ILR Form SET(M) Guidance

[DanCfK]

BACKGROUND INFO:

I am a UK subject/citizen and my wife is applying for ILR. We were married before she came over on her current 2 year Further Leave To Remain visa. My wife's passport is still in her unmarried name and that was the name she had to use when she sat the Life In The UK Test.

GUIDANCE REQUIRED

There are a few questions on this form that I find rather ambiguous and need clarified.

1. On the payment details page is it the date of birth of the person who is paying the fee that is required?

2. In the applicant's details section in 1.4 it asks for the full name of the applicant. To me full name means forename, middle names and surname but is that what they mean as in 1.5 it then asks for the applicant's surname or family name.

3. In Section 10B (Documents) it says:

"10B Married and Civil partners only
If you are applying in this category, you must provide the following in addition to the relevant document specified in 10A."

OK we are married so going by the above statement we "must provide the following in addition to the relevant document specified in 10A." but then it says:

"If you are applying as a spouse civil partner but your existing leave to enter or remain in the UK was granted as an unmarried or same-sex partner, in addition to the relevant documents in 10A you must provide the following documents."

My wife's existing leave to enter the UK was granted as a spouse as we were married prior to that during a previous visit so going by the above paragraph we DON'T need to provide a marriage certificate.

It seems to be saying if you are married you MUST provide additional documentation in the form of a marriage certificate but then it sounds as though you only need to provide a marriage certificate if you were married during your current 2 year leave to remain period.

So my question is: Does my wife need to provide evidence of our marriage even if we were married before the current Further Leave to Remain was granted?

[xyz123]

read the guidance notes for the SET(M) form. that will show how to fill in the form.

[DanCfK]

I already have read the guidance notes [hence included quotations from them] and as such I wouldn't waste my time posting to this forum if I felt the guidance notes were not ambiguous and transparent.

The guidance given for the date of birth simply relates to the format of the date of birth ie 03 01 1980 - it does not say anything about whose date of birth they are looking for, the card holder or the applicant. On the actual guidance notes no mention is made of the date of birth at all.

Full name as in passport includes forename, middle name(s) and surname so why are they asking for the surname again in 1.5?

And as for the Section 10B thing the guidance isn't clear on whether a person over here on a spouse visa needs to provide a marriage certificate. Personally I would say no as the fact my wife is over here on a spouse visa would indicate she is married anyway.

Looks like I'll just have to try and phone them to clear these matters up as no-one on here seems to know.

[Imani]

I agree the payment pages of SET(M) and FLR(M) are not very clear. I was helping a relative fill FLR(M) form recently and we had to work out what whose date of birth was to be given on the payment page ourselves. The form FLR(M) extenstion is exactly like the SET(M) - settlement form by the way.

The date of birth required is that of the person paying for the application who may not be the applicant. Payment has been taken in the case of my relative as the person paying had to sign as well.

With regards to the marriage certificate, It is required. How else will you show evidence of marriage? The quote on the form was advising those that have since gotten married (if they initially applied under an unmarried patner's visa) that they need to show marriage certificate too. Even if you showed a marriage certificate to get entry clearance or extenstion under FLR(M), It needs to be shown again when applying for settlement.

[Greenie]

BACKGROUND INFO:


1. On the payment details page is it the date of birth of the person who is paying the fee that is required?

2. In the applicant's details section in 1.4 it asks for the full name of the applicant. To me full name means forename, middle names and surname but is that what they mean as in 1.5 it then asks for the applicant's surname or family name.

3. In Section 10B (Documents) it says:

....

So my question is: Does my wife need to provide evidence of our marriage even if we were married before the current Further Leave to Remain was granted?

I disagree with Imani. The date of birth on the payment details is page is that of the applicant, not the person paying. Question 3 says applicant's full name, question 4 says date of birth. If it meant anything other than the date of birth of the applicant it would say so.

I would advise against paying by card if this is your plan as card payments are often rejected by the bank as an anti-fraud measure resulting in an invalid application. Postal order or bankers draft are the best forms of payment (or cheque but that will take longer to clear).

Yes full name in 1.4 means full name as in first, middle, surname/family or in some cultures, your name, your father's name, grandfather's name.

It asks for the surname/family name in 1.5 as it is not always clear from the full name which is the family name/surname.

With regard to the marriage certificate - I agree that the section is unclear and logically why should you have to provide it if you have done in the past - however given that it is unclear - why not provide the document if you have it?

[jems]

Hi, just reading over this post and was a little concerned about the advice not to pay by card. We will be applying for my husbands indefinite leave next week and plan to use my credit card to make the transaction. I have called my bank to make them aware of the amount and rough time. Is this likely to cause us any problems?

[DanCfK]

I eventually phoned up (prior to these responses) and got a direct response from someone in the Home Office Immigration Department. I can't verify that their advice is 100% correct because even people who are paid to give advice and who should know the answers sometimes give incorrect advice.

I disagree with Imani. The date of birth on the payment details is page is that of the applicant, not the person paying. Question 3 says applicant's full name, question 4 says date of birth. If it meant anything other than the date of birth of the applicant it would say so.

You are correct (according to Immigration call line) it is the applicant.

I would advise against paying by card if this is your plan as card payments are often rejected by the bank as an anti-fraud measure resulting in an invalid application. Postal order or bankers draft are the best forms of payment (or cheque but that will take longer to clear).

I paid by debit card and I had no problems with my bank (Co-operative), I didn't even bother to follow the advice and notify them as I've had much larger sums deducted in the past without the bank querying them.

Yes full name in 1.4 means full name as in first, middle, surname/family or in some cultures, your name, your father's name, grandfather's name.

Just to add to this it is the full name as it appears in the applicant's passport and not their married name - if that differs from the passport.

It asks for the surname/family name in 1.5 as it is not always clear from the full name which is the family name/surname.

Yes due to different cultures, etc.

With regard to the marriage certificate - I agree that the section is unclear and logically why should you have to provide it if you have done in the past - however given that it is unclear - why not provide the document if you have it?

That's what I was intending to do but after I called them the advice given from the person I contacted at the Home Office is that the marriage certificate is not required if your partner entered the country on a spouse visa i.e. you were both married prior to your 2 year further leave to remain application. Personally I'd rather not provide any evidence that's not absolutely essential as it will just be another document you have to request a replacement for if the application goes missing in the post or whatever.

So hopefully all the advice given in this thread has clarified matters for everyone out there. Good luck to everyone with their applications and CHEERS!

[SANGHA]

Hi

My sister in law is in the process of applying for her IRL - set(m) soon.

Her passport is in her maiden name - MRS G KAUR. some of the documents are in the name above and some in her married name. Is this going to cause a problem? Should she change her name on the documents so that they all reflect the same name? If so should they be in the maiden name - as in the passport?

Your help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[SANGHA]

Hi

Where can i get a copy of the immigration guildlines, particularly for the SET(M)

Regards