FLR question

[Bluebirdjones]

Guys/girls...

Obviously when you apply for a fiancee visa, your accounts, money situation
must be "healthy".

..... and it's assumed when also applying for the FLR

BUT... has anyone, or do you know of anyone who was REFUSED a FLR
because of a change in their finances ?
ie, continuous overdrafts, loss of employment ??????

Thanks

[evo76]

Hi Bluebirdjones,

How are you??? That's what im worried also coz my finace has 1 overdraft ( £30 ) in his account, will file FLR also by Feb, will it affect the application???By the way im also from Kent Chatham, so nice to know someone from Kent.

Anyone from here who can give us advices about this. Thanks.

[darren-b]

No personal experience, but as the insist you provide evidence that you can support yourself I would have thought they could refuse you because of lack of finances. Otherwise why would they bother asking for the evidence?

[Bluebirdjones]

... true, as you say, they do ask for supporting "evidence", and refusal is an option,
but how strict are they ?

At present it takes either 1 day or 3 mnths to process your FLR, depending on
payment options.
The 1 day option can be nothing more than a cursory glance at the docs, and
it seems that when your postal application gets to the top of the pile, that also
gets a limited viewing.

So, again the question is repeated..... how strict are they ?

Would love to hear from anyone who was either refused the FLR, or applied when
their personal circumstances had changed... ie no job, unemployed, overdrawn
on their bank statements etc, and the ultimate outcome.

Thks

[darren-b]

It wouldn't take them that long to review the evidence given and decide whether it needs further investigation. What they are looking for is the ability to live without additional public funds. So if you have no job and growing debts you are very likely to have problems renewing a visa.

[jonathan47]

i think they would find it hard to refused you have got married you are entitled to work as soon as you place your application for FLR ... YOU WOULD HAVE VERY STRONG human rights appeal as you are married ...


j and a

[darren-b]

i think they would find it hard to refused you have got married you are entitled to work as soon as you place your application for FLR ... YOU WOULD HAVE VERY STRONG human rights appeal as you are married ...


j and a

You mean like they would never deport (or at least attempt to..) a spouse who didn't renew their visa (ILR, etc) or tried to renew it late? I have news for you, they do. The human rights approach doesn't always work either, you can live together, just not in the UK.

If you get a refusal it may cost you a lot of money to fight.

[eula mackay]

bluebirdjones and evo76!!!! im from pepperhill! we are almost neighbors!

[Arthur Little]

You mean like they would never deport (or at least attempt to..) a spouse who didn't renew their visa (ILR, etc) or tried to renew it late? I have news for you, they do. The human rights approach doesn't always work either, you can live together, just not in the UK.

:Erm: I think the point Bluebird is trying to establish here, Darren, is ... does anyone actually KNOW of an instance where a person has been refused extension of their leave to remain in the UK ... irrespective of whether it be FLR or ILR ... due to a sudden and unexpected change of financial circumstances on the part of the sponsor?

[darren-b]

:Erm: I think the point Bluebird is trying to establish here, Darren, is ... does anyone actually KNOW of an instance where a person has been refused extension of their leave to remain in the UK ... irrespective of whether it be FLR or ILR?

I could point you at another forum where there are cases of people (including spouses of British citizens) who have been refused FLR/ILR for various reasons including lack of finances.

[joebloggs]

most people do not get refused flr/ilr

i can't recall anyone on here being refused FLR or ILR especially if your'e married to a brit

[evo76]

Yeah we're just neighbours...nice to know you Eula ;-), hope we could chat sometime.
Reg- FLR..I think Darren got a point there...as long as you dont rely on public funds your application will be fine.

Question: What are usually the reasons for denial in FLR application???

