FLR (M) extension (under old rules) success at PEO Croydon!

[Isaac01]

Hi All
I had success in getting an extension of my current visa. However it seemed like a complicated case.

My immigration history.

Arrived UK in march 2008 on Voluntary worker visa.
Left UK march 2009 and returned July 2009 on Youth Mobility Visa.
Applied for Certificate of approval in 2010 and got married December 2010 to a British citizen.
Granted 2 year marriage visa via PEO Croydon Mar 2011.

Now here's where it get's complicated.

Obtained police caution Nov 2011 for common assault.
Was due to apply for ILR come march this year, however due to the changes in December 2012 I was unable to apply for ILR due to my police caution being less than 24 months old!
So after realising this we applied under the old rules for an extension of FLR(M) and were successful!

My whole PEO appointment was fairly smooth.
0910 Appointment time.
0840 Arrived
0840 Security
0845 First counter to give booking reference and check application form.
0850 Payment counter and given receipt and number
0855 Called to 1st floor desk. There she proceeded to enter basic details into computer. Then were told to proceed to 2nd floor and wait biometrics
0910 Called for biometrics, this took 10 mins and were then told to go and wait back on the 2nd floor for the Case worker.
1030 Was called to desk and met Case Worker
Documents Submitted;
FLR (M) Form
Covering letter from solicitor
Photos for both of us
2 Passports from me +BRP
Passport from wife
Bank Statements (CW only wanted current accounts and not savings) and Payslips for the last 3 months.
Letter stating continuation of employment from both of our employers
Marriage Certificate
Tenancy agreement

We also had 7 different items of correspondence addressed to both of us
(Council Tax, Water, Gas, Electricity, Joint Bank Account, Life Insurance, Home Insurance) However the CW did not want any of this.

1145 Was called back to CW to say that our visa extension was a success!

The CW did ask after why we didn't go for ILR and I told her about the police caution (made me think that I could of almost got ILR!) and she agreed that I would of been turned down because of my police caution not being 24 months old.

Also another note about the solicitors covering letter. I paid £150 for a covering letter from a solicitor that I could of almost written and it seemed like the CW did not even pay any attention to it. (Now I'm not saying that solicitors letters are worthless but it seemed like in my case this was not needed)

Hope this has been helpful to people in a similar situation to me.

[menwall]

Thanks for the info. I was interested in doing the premium service in Belfast. When paying for the premium service, does this mean that there won't be a long wait (over 6 months as it is with the postal approach) for the visa to be stamped into the passport?

I thought the premium service just cut out the couple of weeks between sending and recieving biometrics via the post?

Cheers,
C

[Isaac01]

Hi Menwall.

They don't give those stamps in passports now.
You get a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) and that is the same size as a credit card and you need to keep that with you in your passport.

It's called same day service for a reason. On the website they say that they will make decisions in 90% of cases in 24hours.
So what that means is you get it all done in a day. Biometrics and all. You then get your BRP 7-10 days after the appointment.

[menwall]

Brilliant - that will really suit me then seeing as I tend to travel quite often for business (within the UK) and need my passport at short notice. Was it difficult for you to get an appointment at the PEO? How far did you have to book in advance?

[Isaac01]

Yes it was fairly annyoing to get an appointment.
There are many threads on this forum about getting an appointment at an PEO so I wont start another.
The thing to remember among other things is that they are released only at midnight for 6 weeks in advance of that date.

[Isaac01]

Just a quick one.

http://londonseye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/1 ... -home.html

was the best website I found in advising when booking an PEO appointment.

[rana12570]

Just a quick one.

http://londonseye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/1 ... -home.html

was the best website I found in advising when booking an PEO appointment.

Dear Isaac01,

Congrats for your FLR M further extension.

Could you please update us about your FLR M extension duration? did they issue you for further 1 year FLR M to complete your caution notice period?

[Isaac01]

Hi Rana.

My understanding is that they issued me with another 2 year visa. I cant remember if it was 2 or 2.5 years. Will know when I get my BRP in the post.

As I sad earlier I did have a chat with the CW after approval and she did recommend to wait until the expiration of the 2 years before applying for ILR. However I did ask if I would be eligible come Nov when the 2 years would be up and she said Yes.

[Isaac01]

To add to this, My BRP came today. (2 Working days)
It has been issued for 2 years.

[thesk000]

Hi there

Do you have any details from your first FLR(M) application? I have a thread open at http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=125665
Would appreciate if you could contribute.
Thanks

ps. Mods: if this is considered as hijacking this post, will delete it

[Isaac01]

Hi sufikardame,
What would you like me to provide?
My first FLR (M) application was fairly straight-forward.
Obtained Certificate of approval.
Had a civil marriage in a registry office (Dec 2010)
Moved in together (Jan 2011)
Applied through PEO Croydon and was approved (Mar 2011)

Hope that is of use!