FLR(M) question 2.2 and 2.3

[eksbee]

Please help I am having trouble understanding questions 2.2 and 2.3 on the FLR(M) form.

I am a British Citizen

I married my wife in Aug 2012

She applied to join me as family from outside the UK and was granted a visa for 33 months in Feb 2013 - she joined me here in the UK in Feb 2013.

Her visa expires in Oct 2015.

From my understanding she needs to extend her visa apply for "further leave to remain" FLR(M) form is this correct?

Question 2.1 asks:
2.1 Please tick a box below to show us the category in which you are applying for an extension of stay in the UK and to confirm that you are also applying for a biometric immigration document.

To which we are ticking: Spouse of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document.

Question 2.2 asks:
2.2 Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor?

Should she answer yes or no?
Its obviously not the first time she applied for a visa, it is the first time she is applying for an extension and strictly speaking she never applied for a biometric document before. I think the answer should be no but just seeking a 2nd opinion

Question 2.3 asks:
2.3 Please indicate what stage of extension of leave you are applying for or why you are choosing to extend your current leave in one of the above categories.

We are not sure what we answer here either, the options are:

(a) First period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person, or following an initial period of entry clearance as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person - 6 months)

(b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain).

(c) You are making a first application from within the UK but have not previously had leave to enter/remain as a partner.

(d) You delayed your travel to the UK by more than 3 months after the issue of a visa, and have not yet completed the relevant period of time in one of the categories at question 2.1

(e) You require further leave to remain to obtain the relevant qualifications to meet the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK (KoLL) requirements to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

(f) You were granted entry as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, but have not yet married or entered into a civil partnership. Please explain why in the box below and state when your marriage or civil partnership will take place.

She needs to complete 2.5 years (to make 5 years) during which she will do the English B1 + KoLL test and apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end. I dont think its (c), (d) or (f). But im not sure if we should tick (a), (b) or (e)? E sounds correct to me. What are other people ticking in the same circumstances?

[Casa]

Please help I am having trouble understanding questions 2.2 and 2.3 on the FLR(M) form.

I am a British Citizen

I married my wife in Aug 2012

She applied to join me as family from outside the UK and was granted a visa for 33 months in Feb 2013 - she joined me here in the UK in Feb 2013.

Her visa expires in Oct 2015.

From my understanding she needs to extend her visa apply for "further leave to remain" FLR(M) form is this correct?

Question 2.1 asks:
2.1 Please tick a box below to show us the category in which you are applying for an extension of stay in the UK and to confirm that you are also applying for a biometric immigration document.

To which we are ticking: Spouse of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document.

Question 2.2 asks:
2.2 Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor? No

Should she answer yes or no?
Its obviously not the first time she applied for a visa, it is the first time she is applying for an extension and strictly speaking she never applied for a biometric document before. I think the answer should be no but just seeking a 2nd opinion

Question 2.3 asks:
2.3 Please indicate what stage of extension of leave you are applying for or why you are choosing to extend your current leave in one of the above categories.

We are not sure what we answer here either, the options are:

(a) First period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person, or following an initial period of entry clearance as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person - 6 months)

(b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain). This one

(c) You are making a first application from within the UK but have not previously had leave to enter/remain as a partner.

(d) You delayed your travel to the UK by more than 3 months after the issue of a visa, and have not yet completed the relevant period of time in one of the categories at question 2.1

(e) You require further leave to remain to obtain the relevant qualifications to meet the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK (KoLL) requirements to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

(f) You were granted entry as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, but have not yet married or entered into a civil partnership. Please explain why in the box below and state when your marriage or civil partnership will take place.

She needs to complete 2.5 years (to make 5 years) during which she will do the English B1 + KoLL test and apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end. I dont think its (c), (d) or (f). But im not sure if we should tick (a), (b) or (e)? E sounds correct to me. What are other people ticking in the same circumstances?

[eksbee]

Thank you casa, regarding question 2.3, you think answer (b) would be most suitable in this circumstance.

It says b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain). The first time she applied would that have been leave to enter? And therefore this would be the 1st time applying for leave to remain? Or does the initial leave to enter count as a leave to remain. Perhaps I'm over thinking, but I think the wording on these forums could be much better.

Any opinions on this please

[eksbee]

I meant forms! not forums

I'm leaning towards option A, but I would like some other opinions, could someone please offer some advice?

[lyrical]

Hi eksbee.

I'm in pretty much the same boat as you.

My wife was granted a spouse visa for 33 months in Jan 2013, it expires in Oct 2015.

Also got confused with Section 2.

My initial thoughts were:
2.2 - No
2.3 - (b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain).

No idea if a Spouse visa = grant of leave to remain.

But just after further opinions, so I'll keep an eye on this topic.

