# FLRm - six items of correspondence in 2 years



## jay_ (Jan 9, 2016)

Hi All,
I have a question about proving a genuine relationship on the FLR (m) form.
Per the form “Six items of correspondence addressed to you and your partner at the same address as evidence that you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together up to a maximum of two years”.
My wife was granted a spouse in May 2013 and entered the UK in June 2013. According to the above, the 2 year period ends on June 2015.
Problem is, some of my letters are dated AFTER June 2015.
I am submitting the following;
1.	Letter from Department for Work and Pensions – dated Aug 13
2.	Bank statement – dated Nov 15
3.	HMRC tax calculation letter– dated Aug 15
4.	HMRC tax summary letter – dated Aug 14
5.	NHS letter – dated Dec 15
6.	HMRC tax code change – dated Nov 15
7.	HMRC tax summary letter – dated Aug 15
8.	Council tax bill – dated Mar 15
9.	Water bill – dated Dec 15
10.	Credit card statement – dated Nov 15
Joint account bank statement – (statement does not have date but it covers Dec 2015)
Hopefully someone has been in a similar situation. Will appreciate the advice.

Thanks


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

jay_ said:


> Hi All, I have a question about proving a genuine relationship on the FLR (m) form. Per the form &#147;Six items of correspondence addressed to you and your partner at the same address as evidence that you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together up to a maximum of two years&#148;. My wife was granted a spouse in May 2013 and entered the UK in June 2013. According to the above, the 2 year period ends on June 2015. Problem is, some of my letters are dated AFTER June 2015. I am submitting the following; 1.	Letter from Department for Work and Pensions &#150; dated Aug 13 2.	Bank statement &#150; dated Nov 15 3.	HMRC tax calculation letter&#150; dated Aug 15 4.	HMRC tax summary letter &#150; dated Aug 14 5.	NHS letter &#150; dated Dec 15 6.	HMRC tax code change &#150; dated Nov 15 7.	HMRC tax summary letter &#150; dated Aug 15 8.	Council tax bill &#150; dated Mar 15 9.	Water bill &#150; dated Dec 15 10.	Credit card statement &#150; dated Nov 15 Joint account bank statement &#150; (statement does not have date but it covers Dec 2015) Hopefully someone has been in a similar situation. Will appreciate the advice. Thanks


I can never understand why they say two years when many applicants have been here on a spousal visa for two and a half years and I would have thought UKVI want to see evidence of living together for the entire time.


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## jay_ (Jan 9, 2016)

Agreed - it is quite odd. I am quite worried as about half of my documents are after June 2015 and the joint bank account statement from Natwest is a transaction list for Dec 2015 but does not include a date when the statement was issued.


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

jay_ said:


> Agreed - it is quite odd. I am quite worried as about half of my documents are after June 2015 and the joint bank account statement from Natwest is a transaction list for Dec 2015 but does not include a date when the statement was issued.


We are going to spread the documents over the entire two and a half years, so something from about every five months. Certainly, if I am advised to cover a maximum of two years, I would choose documents for the last two years of the visa, rather than the first, or maybe just one from the first six months and rest from the past two years.


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## jay_ (Jan 9, 2016)

Good point. Only consideration would be that the guidance may rule out the last two years of the visa.

"Six items of correspondence addressed .....since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together up to a maximum of two years”

Pretty strange from the UKVI


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

The form covers a lot of situations including those applying as unmarried partners. If you are applying for your 1st unmarried partner visa from within the UK then you will need to show that you have been living together for at least 2 years. If you are applying after already being in the UK under a spouse visa then you will need 2.5 years of proof of living together so 1 piece of evidence each for about every 5 months.


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

I asked UKVI advice line about this, as we don't have anything with my wife's name on it for the first 4 months of her being here as she had not yet got a job (so nothing from HMRC), was not on any bills (as was not earning) and was initially unable to open a bank account.

They said that it was fine as the ECOs understand that it is fairly common for new immigrants to have little or no communication at first and said I should just provide stuff from the last couple of years and attach a letter explaining the situation for the first few months.

Mind you, UKVI apparently give out duff information at times. I'm hoping they are correct though as we can't send what we don't have!

Edit: They also suggested including a letter from my mother who we lived with at the time, maybe this is something others in the same situation could consider doing.


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## jay_ (Jan 9, 2016)

Thanks Nyclon and Kotch.

I will be sending documents across 2.5 years per Nyclon and hope for the best.

Kotch - out of interest - do you think the UKVI are therefore worried about the last 2 years from the date of application? 

Also - did you look into my follow up from the combining income thread?

Many thanks


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

To be honest Jay I'm not sure what UKVI want! The wording is a little confusing but as Nyclon suggested it would make sense that they would want correspondence covering the period that your spouse has been in the country if they have been here for 2.5 years but then I would also guess that a situation similar to mine is fairly common.

