# FLR(M) Checklist: Applying in person 1st April 2015



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

Hello, I am applying in person at the Glasgow priority service on Wednesday and would like an opinion on my checklist of documents if you would be so kind.

Background: I am from the USA and my husband is British. My husband and I have been together for over 5 years, we met almost 9 years ago at University in the UK. We Lived in Taiwan together for a couple of years, and we have been living together in the UK for 1 year and 7 months (at the same address), myself on a tier 2 worker visa. We were married in the UK on 17-Oct-14 (5 and a half months ago). We live in Scotland, but due to family circumstances we gave notice in (and married in) Lincolnshire after staying with my husband's parents for the notice period during a holiday from work. We are applying for Further Leave to Remain as a Spouse under form FLR(M), my husband (Sponsor) has been in full time education without income, but I have been in employment with the same company in the UK for 19 months and have earned in excess of the financial requirement for the duration so I am applying under route A.

Our Checklist is as follows:

Financial Requirement (Route A):



7 Months of my payslips
Online printed bank statement covering the 7 payslips, stamped as authentic by the bank.
A letter from the bank detailing the duration that the account has been held in joint name, that payslips from my employer have been paid in each month, and that the account is still active.
Letter from employer stating start date, duration, permanent employment, current salary, and time for which I have exceeded the required salary.
Letter of reference from employer stating job title, commendations, and further iterating that the job is permanent (included as first letter does not state categorically my job title.
Signed copy of employment contact with all required details.

Accommodation


Copy of housing contract.
Letter from Letting agent confirming tenancy is statutory rolling contract.
Letter from previous landlord owner of property confirming our tenancy.
Letter from current landlord owner of property confirming our tenancy.
Letter from Letting agent who manages property confirming duration and current occupation of tenancy.

Relationship

_Correspondence to current address_
*ME (applicant)* 

Letter from bank - Sept 2013
Job centre Plus National Insurance number letter - Sept 2013
NHS letter - Oct 2013
Council tax letter - Oct 2013
Council tax bill - Oct 2013
GTC Scotland (teacher registration) letter - Nov 2013
GTC registration renewal - May 2014
HM Revenue and Customs Refund notice - July 2014
Council tax bill - Sept 2014
 Council tax bill - March 2015

*Husband (Sponsor)*

Telephone and Broadband direct debit confirmation - Aug 2013
Energy price notice from supplier (Spark) - Nov 2013
Energy price notice from supplier (Spark) - December 2013
Disclosure Scotland PVG (Criminal Record clearance) - Feb 2014
DVLA car tax notice - April 2014
Electoral registration office letter - Sept 2014
Credit Card statement - March 2015

*Joint name*

Letting agent Deposit protection letter and certificate - Sept 2013
Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - June 2014
Letting agent Annual gas safety check notice - July 2014
Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - Dec 2014
Letting agent tenancy extension letter - Jan 2015
Angus council letter confirming duration of liability for council tax on property from date of occupation (23-08-13) to present (letter was issued as my husband's name did not appear on the council tax bill as he was a postgraduate student and we received the 25% discount, but we wanted to cover ourselves against ambiguity).

*Additional relationship evidence*

Marriage certificate
Copies of airline tickets from beginning of relationship visits.
Copies of airline tickets with both our names (holidays).
Copies of airline tickets from visiting each-other's families.
15 photographs (as recommended on the forum) of us as a couple spanning relationship and including several of the wedding day.
We can provide whatsapp logs spanning 4 years of our relationship, I was thinking a handful of messages in 3 / 6 month increments depending on what you advise. We have always lived together or been visiting each other and have no large gaps to speak of, except 2 and a half months where I was waiting for my Tier 2 visa to be issued.
We can provide a copy of our 'Friendship' from Facebook (running at 25 pages) which includes dated pictures and key events such as our engagement and marriage, if this is advisable?

*Miscellaneous Items*

Application payment sheet
Print of appointment
Completed FLR(M) Application Form
2 passport photos of Me (applicant) signed on the back
1 passport photo of my husband (Sponsor) signed on the back
My current and past passports
My husband's current UK passport
***********Is it necessary to provide written statements from myself (applicant) and my husband (sponsor)? If so, what should they include as we have been unable to find such information on the forms.********************

We will, as advised in the forum, provide the ECO with a set of copies as well as all of the original documents used for our application.

Thank you all in advance for the assistance.