[joebloggs]

reasons are

qualifying period - not being in the uk 2 years (- up to 28 days, but their not as strict on this since spouse visa's are now valid for 27 months).

deception, using false papers and telling lies.

not supplying the 'life in the uk' cert, or other evidence your asked for, but they may give you sometime to send these before they reject your app or they might consider your app on the evidence you've supplied - which could well end up as a refusal.

not paying the fee, lack of funds - but again, i think they may give you time to send it, or tell you to re-apply (problem is your visa might have expired by now)

accommodation - over crowded etc

maintenance - lack of funds.

recourse to public funds - claiming what you should not have


less than 1 in 20 ilr apps for a spouse visa is refused.

so it should not be anything to worry about

[darren-b]

most people do not get refused flr/ilr

i can't recall anyone on here being refused FLR or ILR especially if your'e married to a brit


reasons are

qualifying period - not being in the uk 2 years (- up to 28 days, but their not as strict on this since spouse visa's are now valid for 27 months).

deception, using false papers and telling lies.

not supplying the 'life in the uk' cert, or other evidence your asked for, but they may give you sometime to send these before they reject your app or they might consider your app on the evidence you've supplied - which could well end up as a refusal.

not paying the fee, lack of funds - but again, i think they may give you time to send it, or tell you to re-apply (problem is your visa might have expired by now)

accommodation - over crowded etc

maintenance - lack of funds.

recourse to public funds - claiming what you should not have


less than 1 in 20 ilr apps for a spouse visa is refused.

so it should not be anything to worry about

Applying late after the visa has expired is the other one

Can't remember anyone on here being refused either, but it does happen. It shouldn't be anything to worry about normally, but if you are in a position where they wouldn't have granted the visa for entry to the UK (which has happened on here) or felt that you couldn't apply for a visa (which happens on here too) then you could be at risk.

[kenny]

Applying late after the visa has expired is the other one

Can't remember anyone on here being refused either, but it does happen. It shouldn't be anything to worry about normally, but if you are in a position where they wouldn't have granted the visa for entry to the UK (which has happened on here) or felt that you couldn't apply for a visa (which happens on here too) then you could be at risk.

how long should someone apply for FLR before the financee visa is due to expire? i am just wondering cus ive ordered some copies of bank statements today and they will take six working days:doh the visa expires on March 7

Any advice on applying for FLR visa is very appreciated.

[darren-b]

how long should someone apply for FLR before the financee visa is due to expire? i am just wondering cus ive ordered some copies of bank statements today and they will take six working days:doh the visa expires on March 7

Any advice on applying for FLR visa is very appreciated.

You are allowed to post your application or apply in person on the day your visa expires (though obviously it is better if you don't leave it that late). So you should be fine.

[abby]

hi there!

your still be fine, ideally one month before the fiancee visa expires.. Just make sure you apply FLR before it the current expires. ARe you applying by post or premium?

[kenny]

hi there!

your still be fine, ideally one month before the fiancee visa expires.. Just make sure you apply FLR before it the current expires. ARe you applying by post or premium?

Thanks, applying by post cus strangely enough its less expensive by post.
its a nervous time again, also my finances are not looking as good as before applying for fiancee visa, due to christmas and the wedding and then paying my tax. I was overdrawn once, not so much maybe 16 pound over drawn due to not depositing money,

[abby]

only 3 months bank statement is needed... If that 3 months include tyour overdrawn and your applying by post better provide a letter explaining your overdrawn just to be safe.

I just recenlty apply for FLR in premium, its expensive but i dont want to wait for 3 months doing nothing at home..

Goodluck to the visa application...

[kenny]

only 3 months bank statement is needed... If that 3 months include tyour overdrawn and your applying by post better provide a letter explaining your overdrawn just to be safe.

I just recenlty apply for FLR in premium, its expensive but i dont want to wait for 3 months doing nothing at home..

Goodluck to the visa application... thanks again
My wife is nearly 9 weeks pregnant:) so she is in no rush to start working

[kenny]

You are allowed to post your application or apply in person on the day your visa expires (though obviously it is better if you don't leave it that late). So you should be fine.

Thanks

[evo76]

Same situation with Kenny and my husband's bank statements, it has overdrawn for 3 months for about not more tha 30pounds due to christmas and wedding expenses, but we still filed our FLR application by post last FEB 1 with no letter explaining the overdrawns, now i receive letter from them that they received already my aplication will inform me for the next step...crossing my fingers..hope everything went well...been praying the Holy Rosary for this. Kenny Goodluck...

