Foffion

Hello,
my husband's first spouse visa will expire on November the 15th 2017.
I am starting now to search for information on how to renew his visa.
There is too much information and I am getting crazy.
What is the name of the visa he has to apply for please? Is it FLR?
What are the financial requirements?
Since he is Japanese, does he have to do another English exam?
When do I have to renew his visa? 2-3 months before?
Would someone please point me in the right direction so I can read everything on my own?
It's just too confusing now. I don't know where to start.
Thanks a lot.
Vivien

SanDiegogirl

Yes, FLR (M) is the form you need to complete.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...M_-12-2016.pdf


It's the same financial requirements as the first visa.

If you are here on family route (as spouse or unmarried partner), and you entered UK on 33-month visa, then the earliest you can apply to renew your leave on form FLR(M) is on the 30-month anniversary of your UK entry (not from 'valid from' date on your visa, unless you arrived here on the first day of validity), minus 28 days. So for example, if you arrived in UK on your settlement visa on 17th June 2015, you can apply on 17th December 2017 (30-month anniversary), minus 28 days which will be 19th November 2017. So that's the first day you can book your premium service centre appointment for (for same-day service) or send off your application by post.

If the English exam he took is still on the accepted list then he can use that one.

Foffion

That's fantastic, thank you very much.
Will he need to do the biometrics, when and where?
Thanks.
Vivien

SanDiegogirl

On page 3 of that link I sent you it says that

Biometric Enrolment Fee
As part of your application you are required to enrol your biometric information. You will be
charged an additional handling fee for this service, payable to the Post Office Ltd. You must pay
the fee by cash or debit card when you attend Post Office Ltd to enrol your biometrics. Each
dependant included on your application must also pay this fee when they enrol their biometric
information. Do not send the biometric enrolment fee with your application fee.

Not quite sure what "enrol" means but think you don't have to do a new biometric but use the one you have which will be updated when n ew visa is issued - don't quote me on this.

Foffion

Thanks SanDiegogirl, I'll find out all the information now that I know it's the FLR the one that we need to apply for. I've got about 8 months to find all the information...
Thanks!
Ciao.
Vivien

michali

When you enrol your biometrics, which, as far as I know, has to be done for every visa application, will depend on whether you post your application or go for an appointment at a Premium Service Centre, where you would most likely get a decision on the same day. It costs £500 extra (probably will cost more when fees go up next year). If you post the application, you will be sent a letter soon after informing you to go to a post office and enrol the biometrics. If you attend a PSC, the biometrics are taken there.

Make sure you are gathering your official correspondence to evidence your living together. The form itself is quite helpful but is amended quite frequently so don't fill it out yet! It is good to look at it though to get an idea of what is required.

mikelincs

The financial requirements are the same, except that if you are going the earnings route then you can use BOTH salaries to reach the target.

Foffion

Hi Michali, thanks for your answer.
We will do the applicaiton online. We did the first one in Japan and after applying online my husband had to go to the visa centre in Tokyo where they did the biometrics.
When you say I'll have to go to the post office (I did read that I have to pay for the biometrics at the post office) to enrol the biometrics, what do you actually mean? Where are they going to do his biometrics?

We are not planning on paying any extra money this time. The £500 that he has to pay for the NHS is a lot (we didn't pay last time) considering that he works and pays national insurance every month.

Thanks a lot for your help!
Vivien

Foffion

Another question if someone knows please: will they want marriage certificate, photos of us together etc again? Thanks.
Vivien

Foffion

Hold on a second.. can we apply online?

SanDiegogirl

Yes..... you have to show again that you have been in a genuine relationship.

SanDiegogirl

No..... its either by post or in person at a Premium Centre.

michali

There is now an online version of the application form. It is fairly new so we do not know how it differs from the paper version. Some say it is simpler, some say some of the the questions are less clear. Either way, the form has to be printed out and either posted or taken with supporting documents to the PSC. If you post the application, you will be sent a letter telling you to enrol your biometrics at a post office near you. I am not sure if it specifies which post office, but the biometrics are enrolled there and sent to the Hone Office. It costs almost £20.

We did not include photos for this application but we attended the PSC so it would be good to include a few if posting the application. However, it is the correspondence that you MUST include to prove you have been living together. Of course the marriage certificate is a must! The list of most of the necessary supporting documents is included in the current application form.

Hope this all helps!

Foffion

Thanks everybody for your kind replies. I now understand much more. For the first visa we applied in Japan and it was slightly different compared to other countries.
My husband is registered as visually impaired (so disabled). Do you think this will make a difference? Not concerning the financial requirements (as it's not me the one who's registered as disabled) but in general. He works and (as stated on the visa) does not get any benefits.
Thanks.
Vivien

SanDiegogirl

For this second visa, income from both you (the Brit citizen ) and your husband the applicant can be used to meet the financial requirements.