Visa help required, confused with a few things

[VisaAhmad10]

Hi

I need urgent help regarding my wife's visa. She is currently on a spouse visa. The visa expires on 27th august 2013, and she came to the uk on 11th july 2011. She has taken the life in uk test too.

If someone could answer the following questions, it would be much appreciataed.

1. As she is on a spouse visa, does she now need to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) visa, so is the form SET(M)?

2. Does she need to apply from 11th june (this week) or 27th july (1 month before visa expires)?

3. We have a baby son who was born last year in the UK. The form asks of any children so am assuming we need to fill it in, but then does that mean he will be a dependant and will also be part of the visa?

4. We have tried to use the premium service to book but croydon seems full up and has no seats until late july. Is there a way to get an appointment at croydon anytime soon? Do people cancel appoiintments?

5. Should we maybe go to another office like liverpool or birmingham, but that would mean a long stay and maybe overnight? How long will the process take in person?

6. If applying by post, the ukba site says it ccould take up to 6 months, but we were planning to go abroad in october/november. Is there an average time for postal applications and can the progress be checked?

7. If we go to a local authority who can check our documents, will this speed up the process when the application is sent? And will the local authority take the passport or a copy?

8. How would we get the biometric residence permit? Is there a seperate form? Can we apply for one in person at a public enquiry office?

I know there are a few questions, but if they could be answered it would help so much.

Thanks

[Lekore]

Hi

I need urgent help regarding my wife's visa. She is currently on a spouse visa. The visa expires on 27th august 2013, and she came to the uk on 11th july 2011. She has taken the life in uk test too.

If someone could answer the following questions, it would be much appreciataed.

1. As she is on a spouse visa, does she now need to apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) visa, so is the form SET(M)? YES

2. Does she need to apply from 11th june (this week) or 27th july (1 month before visa expires)? BETWEEN 13/6/13 + 27/8/13

3. We have a baby son who was born last year in the UK. The form asks of any children so am assuming we need to fill it in, but then does that mean he will be a dependant and will also be part of the visa? Only include if he is not British

4. We have tried to use the premium service to book but croydon seems full up and has no seats until late july. Is there a way to get an appointment at croydon anytime soon? Do people cancel appoiintments? Cancellations can happen afaik all you can do is keep checking

5. Should we maybe go to another office like liverpool or birmingham, but that would mean a long stay and maybe overnight? How long will the process take in person? Should be fine, they used to say 3-4 hours

6. If applying by post, the ukba site says it ccould take up to 6 months, but we were planning to go abroad in october/november. Is there an average time for postal applications and can the progress be checked? Can check progress but they only give limited info. They can however tell you what month /date applications they are working on currently

7. If we go to a local authority who can check our documents, will this speed up the process when the application is sent? And will the local authority take the passport or a copy? Settlement checking service? they just check it for you, rest is the same I beleive

8. How would we get the biometric residence permit? Is there a seperate form? Can we apply for one in person at a public enquiry office? It's done automatically as standard, you have no choice in it.

I know there are a few questions, but if they could be answered it would help so much.

Thanks

[VisaAhmad10]

Those answers have helped Lekore except question 2.

2. Does she need to apply from 11th june (this week) or 27th july (1 month before visa expires)?

You mentioned "BETWEEN 13/6/13 + 27/8/13", are you sure about this?

That means as my wife arrived in the uk on 11th july 2011, she can apply from 28 days before her 2 years are up but can even apply up to the 27th august, which is obviously longer than 2 years being in this country.

Can this be clarified?

[Lekore]

Those answers have helped Lekore except question 2.

2. Does she need to apply from 11th june (this week) or 27th july (1 month before visa expires)?

You mentioned "BETWEEN 13/6/13 + 27/8/13", are you sure about this?

That means as my wife arrived in the uk on 11th july 2011, she can apply from 28 days before her 2 years are up but can even apply up to the 27th august, which is obviously longer than 2 years being in this country.

Can this be clarified?

Yeah. The law states a *minimum* of 2yrs (can apply 28 days early though - counted from date of entry). You can delay it right up until the expiry date should you so choose.

[londener]

Those answers have helped Lekore except question 2.

2. Does she need to apply from 11th june (this week) or 27th july (1 month before visa expires)?

You mentioned "BETWEEN 13/6/13 + 27/8/13", are you sure about this?

That means as my wife arrived in the uk on 11th july 2011, she can apply from 28 days before her 2 years are up but can even apply up to the 27th august, which is obviously longer than 2 years being in this country.

Can this be clarified?

Yeah. The law states a *minimum* of 2yrs (can apply 28 days early though - counted from date of entry). You can delay it right up until the expiry date should you so choose.

For more clarification you can apply 28 days in advance before your eligibility date 5 years. It doesn't matter how long do you have extra visa. Same case here to me.
Hope it would add more confidence.

[VisaAhmad10]

Ok, that helps. Was about to rush to get an appointment before the 2 years were up but as visa expires on 27th august can now apply a bit more easily

A couple of last questions, when applying for the premium service in person, on the ukba website it says to pay a fee. Is this the £100 fee or the whole visa fee in one go?

Also it says to give appointment reference number (biometric reference number), but we have no biometric reference number as I assume the biometric stuff is done in person on the day. Is this just the application reference when you initially make a booking?

[londener]

Ok, that helps. Was about to rush to get an appointment before the 2 years were up but as visa expires on 27th august can now apply a bit more easily

A couple of last questions, when applying for the premium service in person, on the ukba website it says to pay a fee. Is this the £100 fee or the whole visa fee in one go?

Also it says to give appointment reference number (biometric reference number), but we have no biometric reference number as I assume the biometric stuff is done in person on the day. Is this just the application reference when you initially make a booking?

hi visaahmed
£100 is an advance of visa fee which will be deducted from your total visa at your full payment .Remember you have to pay full visa fee on your Peo appointment day .
Biometric print also will be taken on the same day .You need to show your appointment reference letter which they will send by post once you pay £100 .This amount is just to make sure that genuine person only book an appointment.

[Casa]

Bear in mind that postal applications can take up to 6 months to process.