[kenny]

Same situation with Kenny and my husband's bank statements, it has overdrawn for 3 months for about not more tha 30pounds due to christmas and wedding expenses, but we still filed our FLR application by post last FEB 1 with no letter explaining the overdrawns, now i receive letter from them that they received already my aplication will inform me for the next step...crossing my fingers..hope everything went well...been praying the Holy Rosary for this. Kenny Goodluck...
Good luck, i will look out for your progress.

[abby]

congrats kenny and to your wife for the baby to come....

[kenny]

Same situation with Kenny and my husband's bank statements, it has overdrawn for 3 months for about not more tha 30pounds due to christmas and wedding expenses, but we still filed our FLR application by post last FEB 1 with no letter explaining the overdrawns, now i receive letter from them that they received already my aplication will inform me for the next step...crossing my fingers..hope everything went well...been praying the Holy Rosary for this. Kenny Goodluck...


congrats kenny and to your wife for the baby to come....

salamat Abby

[joebloggs]

thanks again
My wife is nearly 9 weeks pregnant:) so she is in no rush to start working

:xxgrinning--00xx3: congrats..

you shouldn't have a problem, most of the hard work was done getting your fiancée or spouse visa. :rolleyes:

just explain in your letter of support that you was overdrawn because of the wedding :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[kenny]

:xxgrinning--00xx3: congrats..

you shouldn't have a problem, most of the hard work was done getting your fiancée or spouse visa. :rolleyes:

just explain in your letter of support that you was overdrawn because of the wedding :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Thanks

[anngrimes78@msn]

when we applied for FLR visa before we havent got any money in the bank (the bank statement that we gave was not that good!) but it was approved. i think they only check if you have a regular income that obviously will reflect on the bank statement.

[yorkie]

when my wife applied, my bank statements showed an overdraft allowance of £750, some months I used nearly all of it. It was accepted, I assume that provided you have income and are not bankrupt or show constant deficit in the account that it is accepted as reasonable, but as there are no published guidelines we can only assume and guess.

[yorkie]

Ooops I misread your question I was referring to the actual visa, as for the FLR i dont know, but would assume the criteria to be the same.

[joebloggs]

when my wife applied, my bank statements showed an overdraft allowance of £750, some months I used nearly all of it. It was accepted, I assume that provided you have income and are not bankrupt or show constant deficit in the account that it is accepted as reasonable, but as there are no published guidelines we can only assume and guess.

well luck could have been on your side, one of the reasons used for a refusal is sending bank statements which show your over drawn. its better not to :NoNo:

they could say. how can you support your spouse, when you can hardly support yourself ?

[Arthur Little]

To be perfectly honest, I shouldn't imagine any one of the contributors to this particular thread has anything to worry themselves about in the slightest. :NoNo: All of them are now married ... and the Authorities would need a damn good reason to separate husband & wife purely on the basis of a sudden and unexpected downturn in their financial circumstances.

Heavens above! ... if EVEN convicted criminals are able to exercise their so-called "human rights" [and they do] on the feeblest of excuses [and win!]:omg: - how much MORE, a lawfully-wedded couple!! :doh

[Florge]

question: you sent your visa application on 1st of feb...you got recorded proof of the postage, but it hasn't been received yet by UKBA until now (17th of Feb), then your fiancee visa expires tomorrow (18th of Feb)... what is your status then?

[kenny]

question: you sent your visa application on 1st of feb...you got recorded proof of the postage, but it hasn't been received yet by UKBA until now (17th of Feb), then your fiancee visa expires tomorrow (18th of Feb)... what is your status then?

I imagine so long as you have postage proof you should be safe enough..

[Arthur Little]

question: you sent your visa application on 1st of feb...you got recorded proof of the postage, but it hasn't been received yet by UKBA until now (17th of Feb), then your fiancee visa expires tomorrow (18th of Feb)... what is your status then?


