NARIC has been submitted with the application
The Immigration Rules will be amended at the next available opportunity to
bring this concession within the Immigration Rules. Until then applicants who
submit evidence of acceptable Masters or PhDs will be treated as having met
the English language requirement pending the Rules change. In such cases
any leave granted will be under the Immigration Rules.
We can only accept Master’s degrees or PhDs recognised by UK NARIC.
If your Masters degree or PhD is recognised by UK NARIC please submit
evidence of your qualification as indicated above.
If you cannot find your Masters degree or PhD on the points-based calculator,
you may still be able to use it to meet the English requirement. In these
circumstances you should contact UK NARIC directly for an assessment of
the level of the qualification and, if UK NARIC confirms it is of the required
level, obtain a letter and/or confirmation certificate from UK NARIC. You can
find a link to the UK NARIC website below. It is an independent website, for
which we are not responsible. It may charge a fee for confirming
qualifications. http://www.naric.org.uk/
You can then supply this statement of compatibility from UK NARIC with your
application. However if UK NARIC cannot confirm the equivalence of your
qualification you will not be able to use it to meet the new English language
requirementâ€