Quote Originally Posted by Terpe View Post
On the questions about posting and postdate etc.......

This page tells you how to assess the date that an application has been made on a specified application form.

The date of application or variation is either:
• the date of posting for postal applications, or
• the date a public enquiry office accepts the application, if it is made in person, or
• the date it is delivered to the UK Border Agency if it is sent by courier.

You must accept the postmark as evidence of the date of posting. If the application’s envelope is missing, or if the postmark is illegible, you must take the date of posting to be at least one day before it is received.
You must take the date of processing on the payment contractor’s stream sheet as the date that the application was received. If there is accompanying correspondence that matches the likely date of posting, you must take this date as the application date. If you are unsure, you must accept the date that is most favorable to the applicant.

If an application, or variation, has previously been rejected as invalid under the Immigration Rules, and the applicant resubmits an application that fully meets the requirements of paragraph 34A, you must take the date of application, or variation, as the date that the valid application form is resubmitted. The guidance above tells you how to determine the date of application.
You must make sure that the UK Border Agency has kept the fee before you confirm that it is valid.
An application or variation can only be valid once all the requirements of paragraph 34A of the rules are met.
If you decide to reverse a previous decision to treat an application as invalid and treat it as a valid application, you must take the application date as the date which the application was originally made.

Source:-http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/modernised/other-categories/forms-and-processes/specified-forms-procedures.pdf?view=Binary

There is no possible appeal, irrespective of the date when the application was made as the applicant must pass the A1 test (or demonstrate she is exempt) in order for an FLR application to succeed. The applicant has not passed the test and has not, presumbably, demonstrated to the UKBA that she is exempt from the test.

I think one possible route is to remain in the UK, apply for FLR(M), on the grounds that the A1 test will be taken with X weeks, pass the A1 test, then submit new ILR application.

Failing that, it may be necessary to leave the country, take the A1 test outside the UK, then re-apply for FLR. In that case, however, it may be necessary to spend a further two years on FLR before applying for ILR again.

The OP's wife really does need to seek proper help from an immigration solicitor or recognised (OISC-registered) immigration specialist, to ensure that the proper procedure is now followed, since any futher errors could only be to her detriment.