Extend Spouse VISA - FLR(M) But current spouse visa expired

[Barriest]

I have been talking with a friend who has been in the country for OVER 2 years on a spouse visa. (6 months since visa expired) I can only assume she simply forgot that her visa was due?

Is it possible to apply for a FLR(M) while remaining in the UK? I know the couple are happily married and both working and not sponging off the system. What are their options?

[paulp]

The HO is getting tough on overstayers, irrespective of whether they are the spouse of a British citizen. She should get it sorted out asap before the ouright bans come into force and they're a minimum of 1 year.

Worst case before the bans is that she'll have to return home and apply for a new spouse visa.

[Barriest]

So are you saying it can be sorted out in the UK... perhaps with legal advice or are you saying she should go now back to her own country before it's too late and reapply for a spouse visa

[paulp]

I think that she should certainly get expert advice.

I would say that her chances in-country aren't too good. Even if she goes back home, we've had reports from certain countries that spouse visas have been refused because of overstaying.

[Barriest]

Hi, what if she stays and tries to apply for ILR... or will HO most certainly reject it based on the grounds of overstaying?

[RobinLondon]

Hi, what if she stays and tries to apply for ILR... or will HO most certainly reject it based on the grounds of overstaying?

Unless she was in a coma for the last six months (i.e., exceptionally compassionate circumstances), there is absolutely no way she's getting ILR. Forget it.

So here are her choices:

(1) Spend lots of money for legal advice to extend her spousal visa in-country with a very high chance of ultimate failure

(2) Go home to her native country and apply for a brand new two-year limited spousal visa from there for a moderately higher (but by no means guaranteed!) chance of success.

She's seriously mucked up her chances for staying easily in the UK. Now she has to go home and start the whole residency period again from scratch. It's as if the two legal years living in the UK never even happened.

Argh! Why do people do this to themselves? You just open up a whole box of bother for absolutely no good reason. I guess that people just don't appreciate that the Home Office is not your friend.

[Wanderer]

You could go to the HO and ask them to consider an in-country out-of-status switch but unfortunately Carlsberg don't do Home Offices.....