I imagine so long as you have postage proof you should be safe enough..

:iagree: with what Kenny says, Florge ... YOU'VE done YOUR bit by sending the application by 'Recorded Delivery' ... which is, in itself, ADEQUATE *proof. Still, it's :censored: frustrating having had to wait so long for *it! All the best, my friend ... and don't fret ... everything will be fine, I promise you! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[darren-b]

question: you sent your visa application on 1st of feb...you got recorded proof of the postage, but it hasn't been received yet by UKBA until now (17th of Feb), then your fiancee visa expires tomorrow (18th of Feb)... what is your status then?

I don't think your status is a problem for the moment, but if your passport really has gone missing in the post you need to sort out the problem immediately. What do you mean by recorded proof of the postage? There are three options in the UK which are proof of posting (free), recorded signed for (cheap), or special delivery (expensive) - which did you use? Though to be honest it is not advisable to use anything but special delivery when posting passports/visa applications.

[joebloggs]

I imagine so long as you have postage proof you should be safe enough..

:xxgrinning--00xx3:, so when you send it, keep evidence of posting it

one reason for the delay is, the HO get 1000s of letters/apps a day, so it could take days for the PO system to show that they have received it.:rolleyes:

[Florge]

sent it as recorded signed-for mail... got a confirmation letter from the Home Office today.. just waiting now for the letter re biometrics...

seems like the post office tracking system hasn't been updated to state that my mail reached the home office... got me worried there as it has been 7 working days from the time i sent it...

by the way, the question was suppose to be hypothetical.. lol.. how'd you guess i was describing my case? genius! LOL... my fiance visa expires on 1st of March so i'm not overstaying or anything... thanks guys!

[Arthur Little]

by the way, the question was suppose to be hypothetical.. lol.. how'd you guess i was describing my case? genius! LOL... my fiance visa expires on 1st of March so i'm not overstaying or anything... thanks guys!

:gp: ... pure assumption ... rather than 'genius' ... on MY part, Florge!

[Florge]

LOL@Arthur

[joebloggs]

sent it as recorded signed-for mail... got a confirmation letter from the Home Office today.. just waiting now for the letter re biometrics...

seems like the post office tracking system hasn't been updated to state that my mail reached the home office... got me worried there as it has been 7 working days from the time i sent it...

by the way, the question was suppose to be hypothetical.. lol.. how'd you guess i was describing my case? genius! LOL... my fiance visa expires on 1st of March so i'm not overstaying or anything... thanks guys!

like i said, it takes longer to showup on the tracking system, becuase they can get 1,000s of letter a day, and it takes time to go thru their system because of the quantites (well thats what the guy at the P/O to me :rolleyes:)

you have something called Section 3C protection. That is, as long as the application is made before the expiry of the old visa, that old visa will be "treated as continuing" until the application for a new visa is decided, even though its stated expiry date has passed.

The Section 3C protection will continue until the visa application is agreed and the new visa issued, or even if the application is rejected, until the time for appealing against that rejection has expired. And as long as an appeal is made, the Section 3C protection will then continue until the appeal hearing, etc..

[mrako]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but what is an 'FLR' Visa?

[kenny]

Sorry if this is a stupid question but what is an 'FLR' Visa?

further leave to remain (2 years validity) after 6 month visa(fiancee,spouse-visa)

[mrako]

further leave to remain (2 years validity) after 6 month visa(fiancee,spouse-visa)

So once married how long before we apply for an FLR? Also is the Fiancee visa only valid for 6 months?

[darren-b]

So once married how long before we apply for an FLR? Also is the Fiancee visa only valid for 6 months?

You can apply for FLR immediately after you get married if you want. You must though apply before the fiancee visa expires which is only valid for 6 months.

[mrako]

You can apply for FLR immediately after you get married if you want. You must though apply before the fiancee visa expires which is only valid for 6 months.

So once we apply for the FLR how long should we expect for that to come through? I am taking it that we need to meet the same financial criteria for the FLR as we did for the fiancee visa.

