FLR(M) application for wife completing current spouse visa.

[Docterror]

However the terms of the visa are that the majorityof your time
is spent in the UK in a subsisting relationship with your spouse.

British, if that is the case, your wife should clearly qualify also taking into consideration the circumstances for her absence. Finally a glimmer of clarity in the path for you to follow amongst all these haze.

[British]

Cheers luky and docterror

Yes, looks like some hope at the end of the tunnel!

I was only worried about the fact taht if we applied for ILR and they end up rejecting and (poosibly do not give FLR as well) then what happens.

It looks like they do give FLR if they are not happy with granting ILR.

Fair enough! OK we will apply for ILR with those nicely grouped and loads of documents/photographs during variuous visits to India (I visited 4 times in those 5.5 months ), more than 175 hours of internation calls we have being having with each other in those 5.5 months - direct calls!!!! , tons of emails, etc )

OK we will give it a try for ILR. I think if it works like they say the system works - i.e. each case on its own mertis, then i guess my wife has a good chance! and also if it does not, and they grant the FLR at the least, we are happy as well. All i want is my wife and daughter to be with me all the time

OK guys, we will send that application Monday(since we need to apply for PIO card / Visa for my British citizen:-) daughter tomorrow - just in case my wife has to leave and come back to UK because of any rejection of ILR/FLR, we will need our daughter to go to India as well - she is a breast feeding baby now!).

I will keep you all updated with the progress of our ILR application

best regards.

[limey]

British: I read that if the application for ILR fails and the applicant has NOT been out of the country for more than 50% of the 2 years then FLR will be granted.

In our case, my wife had been out of the country for MORE than 50% of the time.

The bit I don't like is where the applications depend upon the discretion of the caseworker meaning the success or failure can depend upon which case-worker processes the application!

[British]

Cheers Limey, yes it seems to differ with different caseworkers i guess.

I don't understand why your wife was not given FLR for the 19-20 months to fix the gap, since from luky's post of information, it should have been automatic:

Where an application for settlement is made but the applicant does
not qualify due to the length of time spent out of the UK, an extension
of stay will be granted to enable the probationary period to be completed.

We will try for ILR anyway (via post) since the stay in UK/abscense in my wife's case is like this:

Stay in the UK after entering the UK: continuous 10 months and 10 days
Leaves to India and remains there for pregnancy/delivery/+ based on advice from her doctor (in writting) since baby is premature: 5 months and 25 days
Com,es back to UK and remains here ever since (and continuing): 7 months and continuing.

So, in all, total number of months of stay in UK: 17 months and 10 daysTotal number of months outside UK: 5 months and 25 days

[luky-marina]

To be honest, first I was worried a little bit to be thrown away coz when they asked me to promptly clarify the periods spent outside, not a word mentioned about LLR to be granted, just said :"failure to do so will result in your applicaion being rejected according to paragraf no bla-bla-bla..".
So I went to the HOsite, learnt it from the first line to the bottom one, found some little hints how to succeed and now here I am, with my visa

[British]

Cheers luky.

Can I ask a quick question: Since you sent across your documentation via post for ILR, i take it you would kept all original and crucial documents.

We are too applying for ILR via post and are going to send across all the crucial documents (including some curcuai original documents like my business bank statements, company VAT regn. doc, my consultancy contract documents, share capital documents etc etc which are all very crucial ones for my business, apart from all of our last years joint bills, etc.), packed nicely in bubble wrapped package via royal mail special delivery post.

Since the package will contain so many crucial docs., i am just concerned it must reach safely there, and also that the case worker should handle it carefully and pack it and send it to me safely!

Of course i have taken photo copies of all these documents (2 copies each!).

Some of these documents (including hte joint bills etc.) - we can never get another copy from the bill providers if they are lost or handled badly etc. and hence my worry!

I am also going to include a pre-paid self-addressed special delivery envelop insid, so they can use it when sending these docs back to me.

And finally do you guys think the spl. delivery 9 AM (next day) service would be good for these govt. offices OR the regular spl. delivery (next day) service would be enough (which typically would reache them at about
1 PM afternoon!).

How did you send? I take it it would have been spl. delivery royal mail.
Did the royal mail handle it safely?
When you recd. your package back, were all documents handled carefully (nothing was torn accidnetally etc.)?

Our package is ready to go on Monday and just wanted to see anybody's postal application experience on the handling of teh documents sent to the HO.

Any info form your experience will be of help.

Also, anybody else out there who have sent across postal application for ILR (especially any of those in the outside the rules situation), please share your experience too.

Thanks for all of your time.

best regards.

