As mentioned in my last post, this post is about extending your UK
spouse visa. In the case of one of my friends who brought in to the UK
his wife a couple of years ago, she got Indefinite Leave to Remain ( ILR
) after her initial two and a half years visa. Recently though the
rules have changed as per this URL: https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/you-re-the-family-member-of-a-british-citizen/yes/some-other-way/on-a-work-visa/tier-1
Now you can no longer apply for ILR after your initial two and a half years spouse visa. Instead you have to extend it for a further two and a half years. After a total of five years of being in the country, you can apply for ILR. The information about extending your spouse visa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family
To summarise the main points:
1 – You have to be in the UK to do that, otherwise there is a different path you will need to take.
2 – You must still be in a valid relationship with the person. If the relationship is broken then, there maybe problems. You will have to prove the status of your relationship.
3 – You will need to prove that you have enough money to support yourselves without relying on public funds.
4 – You will need to prove good knowledge of English.
5 – You will need to apply before your current visa expires. I usually do it about 28 days before the actual expiry date.
6 – The fee at the time of this post is £601. All the Home Office fees are extortionate in my humble opinion hence it is a shame that they put you through another two and a half years application process. The more steps the more money.
More detailed information can be found at the above link I provided. Click on the links at the top of the page to see more info about the different aspects of the process. The Apply link should contain a link to the actual application form. The form is one of the biggest forms I have ever seen (52 pages) and you will need to be very sure when filling it in. In my experience the language used is not easy to comprehend, given that in most cases people going through these applications may be non-native English speaking people. Some of the questions are very difficult to understand what they are actually asking you. You can understand the words but not the question.
They say the waiting times are approximately 8 or so weeks. Either way, your status in the country is pretty much unchanged whilst you are waiting. The only problem is traveling. You will most probably not have your passport so make sure you do not book anything during this time. However, if you really urgently need to travel then you could make use of their Premium Service Centres. It will cost you another £400 on top of the £601. The list of the centres is here: https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/find-a-premium-service-centre and you will need to make sure you are eligible https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/eligibility
And that is about all. I always tend to do the application on my own since solicitors are so expensive, but I would not advise anyone to do that. All the info is on the gov.uk site although a bit difficult to track down. That is what awaits me in a year or so time. Something to look forward to.
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Now you can no longer apply for ILR after your initial two and a half years spouse visa. Instead you have to extend it for a further two and a half years. After a total of five years of being in the country, you can apply for ILR. The information about extending your spouse visa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/remain-in-uk-family
To summarise the main points:
1 – You have to be in the UK to do that, otherwise there is a different path you will need to take.
2 – You must still be in a valid relationship with the person. If the relationship is broken then, there maybe problems. You will have to prove the status of your relationship.
3 – You will need to prove that you have enough money to support yourselves without relying on public funds.
4 – You will need to prove good knowledge of English.
5 – You will need to apply before your current visa expires. I usually do it about 28 days before the actual expiry date.
6 – The fee at the time of this post is £601. All the Home Office fees are extortionate in my humble opinion hence it is a shame that they put you through another two and a half years application process. The more steps the more money.
More detailed information can be found at the above link I provided. Click on the links at the top of the page to see more info about the different aspects of the process. The Apply link should contain a link to the actual application form. The form is one of the biggest forms I have ever seen (52 pages) and you will need to be very sure when filling it in. In my experience the language used is not easy to comprehend, given that in most cases people going through these applications may be non-native English speaking people. Some of the questions are very difficult to understand what they are actually asking you. You can understand the words but not the question.
They say the waiting times are approximately 8 or so weeks. Either way, your status in the country is pretty much unchanged whilst you are waiting. The only problem is traveling. You will most probably not have your passport so make sure you do not book anything during this time. However, if you really urgently need to travel then you could make use of their Premium Service Centres. It will cost you another £400 on top of the £601. The list of the centres is here: https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/find-a-premium-service-centre and you will need to make sure you are eligible https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/eligibility
And that is about all. I always tend to do the application on my own since solicitors are so expensive, but I would not advise anyone to do that. All the info is on the gov.uk site although a bit difficult to track down. That is what awaits me in a year or so time. Something to look forward to.
If you find these articles useful, please like them on Facebook, Google+ or you can even tweet about them. Buttons are provided at the top of the page or below the comments. Thanks.
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