[abby]

for postal application which is £465 around 3 months, in premium £665 one day only then three months bank statement is needed.

[joebloggs]

So once we apply for the FLR how long should we expect for that to come through? I am taking it that we need to meet the same financial criteria for the FLR as we did for the fiancee visa.

ideally yes, but if your working and none of your bank statements are over drawn you should be ok :rolleyes:, but you will probably reduce your risks of refusal if you have some savings...

have you thought about get married in the phils instead of a fiancee visa.?

[mrako]

ideally yes, but if your working and none of your bank statements are over drawn you should be ok :rolleyes:, but you will probably reduce your risks of refusal if you have some savings...

have you thought about get married in the phils instead of a fiancee visa.?

I have thought about that but figure that can have a cheap wedding here just so that we can apply for her to stay here for 2 years and then once we have saved properly we can have a proper wedding in the PI. If we were to marry now on Phils it will initially be more expensive and take longer for her to come here due to my limited savings.

Could you give the plus side for us to get married in the PI?

[Florge]

plus side in marrying in the phils: she has her family with her which is what all brides want i guess and it is cheaper...

i got married here, and my wedding is very low key.. we had a church wedding and just had a simple buffet in a pub after with just family and close friends.. the amount we spent in our wedding here could be a grand wedding in the phils..

it is a bit lonely though to march along the aisle with my brother-in-law instead of my father... but, we opted for the fiancee visa route for the sheer reason that the 6 months will give us time to guage if we can live together and if i can live here in the uk...

the phil wedding though will happen soon, so we're saving up for that...

good luck to you!

[joebloggs]

I have thought about that but figure that can have a cheap wedding here just so that we can apply for her to stay here for 2 years and then once we have saved properly we can have a proper wedding in the PI. If we were to marry now on Phils it will initially be more expensive and take longer for her to come here due to my limited savings.

Could you give the plus side for us to get married in the PI?

plus side is

a wedding in the phils is a lot cheaper than the UK.

if you marry in the phils and apply for a spouse visa, your fiancée shouldn't need to apply for FLR in the uk, saving you nearly £500.

also saving you the hassle, time and collecting evidence of applying for FLR :cwm24:

also once in the UK she can look for a job and start work straight away, while on a fiancée visa she can not start work until your married and she has FLR ( could be from what 2 months upto 9 months wait , depending on when you marry and how long it takes to process the FLR) so if you was on a spouse visa and she was lucky to find some work in a month instead of having to wait for flr.

[darren-b]

plus side is

a wedding in the phils is a lot cheaper than the UK..

A wedding in the phils is better value, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it would be cheaper. Big wedding in the Phils with loads (and it could be loads...) of family and friends could cost more than small wedding in the UK as you can get married very cheaply in the UK.


if you marry in the phils and apply for a spouse visa, your fiancée shouldn't need to apply for FLR in the uk, saving you nearly £500. .

But getting married in the Philippines would require you to make an extra trip to the Philippines which is likely to cost you at at least £500 just in travelling costs.


also saving you the hassle, time and collecting evidence of applying for FLR :cwm24:

FLR is the easiest to apply for, and even with a spouse visa you need to start collecting evidence for ILR immediately anyway.


also once in the UK she can look for a job and start work straight away, while on a fiancée visa she can not start work until your married and she has FLR ( could be from what 2 months upto 9 months wait , depending on when you marry and how long it takes to process the FLR) so if you was on a spouse visa and she was lucky to find some work in a month instead of having to wait for flr.

But getting married in the Philippines relies on you making a longish (at least 2 weeks?) trip to the Philippines which depending on work could delay you for longer. Maybe it's just me but when my wife (then my fiancee) came to the UK which was her first visit to another country (especially as it was winter...) I wouldn't have wanted her to work immediately even if she was allowed to.

Swings and roundabouts....

[joebloggs]

A wedding in the phils is better value, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it would be cheaper. Big wedding in the Phils with loads (and it could be loads...) of family and friends could cost more than small wedding in the UK as you can get married very cheaply in the UK.