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Swissy64 said:


> Hello, I am applying in person at the Glasgow priority service on Wednesday and would like an opinion on my checklist of documents if you would be so kind.
> 
> Background: I am from the USA and my husband is British. My husband and I have been together for over 5 years, we met almost 9 years ago at University in the UK. We Lived in Taiwan together for a couple of years, and we have been living together in the UK for 1 year and 7 months (at the same address), myself on a tier 2 worker visa. We were married in the UK on 17-Oct-14 (5 and a half months ago). We live in Scotland, but due to family circumstances we gave notice in (and married in) Lincolnshire after staying with my husband's parents for the notice period during a holiday from work. We are applying for Further Leave to Remain as a Spouse under form FLR(M), my husband (Sponsor) has been in full time education without income, but I have been in employment with the same company in the UK for 19 months and have earned in excess of the financial requirement for the duration so I am applying under route A.
> 
> ...


What category are you applying under? 

You don 't need a letter from the bank detailing your account duration etc. 

You need 1 letter only from your employer with the only following information:


(b) A letter from the employer(s) who issued the payslips at paragraph 2(a) confirming: (i) the person's employment and gross annual salary;
(ii) the length of their employment;
(iii) the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary relied upon in the application; and
(iv) the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term contract or agency).

Accommodation[/


> U]
> 
> 
> Copy of housing contract.
> ...





You need the current tenancy agreement and a council tax or other bill only if both of your names are on the tenancy agreement. 



> Relationship
> 
> _Correspondence to current address_
> *ME (applicant)*
> ...


Way, way, way too much. Cut it down.

*Additional relationship evidence*


> Marriage certificate
> Copies of airline tickets from beginning of relationship visits.
> Copies of airline tickets with both our names (holidays).
> Copies of airline tickets from visiting each-other's families.
> ...


Tickets for trips are unnecessary as are whatsapp and Facebooks stuff.
[


> B]Miscellaneous Items[/B]
> 
> Application payment sheet
> Print of appointment
> ...


Fine. For an in person appointment they are most concerned about how you meet the financial requirement.



> We will, as advised in the forum, provide the ECO with a set of copies as well as all of the original documents used for our application.
> 
> Thank you all in advance for the assistance.


Yes, you should provide copies of everything. But, 1st you need to cut it down.


----------



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

*Reply to Nyclon*

Thank you Nyclon, this is our revised checklist: To answer your question, I am applying for *FLR(M*) for the *first time switching from a Tier 2* work visa. I am applying under *category A for the financial requirement* as I have been in employment with the same company for more than 6 months preceding the application.

Financial Requirement (Applying under *Category A*)


•	7 Months of my payslips*
•	Online printed bank statement covering the 7 payslips, stamped as authentic by the bank.*
•	Letter from employer stating start date, duration, permanent employment, Gross annual salary, and time for which I have exceeded the required salary for the application.
•	Signed copy of employment contract with all required details.

***************Please note:* 7 months instead of 6 due to how the statement is arranged. As the copies have been certified and the pay days highlighted for the 6 preceding payslips is this sufficient? ********

Accommodation

•	Copy of housing contract with both of our names. To clarify; this is a photocopy of the one submitted to the letting agent. They withhold all original documentation at their head office as the renewal was done by post.
•	Letter from letting agent confirming tenancy is statutory rolling contract – This I think needs to be included as it is confirmation that we are not bound by dates as we have lived there so long the contract is now rolling. It is a direct statement that we are renting the property indefinitely. 
•	Council tax bill for 2015 / 2016 (**** This only has my name (Applicant) on it but is for the full price, is that ok? *******)

Relationship

Correspondence to current address
ME (applicant)
•	Job centre Plus National Insurance number letter - Sept 2013
•	Council tax bill - Oct 2013
•	GTC registration renewal - May 2014
•	HM Revenue and Customs Refund notice - July 2014

Husband (Sponsor)
•	Telephone and Broadband direct debit confirmation - Aug 2013
•	Energy price notice from supplier (Spark) - December 2013
•	Disclosure Scotland PVG (Criminal Record clearance) - Feb 2014
•	Electoral registration office letter - Sept 2014

Joint name
•	Letting agent Deposit protection letter and certificate - Sept 2013
•	Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - June 2014
•	Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - Dec 2014
•	Angus council letter confirming duration of liability for council tax on property from date of occupation (23-08-13) to present (letter was issued in joint name as my husband's name does not appear on the council tax bills). – March 2015

_Additional relationship evidence_

•	Marriage certificate
•	15 photographs (as recommended on the forum) of us as a couple spanning relationship and including several of the wedding day.

