Starting to think about renewing my wife's 2 year spousal visa (I'm a UK citizen) later in the year. She doesn't want to bother with the Life In The UK test (not planning on being here beyond another 2-3 years), so I understand FLR(M) is the way to go.
Problem is, the Home Office website states that you must apply at least 4 weeks BEFORE the visa expires. I spoke to the call centre helpline, who said no, you must apply WITHIN the last 4 weeks leading to expiry... which is correct? They're quite different scenarios!
Reason I ask is that we are looking at travelling around this time, and want to know if we can apply 2-3 months early before the visa actually expires... if so, will they let us book an in-person appointment? Again, the call centre man said in-person appointments only available for applicants within 28 days of expiry, which is not stated on the website at all, it says all qualifying applications can use this service.
Can we just renew via FLR(M) with a letter stating she has not been able to complete the Life in the UK test in this scenario (it's cheaper than ILR)? This should tide us over at least 2 years - is this a fixed amount they grant the extension for? When she got her initial visa in New Zealand, she was told that an extension should be granted for 3 years, at which time she can apply for naturalisation.. this does not seem to be the case now here in the UK.
I tried emailing the Home Office as per their website - 2 different addresses - both bounced back! What a great service!
Thanks in advance for any thoughts
