Bm44

My wife has a uk spouse visa on the 5 year route. Her FLR second part for 30 months expires soon. In the 5 years she has probably been in the UK about 3 years. She is currently outside the UK helping her daughter.
‘I’d like to know can she apply online to extend the FLR so that she can complete her 5 years in the Uk which allows her to apply for for ILR? Does she have to be in the UK for an in person appointment to get an extension or can it be done online?
Thanks

SanDiegogirl

She cannot apply for FLR from outside the UK - she has to be physically in the UK. How long has she been out of the UK currently?

So, at this point she should be able to apply for ILR, but she has only been in the UK for a total of 3 years out of the 5?

BritInParis

You can only apply for FLR from within the UK.

Bm44

She has been in the UK approximately 3 out of the 5 years.
She went back to the US March 2020 just before COVID lockdown. Her daughter was having a baby.
she was back for a few months before and after Christmas.

If she does not renew/extend the FLR will the whole 3 years be gone or can she renew in say 6 months to complete the extra 2 years required?

SanDiegogirl

If she does not renew her visa before it expires, it will lapse and the 3 years become invalid. No, she cannot renew any time after the expiration of her visa.
(With the amount of time spent outside of the UK, she may be in jeopardy of not qualifying for an extention of the FLR - she hardly fits the spirit of the visa, living with spouse in UK)

Having said all that above, there is no rule regarding absences for those on spouse visas (unlike those on points based work visas). This does not mean to say that extended absences, such as your wife has had, would not be taken into consideration when it comes to applying for ILR. The following website gives a good description of what is required for ILR:

https://london-immigrationlawyer.co....a-spouse-visa/

Although there is no written rule that states how long a Spouse Visa holder can spend outside the UK if applying for ILR, this does not mean that you will be able to obtain a Spouse Visa, spend little time in the UK and then be able to successfully apply for settlement here.