[luky-marina]

I sent all my docs with the 1class recorded delivery, no SAE included. Aprx in a week got my hubby's passport back, safe and sound . Then another week of waiting - and all other "crucial":) docs were returned to the master, not been lost, not been damaged, just embroidered with an extra sticker- the visa
Do not forget to send your marriage certificate though they dont make it obvious in the form.
It wouldn't hurt if YOU, the sponsor, wrote a cover letter for visa-people on your behalf as well. Has your wife written hers?
Good luck!

[British]

Cheers luky, thanks for all that info.

Yes, i was anyway including our marraige certificate in the package! But thanks for the tip though!

Yes, i have included a letter from me (as her husband/sponsor) to request the immigration officer to grant ILR for my wife and that our marriage continues happily and we are settled here with our baby daughter!

Has your wife written hers?

But of course, YES , My wife's cover letter is about 4-5 pages (we compliled it together though ), explaining these:

1. Briefly describing her visa staus and that she is requesting for ILR
2. A table of time-line of her entry and stay in the UK and when she flew to India and when she came back to UK, clearly pointing the amount of time she was living with me as spouse here in teh UK and how many months (5.5 months) she was in India
3. A explanatory statement of why we decideid for her to go to India to have the pregnancy (last few months of it of course) and as to why it took 5.5 months of her stay in India after which she came back to UK.

This section includes description of the medical issues she had, and as to why with just me around her (and no other family or relative to help us when i was away to work) with her advised bed-rest, we were not sure that we could manage any emergency situation of help my wife may need when i was away to work, etc.

And a list of documentary evidence form her UK gynec, indian guynect/doctor and our baby doctor advising us to not fly/travel with our pre-maturely born baby (6 weeks premature).

Evidence package also includes her complete medical (ante-natal) records file (both in UK and in India) and about 100 documents of our contact evidence while she was in India.

So, thanks for your info. I will keep you all updated as to how our application progresses.

[luky-marina]

i have included a letter from me (as her husband/sponsor) to request the immigration officer to grant ILR for my wife
. Briefly describing her visa staus and that she is requesting for ILR [/quote]
are those exact words you both use in the cover letters? I would recommend to make it as more personal as possible, each phrase being carefully selected, no pressure by any means!

[British]

Cheers Luky. No those are the words i have used to describe to you guys what i am writting there in my letter.

Actually the letter, like you mentioned, does not actually use teh words request which may look like we are casting a pressure on teh caseworker.

Yes, the letter will be very much in a personal tone

[British]

Just to update on things:

We sent out the postal application (SET(M) for ILR) with loads of evidence (nicely bound and indexed etc.), nice cover letters (mine and my wife's)

The HO recd. it on 20th March and i called them up today find out the status.

They said it will take about 14 weeks

As for now. the current status is that it is still waiting to be allocated to a case worker!!!!

Anyway... will keep you all updated as and when the application progresses!

[British]

Hi All,

Finally, we have the grand news from the HO today (or should I say BIA now )

My wife's ILR application has now been granted successfully!
We are so so happy today! It was worth the wait - the last 4 weeks!
Pretty quick turnaround, i would say!

Incidentally, the fantastic/sweet coincidence is that the decision date the ILR sticker has in it, is the birth date of our daughter! So sweet!

After all, it was for the reason that we wanted to have our baby delivery in India that we decided for my wife to go to India, and needless to say that caused us all the grief in the ILR application process!

Wow! The fact that the ILR sticker reflects our daughter's birth date is such a sweet coincidence!

We are feeling so so lucky today!!!!

Anyway... i just wanted to keep you guys updated with this happy ending of our ILR application saga

All ends well, that ends well!!!

What a beautiful and sweet way to begin this week!
We had a bit of celebration at my work place this afternoon! You see... guys at my work site were awaiting this news as well :-) They instantly knew the news i was bringing-in today, the moment they saw my hands full of sweets and the "jumping and screaming out-of-joy" me!!!

Well... our full "celebrations" starts this evening

To sum up: The things we recd. in post were these:

1. All of our original documentation (well, it was not packaged in the way we had packaged it, but anyway! )
2. My British passport
3. My wife's Indian passport with the shiny ILR sticker in it.
4. A two page printed letter form the HO that generally described about the ILR. Interesting to note here that it was not addressed to my wife, but was in a ageneral tone.

The letter fom HO also has these:

"These notes are for informational purposes only and do not convey the grant of ILR.
Confirmation of your entitlement to remain in the UK is endorsed in your passport."

And then it continues to describe the general things about ILR.

I take it this is the general practise at HO these days. When i got my ILR a couple of years back, this letter was addressed to my name!

Anyway... So the only settlement status confirmation documentation is in her passport and that is the ILR sticker with all information about my wife and the Remarks saying Indefenite Leave to remain in the UK and top of it it says "Type of permit: Settlement" and above that it has the Valid until: INDEFENITE

Cheers guys.

best regards.

[Docterror]

British, congrats! I couldn't be any happier for you. That indeed is great news.

[British]

Cheers Docterror