[zabiela]

Thank you casa, regarding question 2.3, you think answer (b) would be most suitable in this circumstance.

It says b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain). The first time she applied would that have been leave to enter? And therefore this would be the 1st time applying for leave to remain? Or does the initial leave to enter count as a leave to remain. Perhaps I'm over thinking, but I think the wording on these forums could be much better.

Any opinions on this please

Hey Eksbee,

Did you get any further on this? Sorry for digging an old post but this is something I am confused about as well.
My wife is exactly in the same situation. This is her first extension after entering in Dec'13. So, my thoughts are exactly, this should be the first extension but the advise is to choose point (b) (second period of leave to remain) - which option did you end up choosing?

Appreciate if you could help

[michali]

My husband will be applying for FLR(M) later this year. He came in on a 33 month spousal visa. He will tick NO for 2.2 as it is not the first time he has applied for a settlement visa. He will tick (a) for the second question as he previously had leave to enter, not leave to remain, so this will be his first application for leave to remain.

[zabiela]

Thanks. That was my initial guess as well, however I am confused by Casa's response above which states that choice B is appropriate for 2.3 in this case?

[globalindian]

Did you get any response yet? Basically in first option there is a mention of 6 months which is confusing. So any advice will be useful.

Second option clearly mentions "(following initial grant of leave to remain"). I guess in this case for Flr m initially it was entry clearance. Can anybody please advise?

This is bit confusing.

[michali]

2.3 b would refer to those who came in on a fiancée visa (leave to enter) and were given 6 months to get married. They would then have applied for FLR(m) and and now applying for further leave to remain. Those who came in on spousal visas were only given leave to enter so this would be their first application for leave to remain, therefore they would tick (a)

[globalindian]

Thanks michali.

[cyborg001]

And I am guessing that for any first time applicants switching to a spouse visa IN-COUNTRY from any other category (e.g. Tier 2) would select option c?

[chp87]

Please help I am having trouble understanding questions 2.2 and 2.3 on the FLR(M) form.

I am a British Citizen

I married my wife in Aug 2012

She applied to join me as family from outside the UK and was granted a visa for 33 months in Feb 2013 - she joined me here in the UK in Feb 2013.

Her visa expires in Oct 2015.

From my understanding she needs to extend her visa apply for "further leave to remain" FLR(M) form is this correct?

Question 2.1 asks:
2.1 Please tick a box below to show us the category in which you are applying for an extension of stay in the UK and to confirm that you are also applying for a biometric immigration document.

To which we are ticking: Spouse of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document.

Question 2.2 asks:
2.2 Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor?

Should she answer yes or no?
Its obviously not the first time she applied for a visa, it is the first time she is applying for an extension and strictly speaking she never applied for a biometric document before. I think the answer should be no but just seeking a 2nd opinion

Question 2.3 asks:
2.3 Please indicate what stage of extension of leave you are applying for or why you are choosing to extend your current leave in one of the above categories.

We are not sure what we answer here either, the options are:

(a) First period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person, or following an initial period of entry clearance as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person - 6 months)

(b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain).

(c) You are making a first application from within the UK but have not previously had leave to enter/remain as a partner.

(d) You delayed your travel to the UK by more than 3 months after the issue of a visa, and have not yet completed the relevant period of time in one of the categories at question 2.1

(e) You require further leave to remain to obtain the relevant qualifications to meet the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK (KoLL) requirements to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

(f) You were granted entry as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, but have not yet married or entered into a civil partnership. Please explain why in the box below and state when your marriage or civil partnership will take place.

She needs to complete 2.5 years (to make 5 years) during which she will do the English B1 + KoLL test and apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end. I dont think its (c), (d) or (f). But im not sure if we should tick (a), (b) or (e)? E sounds correct to me. What are other people ticking in the same circumstances?

So eksbee what did u put in your application did u select:

No for 2.2

what did u select for 2.3

thank you!!

[mike1628]

I was also confused by these questions, so I searched online and found this statement:


The process for Fiancé(e)/Proposed Civil Partnership Visas is as follows

Obtain a Fiancé(e)/Proposed Civil Partnership Visa, which allows initial entry into the UK for the purpose of marriage and settlement.

Once you are married you then apply for your first of 2 (two) Further Leave to Remain Visas (FLR(M)) at 2.5 years each.

At the conclusion of the second 2.5 year period, you can then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and the second that the ink is dry on that visa, you are free to apply for UK citizenship through naturalisation, as you must have been living in the UK on a Spouse/Civil Partner for 3 years before this can happen, and since the FLR(M) portion of the visa process is 5 years in length (or 3 years if you applied for your initial Fiancé(e)/Proposed Civil Partnership Visa by midnight on July 8, 2012), you're automatically eligible to apply for citizenship once ILR has been granted.