Miscellaneous Items

•	Application payment sheet
•	Print of appointment
•	Completed FLR(M) Application Form
•	2 passport photos of Me (applicant) signed on the back
•	1 passport photo of my husband (Sponsor) signed on the back
•	My current and past passports
•	My husband's current UK passport

*Just to clarify*, do we need to include statements or not? 

Thank you


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Still way too much relationship. 6 things in each of your names is sufficient. So since you've got 4 things in joint names, 2 things in your names separately is sufficient. If you are going for an in person appointment they are most focused on the financial requirement.

You should not deface your original documents with highlights or markings of any kind. You can mark the copies in pencil. I don't understand why you are including 7 pay slips and bank statements. The requirement for Category A is your 6 most recent pay slips and 6 most recent bank statements along with the letter of employment and you can also include your contract.


----------



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

nyclon said:


> I don't understand why you are including 7 pay slips and bank statements. The requirement for Category A is your 6 most recent pay slips and 6 most recent bank statements along with the letter of employment and you can also include your contract.


Let me clarify, this is due to the way my bank statements can be issued. I held an account where the customer service, including statements, was all handled online. No monthly statements were sent, so after speaking to the bank they advised me to print the relevant time period as one statement. Due to the way the online form worked this meant that there was a bit of 'overhang' which included a payday from 7 months ago. *There are not six individual bank statements*, there is *a single 15 page bank statement covering all of the payslips* dated as* issued on the 27th of March*. Every single one of the 15 page statement has been *stamped in-branch with the 'Branch stamp', and an 'Original Document Seen'* stamp signed by the bank manager. The additional letter from the bank clarified that the account was held in joint name because this is not clear on the statement because of the format of the document.

If this is incorrect and unacceptable I have just enough time to get it done again. The originals have not been defaced, I will not highlight anything.

Thank you


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

What is important is that you clearly specify which payslips you are submitting to meet the requirement under Cat A, and cross-reference with your bank statement. It's crucial there is no doubt what you are submitting if there are 7 pay credits showing on your bank statement. A covering note listing payslips with dates and amounts and corresponding bank statement entries will be useful.


----------



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

*Reply to Nyclon and Joppa*

Thank you for the advice, in the interest of making it simpler I have gone to the bank and had 6 individual bank statements corresponding to my last 6 payslips stamped for authenticity. They look much better, have full account details including both of our names, and correspond to March 2015, Feb 2015, Jan 2015, Dec 2014, Nov 2014 and October 2014. All of the 6 corresponding pay slips are in hand and ready to be submitted with them.

I will cut down the relationship evidence this afternoon and post a final checklist once done.

Thank you folks, your help is very much appreciated.


----------



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

*Final Checklist (hopefully)*

Here it is, please can you clarify whether or not we need to write personal statements for an in-person appointment or if that is just for postal applications?

Financial Requirement (Applying under *Category A*)

•	6 Months of my payslips
•	Bank statements covering the 6 payslips, stamped as authentic by the bank.*
•	Letter from employer stating start date, duration, permanent employment, Gross annual salary, and time for which I have exceeded the required salary for the application.
•	Signed copy of employment contract with all required details.

Accommodation

•	Copy of housing contract with both of our names. To clarify; this is a photocopy of the one submitted to the letting agent. They withhold all original documentation at their head office as the renewal was done by post.
•	Letter from letting agent confirming tenancy is statutory rolling contract – This I think needs to be included as it is confirmation that we are not bound by dates as we have lived there so long the contract is now rolling. It is a direct statement that we are renting the property indefinitely. 
•	Council tax bill for 2015 / 2016

Relationship

Correspondence to current address
ME (applicant)
•	Job centre Plus National Insurance number letter - Sept 2013
•	HM Revenue and Customs Refund notice - July 2014

Husband (Sponsor)

•	Energy price notice from supplier (Spark) - December 2013
•	Electoral registration office letter - Sept 2014

Joint name
•	Letting agent Deposit protection letter and certificate - Sept 2013
•	Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - June 2014
•	Letting agent Tenancy extension letter - Dec 2014
•	Angus council letter confirming duration of liability for council tax on property


_Additional relationship evidence_

•	Marriage certificate
•	*15 photographs* (as recommended on the forum) of us as a couple spanning relationship and including several of the wedding day. *All are time stamped*.