I have since found her NHS card which has an issue date on about a month after she arrived in the UK and the GP name and local authority. As per a suggestion from another board I will staple this to the separate sheet because it shows that she must have been living close to the surgery at the time because you have to live within a certain distance/area to register. I am also going to try to obtain something from the GP to say she was registered with them using the address...

Complex and possibly not required but that will make sure we are covered for the entire 2.5 year period, providing UKVI are happy with it! I'd rather submit a bit too much evidence than not enough if you know what I mean...

With regard to the combining income thread, I haven't looked into it, will do though


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

kotch said:


> I asked UKVI advice line about this, as we don't have anything with my wife's name on it for the first 4 months of her being here as she had not yet got a job (so nothing from HMRC), was not on any bills (as was not earning) and was initially unable to open a bank account.
> 
> They said that it was fine as the ECOs understand that it is fairly common for new immigrants to have little or no communication at first and said I should just provide stuff from the last couple of years and attach a letter explaining the situation for the first few months.
> 
> ...


UKVI do not run the information lines. They are manned by a 3rd party who read off a script. You should take any suggestions they may make with a grain of salt.


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

Thanks Nyclon, I will. In fact, I have been given duff info by them myself regarding other issues so I know what you're saying.

As it turns out I don't have many other options (other than the NHS card & GP letter detailed above) so I'm just going to have to go with it.

The only other thing I can do is to submit a letter from my mother to say she lived with us during that period (she moved in with us shortly after my spouse arrived in the UK) as that is something else that is mentioned on the guidance.

Thing is, as I said there's not a lot else I can do - I can't submit documents I don't have


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

Quick update:

Called UKVI for clarification on this issue. Called twice and spoke to two different people to check that I was being told the same thing consistently.

They said that the standard needed to be met was correspondence spread over 2 years (even if applying for FLR M after 30 months), with the 6 items to be spread as evenly as possible.

In one case I questioned further they checked with superiors who gave further clarification.

The items should be spread over the two years as standard but if additional items are included to cover the period in the UK prior to the two year requirement then that may strengthen the application.

They also cited a minimum period (2 years is given in the guidance as a maximum) of 6 months - so they said anywhere between 6 months and 2 years would be considered but if it was less than 2 years or the spread was completely uneven a cover letter should be provided explaining the situation clearly.

They also said that sending more than the 6 items could help the application but would not hinder it.

These answers were pretty consistent from two different operatives, however the UKVI advice line is known to give out duff information at times.

I have checked a lot of anecdotal evidence on other forums regarding this issue and it seems the general standard used is 2 years, but that doesn't mean to say it's correct.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

kotch said:


> Quick update:
> 
> Called UKVI for clarification on this issue. Called twice and spoke to two different people to check that I was being told the same thing consistently.
> 
> ...


Just because you got a similar response from 2 different agents doesn't make it right either.


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

I did say in both of my last two paragraphs that it may still be incorrect.

For those interested, the reason given was that this is not the only factor they use to determine if a relationship is genuine and will be looked at on the whole with other factors. Hence it is not a hard and fast rule and why people can submit correspondence from variable periods with a covering letter explaining the situation, but the preferred length of time is quoted as 2 years with more as a bonus.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

kotch said:


> I did say in both of my last two paragraphs that it may still be incorrect.
> 
> For those interested, the reason given was that this is not the only factor they use to determine if a relationship is genuine and will be looked at on the whole with other factors. Hence it is not a hard and fast rule and why people can submit correspondence from variable periods with a covering letter explaining the situation, but the preferred length of time is quoted as 2 years with more as a bonus.


An explanation is only useful if the answer is correct in the 1st place.

To apply for FLR (M) you must have lived in the UK on your spouse visa for at least 30 months. Doesn't it make sense that you prove that you've lived with your spouse for the length of your visa and not just the past 2 years?


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

I'm not disputing that. I'm merely reporting the facts as given to me.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

kotch said:


> I'm not disputing that. I'm merely reporting the facts as given to me.


You're not reporting facts. Your reporting answers given to you by a helpline run by a 3rd party, not UKVI. Our experience on the forum has been that more often than not the answers offered by this 3rd part is incorrect.


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## kotch (Jan 3, 2016)

I am reporting facts 'as given to me'. I am not vouching for their validity, in fact I mentioned twice in my earlier post that they may not be correct.

Do you know with 100% certainty that you are correct on saying the standard is 2.5 years? Or is that an interpretation based on what makes sense to you?

Not intended to come off as a challenge, just genuinely curious as to how you have come to that conclusion.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

kotch said:


> I am reporting facts 'as given to me'. I am not vouching for their validity, in fact I mentioned twice in my earlier post that they may not be correct.
> 
> Do you know with 100% certainty that you are correct on saying the standard is 2.5 years? Or is that an interpretation based on what makes sense to you?
> 
> Not intended to come off as a challenge, just genuinely curious as to how you have come to that conclusion.


Again, not facts, just answers. Don't confuse the 2.

This thread has ceased to be productive so it is now closed.

Take the time to search through the forum on this topic.


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