ETA: if you applied for and were approved for a Spouse Visa from outside of the UK (i.e. you got married to a UK citizen outside of the UK, that visa is 33 months long (2.5 years plus 3 months extra allowance for the applicant to conclude life in their home country before arriving in the UK without it jeopardising the "must be present in the UK for 2.5 years" part of the visa) and counts as the first of the aforementioned 2 FLR(M) visas. When that first visa expires, you would apply for a second FLR(M) visa of 2.5 years, after which you could apply for ILR and, upon successful application, citizenship.



So, Casa is right. You should tick the box for a second FLR(M). Hope this clears things up for those confused.

[chp87]

Thank you mike1628,

so when i make the application as we had spouse visa to entry i will have to

2.2 Is this the first time you have applied for a visa or extension of stay in one of the above categories (including previous leave granted as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) with your current sponsor? NO

2.3
(b) Second period of leave to remain (following initial grant of leave to remain). This one

I will select these n put them down in the application,

does any1 have a update checklist for premium service for FLR M ?

thanks

[mike1628]

I am sooooo confused now.

I've just found this online:

You are applying for:

"First period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person, or following an initial period of entry clearance as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person - 6 months)"

The your spousal visa is the one I've highlighted. The 6 months part only applies to fiance visas which are valid for 6 months. So, it's saying that you are applying for your first FLR(M) extension visa after entering the UK on a 33-month spousal visa or on a 6-month fiance visa.

The clue is in the name of your current visa:

- Entry Clearance... is a visa applied for outside the UK that gives you permission to ENTER the UK to live

- Leave to Remain... is an extension visa applied for inside the UK that gives you permission to REMAIN in the UK

Your first visa was your entry clearance visa, applied for in the US, and now you are applying for your first leave to remain visa to stay in the UK... FLR(M) stands for Further Leave to Remain (based on Marriage to a UK citizen).

Another way to tell would be the format of your visa... if you already had Leave to Remain, your visa would be a plastic BRP ID card and not a sticker in your passport .

Also, when you get to Section 9, which asks about your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP card), you don't have one yet (your FLR(M) will be issued as a BRP), so you tick 'NO' to question 9.1 and then skip straight to 9.12.



So, which one is it? First or Second FLRm?

Any moderator could shed light on this conundrum?

[chp87]

Any1 comment further on this matter?

[SAMISPOUSAL]

I agree with Mike1628
that sounds sensible.

First period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person...thats it that applies to you....
No need to read any further because it goes on to say OR....SO AND SO which does not apply to you...

ALSO please comment if I understand this correctly
some one enters Uk on entry clearance visa then gets FLR m too soon so need another FLR m to get to the ILR so SURELY that extension of the extension is the SECOND TIME ?

so do we all agree with Mike 1628 ?
Thank you

[mike1628]

Well, I ticked the first period of leave box, and sent off the application form today.

Good luck to us.

Many thanks.

[chp87]

Good luck buddy!! Keep us updatted 2.2 no 2.3 first i will do the same lol

[nadjib31000]

Good luck buddy!! Keep us updatted 2.2 no 2.3 first i will do the same lol

Hi chp87,

Sorry to dig out an old post, but I am in exactly the same confused situation as you were when filling out FLR(M) Form. How did you get on with your application? was it successful and what did you answer for Q2.2 and Q2.3?

Thanks

[Dave1435]

We were also confused by this question and found this thread really useful while filling out the FLR(M). I wanted to help anyone else now as we've just been approved for leave to remain.

We are in the same situation as the original post - I'm British, my wife is American and she applied for her first entry clearance visa from America and was granted a 33 month visa. We've now just completed her application for leave to remain. We ticked 'spouse or partner of a person present and settled in the UK and a biometric immigration document' (first option) in question 2.1, 'No' in question 2.2 and 'first period of leave to remain' (first option) in question 2.3. This application was approved successfully today without any further questions.

[Steve2560]

I'm just getting to it now. Can anyone share what results they got from which option. Any news is welcome and well received.

[Irina Edwards]

Hi Mike,

Please please please give ny advise on how it went though? Im more enclined to think that its option N1, however my friend has ticked the option N2 in the same circumstances (which doesnt make sense i know!) and it was all ok ! She has got her 1st visa extension from the UK now.
This question is rreally REALLLYYY confusing!

Thanks!
Irina

[jgable9]

Hi all - I used this exact thread when I was confused about how to answer question 2.3 as I was filling out my application the other week so I wanted to post my results in case helpful to anyone in the future.

My situation was pretty much the same as 'Dave1435' above - I am an American woman married to a British man and had to apply to extend my spouse visa after the initial 33 month period. I also answered 'Fist period of leave to remain (following an initial period of entry clearance as a partner of a settled person)..' and my application was successful.

I agree that much of the language used throughout the application is very confusing!