Miscellaneous Items

•	Application payment sheet
•	Print of appointment
•	Completed FLR(M) Application Form
•	2 passport photos of Me (applicant) signed on the back
•	1 passport photo of my husband (Sponsor) signed on the back
•	My current and past passports
•	My husband's current UK passport

*****Please clarify*, do we need to include statements or not? As of yet we have not written any.****

Thank you


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

This looks much better. You don't need to write letters. You should attach the photos to A4 paper with brief descriptions below. However, they are most interested in your financial information when have an in person appointment so it's good that you have straightened that out. Good luck!


----------



## Swissy64 (Mar 28, 2015)

Visa approved with no issues at all, a great many thanks folks.


----------



## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Great news! Congratulations!


----------



## Yoshi_1981 (Dec 5, 2012)

Swissy64 said:


> Visa approved with no issues at all, a great many thanks folks.


Congrats!


----------



## Yoshi_1981 (Dec 5, 2012)

Hi!

Need help and advice regards to when to apply for my FLR(M)?

Arrival in the UK on 27/05/2013. 

Spouse Visa valid from 28/02/13 to 28/11/2015.

Shall I look at 30 months from my arrival date or visa validity date? including Sats and Suns? I am confused with the dates please help, when to apply for my FLR(M) extension?

Can I also confirm, is it the FLR(M) form version 04/2015? 

I am looking towards applying with the premium service. I am travelling back to Singapore in mid September and wondering if I can still fly out to Singapore and come back UK to do the booking for the premium service?

Please advise, thanking you all in advance.


----------



## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Read one of the stickies about when you can apply.
You can book your appointment and pay fees and health surcharge while you are abroad. You need to return for your premium centre appointment, obviously.


----------



## Yoshi_1981 (Dec 5, 2012)

*Thanks*



Joppa said:


> Read one of the stickies about when you can apply.
> You can book your appointment and pay fees and health surcharge while you are abroad. You need to return for your premium centre appointment, obviously.


Thank you Joppa!


----------



## boydepaname (Mar 26, 2012)

Swissy64 said:


> Here it is, please can you clarify whether or not we need to write personal statements for an in-person appointment or if that is just for postal applications?
> 
> Financial Requirement (Applying under *Category A*)
> 
> ...


Are photos really required? Having been through the first application where they check you are in a genuine relationship, I would imagine that when it comes to renewing the visa they should already be happy with this aspect of the application, hence they only require you to provide some evidence of cohabitation?


----------



## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

boydepaname said:


> Are photos really required? Having been through the first application where they check you are in a genuine relationship, I would imagine that when it comes to renewing the visa they should already be happy with this aspect of the application, hence they only require you to provide some evidence of cohabitation?


It's a good idea, especially lately when UKVI is refusing visas left and right, to close all gaps and to not make assumptions about how the home office will consider your relationship. This was actually their first FLR(M) (she mentions in her post that she has been here on a Tier 2) and they've only been married less than half a year; I'd say that exhibiting evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship was very prudent if not crucial.


----------



## boydepaname (Mar 26, 2012)

clever-octopus said:


> It's a good idea, especially lately when UKVI is refusing visas left and right, to close all gaps and to not make assumptions about how the home office will consider your relationship. This was actually their first FLR(M) (she mentions in her post that she has been here on a Tier 2) and they've only been married less than half a year; I'd say that exhibiting evidence of a genuine and subsisting relationship was very prudent if not crucial.


Sorry that maybe came across wrong; I appreciate every application is different, and didn't realise it was their first spouse application; in our instance my wife is already on a spouse visa, and so our current application is to simply renew this.

Given that nowhere in the application or guidance does it mention photos (we are including our marriage certificate anyway), I just wondered if the photos serve any purpose for a renewal, or if we should stick to what is actually asked for? Given that we are supplying joint mortgage papers, bank statements etc as part of the normal application, this would prove as much as photos?


----------



## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

In your circumstance, you've been living together as a married couple throughout the entirety of her spouse visa, and your marriage/relationship has already been vetted by the home office in your initial FLR(M)... Photos aren't really necessary in light of this. I know sometimes people do submit them, but as photos are only useful to prove two people have met physically, I can't imagine it makes a difference compared to the cohabitation proof requirement.


----------