But getting married in the Philippines would require you to make an extra trip to the Philippines which is likely to cost you at at least £500 just in travelling costs.



FLR is the easiest to apply for, and even with a spouse visa you need to start collecting evidence for ILR immediately anyway.



But getting married in the Philippines relies on you making a longish (at least 2 weeks?) trip to the Philippines which depending on work could delay you for longer. Maybe it's just me but when my wife (then my fiancee) came to the UK which was her first visit to another country (especially as it was winter...) I wouldn't have wanted her to work immediately even if she was allowed to.

Swings and roundabouts....

nope disagree, applying for FLR is still a pain in the :action-smiley-081: nearly the same as applying for ILR.

i would rather spend £500 on an airticket to the phils than give it the HO for your FLR :D

so what if he needs 2wks in the phils (why 2wks ?? ) , with his wife in the uk, he probably not be leaving the uk again this year anyway.

avergae cost of a uk wedding is £20k :yikes:, now tell me what you could get for that in the phils :D, my wedding in the phils didn't even come to £2k (yes that was 7yrs ago thou)

as for work, i think money is a bit of a problem for him, so the sooner his wife starts work the better. at least she will not have to wait up to 9 months b4 she can start work.

[darren-b]

nope disagree, applying for FLR is still a pain in the :action-smiley-081: nearly the same as applying for ILR.

i would rather spend £500 on an airticket to the phils than give it the HO for your FLR :D

so what if he needs 2wks in the phils (why 2wks ?? ) , with his wife in the uk, he probably not be leaving the uk again this year anyway.

avergae cost of a uk wedding is £20k :yikes:, now tell me what you could get for that in the phils :D, my wedding in the phils didn't even come to £2k (yes that was 7yrs ago thou)

as for work, i think money is a bit of a problem for him, so the sooner his wife starts work the better. at least she will not have to wait up to 9 months b4 she can start work.

FLR is hardly complex and the big difference is you may only have to collect an extra month or so paperwork over what you needed for the fiancee visa.

I might be wrong but I didn't think you could land in the Philippines and get married the following day - you had to be there for a while.

You totally missed by point about the cost of a wedding. You don't have to spend £20K, and it is possible to have a very cheap wedding in the UK, probably less than £200. I bet very few 'foreigners' have got away with a wedding that cheap in the Philippines...

And it terms of timescales yes it could take up to 9 months with a fiancee visa to get FLR, but then again she could get married in the UK and have FLR within 3 weeks of getting the fiancee visa if you really wanted.

[Florge]

well, my wedding here costs less than £3000 for everything.. and i mean, everything... but then, we bought our rings in the Phils, as well as had my gown made there too, so that kept the cost really low... made the invitation, wedding program and wedding favours myself.. did my bouquet myself so i saved a whole lot from flowers since the bridal bouquet cost starts at £60... just had a buffet at 3pm so i didn't have to feed my guests so much... but had around 20 types of dishes on the buffet table... heck! i wasn't able to have any food on my wedding! ...hehehe...

[joebloggs]

FLR is hardly complex and the big difference is you may only have to collect an extra month or so paperwork over what you needed for the fiancee visa.

I might be wrong but I didn't think you could land in the Philippines and get married the following day - you had to be there for a while.

You totally missed by point about the cost of a wedding. You don't have to spend £20K, and it is possible to have a very cheap wedding in the UK, probably less than £200. I bet very few 'foreigners' have got away with a wedding that cheap in the Philippines...

And it terms of timescales yes it could take up to 9 months with a fiancee visa to get FLR, but then again she could get married in the UK and have FLR within 3 weeks of getting the fiancee visa if you really wanted.

no visa app is complex :rolleyes:, you can be refused FLR just like any other visa , thou not many are refused FLR or ILR. but it's still a visa, and your having to watch your bank statements for at least 3 months.

as long as things are arranged before hand, then i don't see why you can't get married the next day :Erm:

i didn't miss the point at all about weddings :D, yes you can spend £200 here, but my stepson is getting married soon in the phils, cost of the judge and ceremony a few 1000 php if that :icon_lol: