Blog Archives

FURTHER LEAVE TO REMAIN - FLR(M)

7/25/2021

In August 2016, Madonna Sandison filed and got her UK Spouse Visa with the help of ECO Immigration Consultancy. Now, five years later, she is set to file for an Indefinite Leave to Remain.

See John and Madonna's ECO post here five years ago.

Manila, Philippines - After receiving the UK Spouse Visa here in the Philippines and the Filipina wife is now in the UK, she is given an initial two and a half years to stay which is extendible to another two and a half years.

According to UKVI rules, a UK Spouse Visa holder who stays in the UK for a period of five (5) years shall be eligible to file for an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

After staying for another year, the ILR holder, should she opt to, may now file for British citizenship.

It is very important, therefore, that the Filipina spouse be acquainted with the important steps and basic procedures to take once she enters the UK.

What is FLR-M?
FLR-M stands for Further Leave to Remain. It is the next application which the UK Spouse Visa holder from the Philippines must apply for to lawfully continue staying in the UK after she initially enters on a UK Spouse Visa.

If she applies and the application is approved, she will then be given another two and a half years in order to comply with the five year residency in the UK and then file for the ILR.

For the applicant to be qualified to apply for FLR-M, The applicant partner must either be:

This year Mr. and Mrs. John and Madonna Sandison welcomes the newest member of their family baby Elias. Congrats John and Donna!!!

•a British citizen in the UK
•present and settled in the UK
•in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection

The applicant must also be inside the UK in order to be allowed to apply.

ECO-Friendly reminds that the applicant spouse may also include their children below 18 years of age before the filing. However, children over 18 years old are not permitted to file except if they were initially granted leave in the category at a time when they were under 18.

This application must likewise be filed before the expiration of the applicant’s allowed stay in the UK.

According to the UKVI website, in order to make sure that the application is valid, the applicant must:
• Apply on the current version of form FLR-M.
• Pay the specified fee by one of the methods specified in the payment guidance.
• Provide photographs of the applicant and her British partner and any children under 18 together. Said photos must be attached in the application form and must meet the mandatory format standards specified in the photograph guidance.
• Complete sections 1, 9 and 10 of the form as required and section 4 if the applicant and/or the sponsor have any dependent children in the UK.
• Make sure the relevant declarations in section 14 are signed by the applicant and the partner.
• Send the application by prepaid post to the Home Office or make it in person at a Premium Service Centre.
If the applicant fails to do any of these things, the application will be invalid and will be returned to the applicant. This could result in the loss of appeal rights if the permitted stay has run out by the time a valid application is made.

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS:
According to the UKVI rules, all documents attached to the application must be in the original form.

UKVI rules state that, “Copies of any kind are not acceptable unless there are valid reasons for not being able to provide the original document. In such circumstances, we may accept a copy certified by the body or authority which issued the original (for example, a copy of a savings book certified by the building society or bank), or by a notary.

“The reasons for not being able to provide the original document must be explained in a covering letter. We are unlikely to grant your application without the original document…Any documents which are not in English must be accompanied by a reliable English translation… Make sure passports or travel documents are signed.”

Tulog na baby. John with baby Elias

ECO client Madonna Sandison with hubby John in the UK. Five years later, Donna is set to file for her ILR. Click to see original online post of John and Donna here at ECO webpage.

Click ECO-Friendly Contact Box for your queries

0 Comments

"MANDATORY" and "OTHER" Documents (Conclusion)

7/5/2021

0 Comments

After filing for a First British passport and UK Spouse Visa for Travis and Mrs. Jenelyn Carpenter, both are now in the UK with their loved one Mr. Trevor Carpenter. Congrats and stay safe to the Carpenter family!

In ascertaining the supporting documents which must be attached with the application for any type of UK Settlement Visa, the applicant usually turns to the internet to guide them in their search for a complete set of documentary evidence.

Apart from asking Google’s help, the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa or UK Fiancée Visa is also given a guide by the Home Office which provides the applicant a list of “Mandatory” and “Other” documents, which ECO-Friendly explained in the preceding blogs (See Part 1 and Part 2 of this 3-Part article).

And this was what applicant Amy did when she filed for the UK Spouse Visa here in Manila, Philippines. She consulted Google for the initial set of documents and the UKVI also provided her with a list of “Mandatory” and “Other” documents which she devotedly followed and attached to her application.

But these guides from Google and the UKVI were obviously not enough to obtain a positive decision as our former client Amy learned the hard way.

In our first two preceding blogs, we narrated that Amy relied heavily on her research online and the checklist provided by the UKVI, but still received a very tragic and disheartening result, prolonging her dream of settling in the UK with her British husband.

ECO-Friendly again would like to stress that whenever an applicant for a UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any type of UK Settlement Visa is considering the supporting documents which should be attached with the application and filed with the Home Office, accuracy and keen focus should be given to the “answers in the application.”

Do not rely merely on the documents enumerated and obtained from the internet, as well as the checklist provided by the UKVI after filing online.

They merely serve as a guide and even if the applicant religiously follows this checklist, there is no guaranty of a positive decision.

ECO-Friendly always reminds our clients that the best way to determine the complete set of documents is to study and focus on each and every answer in the online application itself.

Always bear in mind that every question and corresponding answer of the applicant in the application is designed to determine the eligibility and qualification of the latter with respect to the visa he or she is applying for.

For instance, if the question pertains to the employment of the sponsor/spouse of the applicant, the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) will definitely want to establish the truthfulness and accuracy of this employment.

The applicant is therefore duty-bound to present all evidence that will show the legitimacy and genuineness of this employment, think of it as allegations in a court of law which must be proven by documentary evidence.

Thus, in order to prove the employment, all pertinent documents such as pay slips, employment contract, employment certificate, even the bank account statements of the employee where the wage is deposited must be submitted, even if any of these documents are not enumerated in the checklist or provided in the internet.

All other applicable proof should not be overlooked. If the sponsor/spouse/ has photos while at work, this may also be attached.

In the case of Amy, she attached proof of income from the PIP benefit of her husband since this was the only documentary evidence asked from her. The problem, in this case, was that she did not give enough proof to show that her husband was indeed receiving PIP from the government.

This was the main issue why her application was denied, lack of proof that he received the PIP benefits.

Had Amy likewise submitted proof that her husband was also self-employed as a teacher, as well as a professor in the local university, it would not have mattered that the PIP documents were insufficient since the income from the other employment were adequate enough to show that her husband was financially capable and thus compliant with the financial requirement of earning £18,600 a year.

When she filed a fresh application with ECO-Friendly assisting her, we presented proof of all the three (3) sources of income of her husband: (1) as a beneficiary of the PIP; (2) as a self-employed teacher; and (3) as an employed professor in their local university.

After less than two months, the UK Spouse Visa arrived and she is now living in the UK with her husband.

For any queries regarding your UK visa application, please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking the ECO-Friendly contact box below. Stay safe people!

Click this ECO-Friendly contact box for your queries

Congratulations to the Carpenter family!

Young Travis posing outside the Wallington Station. Always be a good boy Travis!

0 Comments