sun777

Hello everyone!

My visa vignette was valid from 05/04/18 valid until 05/05/18.
I'm not sure what this validity means exactly but.. I presume it's the date my visa was issued and the period within which I should enter the UK.

I came to the UK on 19/04/18.

My Residence Permit card (BRP card) was issued 29-03-2018 and it is valid until 05-01-2021.

On gov.co.uk website, it says that spouse visa is valid for 2.5 years (30 months) but as you can see, the BRP card permits my residency for almost 33 months.

In this case, when should I apply for spouse visa extension in the UK?

I'm worried that I might have already missed the application date.

Please could anybody advise me when I should apply for my visa?

Thank you very much for your time.

SanDiegogirl

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.

Based on the above your 30 months will be up on 19 October 2020, less 28 days = being able to apply for next visa from 21 September 2020

sun777

Thank you for your reply SanDiegogirl.

I have another question.. The visa itself lasts 30 months.. which is 19/10/2020. Can I still apply for my visa after the date but before my BRP expires?

BritInParis

If you applied from outside the UK then your spouse BRP will be valid for 33 months. When you apply in the UK then it is valid for 30 months. You can apply to renew your spouse BRP at any time until 5 January 2021 but it’s better to apply no earlier than 28 days before it expires as you will then carry over those three months to the end of the five year period effectively giving you five years and 2-3 months in the UK. This is useful to give you a bigger cushion for applying for ILR in case of travel plans, family emergencies, Life in the UK Test issues, etc..

As such I would be looking to apply the week commencing 7 December.

sun777

Thank you so much for your clarification, BritInParis!
Now I can understand why I've got 33 months on my BRP card and what 2.5 years means of permission to stay on gov.uk. The information on the website is based on the applicant in the UK if I understand it correctly.

It seems it is better to apply for my visa extension after 5 Dec this year.

I thought I might be overstaying but actually I have been granted 33 months not 30 months. That's a great relief.

Chezdon

What confuses me is if you apply on the 5th December, and your visa expires on 5th Jan, what happens when inevitably the HO take longer than the 8 weeks outlined in their guidance to make a decision? From Jan - Feb, you're visa-less, no? Or does that not matter?

As it happens, my wife also arrived in April 2018 so we are looking into the extension now. Hopefully it's less painful and stressful than the first time around!

spouse of scouse

As long as you apply before the current visa expires then it doesn't matter how long the decision takes, you'll still be in the UK legally.