When I first applied for LFR this board helped me immensely, and now my visa expires in less than 2 months and I'm looking at extending it. When I was on the board previously however everyone was saying to apply when you have 1 month remaining on your visa, but I was reading on the gov.uk the following:
You can extend or switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.
You must live in the UK for a certain amount of time before you’re eligible for settlement (‘indefinite leave to remain’) - check how much time you need before you extend your visa.
If you’re extending to stay with the same family member, you’ll only get up to 28 days left on your current stay added to your new visa.
It's the last line that concerns me, because apparently the processing time is 8 weeks? So, did they change the process so that now you can apply whenever, or am I misunderstanding this? It sounds like "extending" might simply mean going to ILR, which I'm not trying to do, I'm just trying to apply for my second LFR. I can't afford to apply at the wrong time as the fees are outrageous, and any assistance with understanding this would be greating appreciated.