timdavies

I've asked a few questions here about spouse visa renewal and my wife's new BRP card arrived today, so I thought to do a recap post on our experience.

Her initial spouse visa was approved in the autumn of 2019 and it was a nightmare, with the application getting lost, MP having to step in etc (see prev posts!), so we were braced for the renewal to be complicated but it was so easy.

Her BRP expired at the end of July and we submitted the renewal application 7 days before, uploading the required documents a few days later (3 days before the BRP expired). The earliest local biometric appointment we could get was 4 weeks later (so three weeks after the BRP expiration). I was worried about this, but members of this forum said it would be fine. Her work also did a 'right to work' check during this time and it came back ok. We paid ~130 for a Saturday appointment in Newcastle Library, and it was super simple, with no crowds and only a very short wait time. (I got a library card and a coffee while waiting ). We hadn't paid for any extra services, but the person at the biometric appointment was very helpful and checked we'd uploaded the essential documents (eg passports, spouse declaration, original BRP). She also noticed that we hadn't put my wife's middle name in the application, so she added that for us.

We got an email the following Friday saying it was approved and the BRP was on its way, and it arrived today (could have been yesterday, but we rescheduled as she needed to be home to sign for it).

The email said it is approved until Feb 2025, but the BRP card expires at the end of 2024. Apparently, this is normal, as they are being phased out, and her right to work/travel etc will extend until the Feb date.

So all in all, a quick process (if expensive) process.

I should note that we had lots of docs proving co-habitation, bought a house together last year, and my job is stable and above the minimum. Also, I'm a worrier, so when uploading the documents we spent quite a while making sure it was all scanned in clearly, and we included a cover letter for each section explaining the various documents we'd uploaded. I'm not sure if all this made the timeline quicker than average, but we tried to make it as easy for the visa official as possible!

Thanks all for your help and it's nice to be done until we apply for ILR in a few years!

LARAHTX

Hiya,

First off, Congratulations!!


Was wondering if you also got stumpted with the question of "could you and your partner live togther outside the UK if necessary?"
Techinically no, i would have to apply for his green card to go to the USA, but i think i am over thinking it.
Since I am due to submit my FLR-M at the end of this month, I have been gathering paperwork for what seems like ages.

Mind helping ? Please and thanks

timdavies

The answer I got from this forum (I was also confused), is that this question is for people who really can't live elsewhere (war zone, refugee etc), so we answered yes to this. Others may clarify.

Good luck!

SanDiegogirl

Correct.... one should answer yes to the question unless war zone refugee, asylum seeker......