FLR(M) English requirement

[yahyaa]

Hi all

Hope you are well. I am in a difficult situation regarding my wife's UK visa. A bit of background info- we applied for FLR (FP) visa (I as the main applicant and my wife as dependent) in December 2017. I then successfully varied mine to ILR(LR) via premium service in February 2018. However my wife's visa application is still pending with the HO.

Now we would like to very her application from FLR (FP) to FLR (M) i.e. 'Family life as the partner or a person present and settled in the UK (5 year route)'. One of the requirements for FLR (M) category is English SELT test, which my wife does not have. We've been trying for almost over 3 months now to get her passport back from the HO so that she can do the SELT English test. However it seems very unlikely to get the passport back.

My wife has a different certificate (Level 1 Award in ESOL Skills for Life - Speaking and Listening) from Trinity College London. The college confirmed on the phone that the level of this course is higher than what is required by the HO for FLR(M) visa application. However, when i spoke with UKVI, they refused to say whether this certificate will be acceptable or not. As such I'm here asking for your opinion.

We have 2 options now:
1. Wait for a decision for the FLR(FP) application and act accordingly.
2. Vary the FLR(FP) to FLR(M) using the ESOL certificate with a covering letter. (I prefer this option as the option 1 could take ages).

Apology for the long texts but I would really appreciate any suggestions from the experts.

Many thanks

Yahya

[seagul]

ESOL from long ago not being accepted. Only A1 from HO approved test centres is acceptable at initial spouse visa application.

[yahyaa]

Thank you Seagul. If this is the case then I do not have any other option but to wait for the FLR(FP) decision from the HO...