To qualify for the spouse VISA extension, your spouse must meet the following requirements to qualify for an extension of stay:
· He/She is married / has entered into a Civil Partnership and in a subsisting relationship with a person present & settled in the UK
· Both parties have lived together permanently since her arrival to the UK / visa issue date
· There are sufficient funds in place to support your spouse without recourse to public funds
· There is adequate accommodation for the parties without recourse to public funds in accommodation which you own or occupy exclusively
· He/She meets the suitability requirements under Appendix FM – for example, He/She does not have any criminal convictions or outstanding NHS charges etc
· He/She meets the English language requirement to level A2 (this may be an increased requirement to her initial application of Level A1)
· You meet the financial requirement. This can be based on:
1. The settled spouse (sponsor) having a minimum gained income of £18,600 from employment (additional income required if you have children)
2. The applicant having a minimum gained income of £18,600 from employment (additional income required if you have children)
3. Both your income combined
4. Other acceptable income or savings
This application is known as an FLR(M) application and this application should be submitted within 28 days before the expiration of your spouse’s current visa.
If you wish to apply earlier than 28 days before your spouse’s current visa expires, the Home Office have confirmed that whilst they may accept the application, they will approve the extension from the date of decision, not from the previous expiry date.
This may make people short of meeting the 5 year settlement / Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) criteria, and as such could require a 2nd extension in order to qualify for ILR.
As part of the application process, all applicants (and any dependents applying in line) are mandatory required to attend a Bio metric center to have fingerprint scans and digital photographs. Your spouse’s immigration status will be issued on a Bio metric Residence Permit.
FLR(M) applications can be made either by post, or via a premium (super priority) processing service.
1) Postal applications
Postal applications can take up to 8 weeks to be processed by the Home Office.
The Home Office have recently changed the application processes for all visa categories, and therefore the new process going forward will be as follows;
a) Application is prepared and all supporting evidence reviewed to ensure compliance with application criteria.
b) The application is lodged in the first instance via an online form and the necessary payments settled for applicable the Home Office and bio metric enrollment fees.
c) An appointment must then be booked with the UKVI commercial partner to enroll bio metric data – this can be completed at one of 6 core centers (Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Croydon, Belfast, Birmingham) for no additional charge, or you may elect to attend of 50 Enhanced Service Points available throughout the UK for a fee.
d) Your spouse’s documents must then be uploaded electronically for consideration by the Home Office. You may upload the documents yourself, or a charged service is available to do so at the bio metric center on the day of your appointment.
e) Your spouse will then attend the appointment, with her passport, her original documents (which should be carried so any documents may be verified in their original format if necessary) and enroll bio metrics. Your spouse’s passport will be verified but you will not need to submit this, nor any original documents with the application.
f) You will receive a decision within 8 weeks
g) Your spouse’s BRP will be received within 7 working days from the date of decision
Please note, from the point of online submission, until receipt of the decision and BRP your spouse must not travel outside the UK. If He/She leaves the UK while the application is pending, the Home Office will consider the application to be withdrawn.
The Home Office fee is £1,052.20 per person for the main applicant and each dependent – this includes the standard application fee and a bio metric fee of £19.20. The Home Office fees are paid through an online portal at the time the application is submitted.
NHS Surcharge:
Nationals from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), coming to live in the UK, or extending their stay in the UK for longer than six months will be required to pay a ‘health surcharge’ in order to gain access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
These changes will ensure that those coming to the UK make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their healthcare. The charge will also be paid by non-EEA nationals already in the UK who apply to extend their stay.
The health surcharge will be £400 per year* and will be payable at the same time as an individual makes their visa application. Visa applicants will need to pay up-front for the total period of their UK visa.
*You’ll pay half of the yearly amount if your application includes part of a year that is less than 6 months.
*You’ll pay for a whole year if you’re application includes part of a year that is more than 6 months.
For this specific visa, the total NHS Surcharge required at the extension application stage should be £1,000 per person.
This fee must be paid at the same time as the online form is submitted.
2) Super Priority process applications
As stated above, the Home Office have recently changed their application processes for all visa categories, and therefore they now offer a Premium Service as follows:
a) Application is prepared and all supporting evidence reviewed to ensure compliance with application criteria.
b) The application is lodged in the first instance via an online form and the necessary payments settled for applicable the Home Office and biometric enrolment fees.
c) An appointment must then be booked with the UKVI commercial partner to enrol biometric data – this can be completed at one of 6 core centres (Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Croydon, Belfast, Birmingham) for no additional charge, or you may elect to attend of 50 Enhanced Service Points available throughout the UK for a fee.
d) Your spouse’s documents must then be uploaded electronically for consideration by the Home Office. You should then upload the documents yourself, or via a charged service is available to do so at the bio metric center on the day of your appointment.
e) Your spouse will then attend the appointment, with her passport, her original documents (which should be carried so any documents may be verified in their original format if necessary) and enrol bio metrics. Your spouse’s passport will be verified but you will not need to submit this, nor any original documents with the application.
f) You will receive a decision within 24 hours/1 working day
g) Your spouse’s BRP will be received within 7 working days from the date of decision
Please note, from the point of online submission, until receipt of the decision and BRP your spouse must not travel outside the UK. If He/She leaves the UK while the application is pending, the Home Office will consider the application to be withdrawn.
The Home Office fee is £1,852.20 per person for the main applicant and each dependent – this includes the standard application fee and a bio metric fee of £19.20.
NHS Surcharge:
Nationals from outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), coming to live in the UK, or extending their stay in the UK for longer than six months will be required to pay a ‘health surcharge’ in order to gain access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
These changes will ensure that those coming to the UK make an appropriate financial contribution to the cost of their healthcare. The charge will also be paid by non-EEA nationals already in the UK who apply to extend their stay.
The health surcharge will be £400 per year* and will be payable at the same time as an individual makes their visa application. Visa applicants will need to pay up-front for the total period of their UK visa.
*You’ll pay half of the yearly amount if your application includes part of a year that is less than 6 months.
*You’ll pay for a whole year if you’re application includes part of a year that is more than 6 months.
For this specific visa, the total NHS Surcharge required at the extension application stage should be £1,000 per person.
This fee must be paid at the same time as the online form is submitted.
Additional Bio metric Enrollment options
*In regards to the bio metric enrollment, if you choose to attend one of the 6 core centers, there may be no additional charge.
If you wish to attend one of the 50 Enhanced service points, there will be an additional fee of at least £60 per person.
The Home Office also charge fees for other additional services such as the use of a Premium Lounge, document checking etc. All of these additional services are available to purchase from the online portal at the point that the application is lodged.
**Please note, at the moment there is a distinct lack of “free of charge” appointments. Whilst the Home Office have been made aware of this matter, until they change the appointment system, finding a free one is very difficult for people to obtain an appointment straight away unless they pay additional fees for a premium lounge or a prime time appointment. Please be aware of this matter and be prepared to pay additional fees for an appointment if you need one straight away.
How to proceed
Visit
https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk and start your FLR (M) Application within 3 months before expiry as this is lengthy online form and may take couple of weeks before you finalize it.
B.I.S.M.A.K
