Schengen travel only one month FLR on return

[ms12345]

Hello everyone , I am a new member ,I have read many useful posts on here, but I can’t find anything anywhere about our current problem. Maybe someone on here can reassure me?

I am a Uk born Uk passport holder , I want to travel to Greece from the uk with my wife and daughter who both are Thai nationals currently with FLR status , they will have been in the Uk for 62 months when we plan to go to Greece but when we return they will only have one month on theirs FLR Visas. They have the biometric residence permit expiring one month after we want to return .

Will she be allowed to fly out and back to UK we do plan to get a free Schengen Visa from Greek embassy in the next few weeks .

Her Thai passport has 4 years validity.

All the information talks about three months remaining validity in passports no mention of residency .

We will be applying for ILR as soon as we return just before the 28 days remaining rule , we have all the stuff required lit -Uk English etc etc.
We would apply before we want to go to Greece but I doubt we would have the passports back as I understand processing is 6 months we only have 3 months before we hope to travel to Greece .
Any advice would be great thanks in advance ...

[CR001]

ILR doesn't take 6 months and with the new ukcvas system you get to keep your documents and passports. You cant travel though while ILR is being processed.

She could have applied for ILR already within 28 days before reaching 60 months residence. No requirement to wait till just before visa expires.

[ms12345]

Thanks CR for that info , I am worried about applying now and not getting a decision before we travel . Also I can’t see the advantage of being able to keep your passport and document’s if you still can’t travel with them ,am I missing something ?

I can’t risk loosing booked and paid for flights etc while ILR visa is being processed we would love to apply now I am ready to do it ( you say it doesn’t take 6 months . Do you know have any recent information as to how long it does take ? )

Regarding my original post , do you think we can travel on a UK residency permi that is going to expire 1 month after our return to Greece from the UK ?

I really appreciate your help .

Thank you .

[CR001]

The super priority service can take 24 hours for a decision and up to a couple of weeks using the ukcvas service. It costs an extra £800.

She might not get a Schengen visa if her visa isn't valid for the time stated.

[ms12345]

Thanks , I am a manual worker , the already extortionate fees have meant us scrimping and saving for the last 2 years to pay for the ILR visas . I can’t justify spending another 1600 pounds to speed up a process that I am fully prepared for . It will mean we don’t have any Holliday this year or next . We missed out last year too . It’s unfair on my children and us .

CR 100 do you have any recent knowledge Re “normal processsing times “ I would apply now if I thought it would be completed before the end of July !

Maybe my first post was unclear .

Both my wife’s and child’s visa WILl be valid for exactly one month and 5 days the day we land back in the uk after our planned trip to Greece . I hoped to apply on line and have all the supporting documents in hand well in advance with just the fee to pay and application to complete the day we land therefore being more than 28 days before it expires.

I can’t seem to find any information as to weather she will be allowed to travel out from UK or back to Uk either by the Uk boarder force or the airline if she only has 1.5 months left on her FLR/ residency permit ? I see lots of informationn talking about validity of passports , but not residency permits . Her Thai passsport is valid for nearly 5 years .

Any help is greatly appreciated , I will keep this thread informed as to my progress !

[CR001]

Standard applications ons usually take about 8 weeks, sometimes slightly longer.

Note she won't have an issue leaving entering the UK as long as her visa is valid. The issue is her length of visa left for a schengen visa.

[ms12345]

Thanks for your speedy reply , I have just emailed the Greek embassy , and explaind the situation. We hope to go there next Thursday while kids have day off school.

8 weeks would be ok but the slightly longer bit is a problem . Our travel is planned for 19th July so we would be panicking for 3 months , the whole process as I’m sure you are aware is stressful enough . My wife has done brilliantly to get through Lit UK and English exams . Just got these last few hurdles .

Thanks again or your help .

Ps Is there anyway of making sure we got application done before we travel without paying the express fee . Also again do you understand why if you get to keep your passport and residency permit , you are unable to travel while applying for ILR .

[CR001]

Being able to keep documents now means people have proof of identity for whatever reason. Previously by posting all originals, there must have been many complaints due to people not having things when needed.

Note that you would still need to use the ukcvas service to apply for ILR and upload documents.

[ms12345]

We ended up having to do the express route and paid the extra 1600 pounds . for the ILR for both my wife and step daughter .

But that bit is done now . But we are now having problems getting the Schengen visas as my step daughter is not adopted by me . I have posted a question in this forum ,MSP hopefully someone will know something helpful .

Thanks again for your help .