# Fiancé Visa to FLR (M) Success



## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

So, despite not posting on the forum for a while, it just so happens that my wife and I, after obtaining our fiancé visa in January, have just been successful in our FLR (M)application at the PEO office in Croydon. We were married on May 17th and waited so that we could use May’s payslips and bank statements within the application. I wanted to give an overview as I think every experience is worth knowing about and the forum has always been so helpful to my wife and I so it’s nice to try and give a little back.

I’d like to stress that we were transferring from a fiancé visa to our current FLR (M) visa. From our experience, the fiancé is a lot more gruelling in the preparation than the FLR. Chances are that if you have been granted a fiancé visa, all you will be doing is renewing many of your documents from that application and bringing them up to date. The major difference is the proof of relationship, the depth is not nearly so great which ends up reducing the size of your application vastly. Rather than proof of correspondence, proof of meetings, plain tickets and so on, the proof you need is your marriage certificate and photos of your wedding. We included 21. Obviously, the form you need to fill out is also different but more self-explanatory than the fiancé, we found, and had a document checklist included that was useful. You will also, as is explained on the form, include 2 U.K passport regulation size photos of the applicant, and one of the sponsor. Your respective name must also be written on the back of each.

Now, down to the process. I want to detail this more than what your application and supporting documents should consist of because there are many posts that already do this, but not so many that I have found that detail what actually happens on the day.

Generally I must say that it was quite pleasant process, especially in stark contrast to the fiancé Process. You begin by booking your appointment online, again, I stress that this is when you transfer from a fiancé to FLR (M) whilst the applicant is still in the country. This doesn’t apply to those applicants applying from outside the country. You can do this at this website. At this stage, you will also be directed to the form that you will need to print for your application.

https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/overview

The process is fairly easy to follow. Bear in mind, that the appointments are booked six weeks in advance, so plan wisely. Having said that, we booked ours about five and a half weeks in advance, Croydon seemed to be the only office with such availability. I have heard that the booking process used to be difficult and appointments hard to come by, but that seems to be sorting itself out now and we didn’t have any trouble finding plenty for when we needed. You create an account to book, at which point you also select which category you will be applying under. After doing so, you are then directed to a payment screen where you make your payment. The fee will be £1001.00 for a single applicant with do dependants for FLR (M). Once you have paid, I recommend printing your payment page and then your appointment page that will follow once your booking is confirmed. Keep them safe and take them with you on the day. Both are very important.

As is the case with the fiancé visa as well as many others, you must make a copy of everything, sort them into categories and head them with a separate piece of paper that separates the difference parts of your supporting documents. Proof of Financial income, Wedding Evidence etc. Photocopy your photos and wedding certificate too! We got most ours back thankfully, but it was obvious they had been looked at. We put our photos in sandwich bags, separate for originals and copies. We also put both our passports and marriage certificate in another so 3 all in all. 

If you are going by train to Croydon, you will need to get the Overland line to West Croydon via the Hammersmith and City line if arriving from Kings Cross. It’s right on the outskirts of zone 5 so allow plenty of time for the journey. Croydon isn’t the most wonderful part of London but there is plenty to do there so don’t risk it. You need to be at your appointment 15 minutes before hand so arrive early and grab a coffee and be patient. The home office is conveniently signposted from the train station and is only a 5 minute walk. Having not checked the driving route, I can’t give too much advice on it but there was a multi-storey car park across from the office so you shouldn’t have too much trouble parking.

When you enter, we were greeted by a very pleasant guard who asked to see our appointment sheet and was happy we had it to hand. He explained that so many people don’t bring it so we were glad we did. We then waited very briefly before heading through security which is very much like airport security minus some of the formalities. You are then directed to the third level and reception, where you are greeted for pre-check to make sure you have all your necessary documents. They then give you a number which you keep for the entirety of your appointment that you use at several different times. After waiting for around 10 minutes in the coffee shop our number was called, and we made our way to be registered. This is when your hand over all your documents and copies, the immigration officer looks them over, fills in some details that takes about 15 minutes and registers you for biometrics. You take your documents with you in a white folder that they provide. You then head back to the coffee shop to await your call for biometrics. The wait time for us was about another ten minutes.

Biometrics takes minutes, you hand over your documents, sign a form, have your finger and thumb prints taken and also a photo. Once this is done, you then head back to the coffee shop. You are advised that you’ll have a decision in 90 minutes however we had ours in about an hour. Your number goes through stages of ‘awaiting consideration’, ‘under consideration’ and ‘ready to collect’. Our number was called whilst under the ‘under consideration’ stage. We went to the counter specified as you do at the previous stages of the appointment, and were told we were successful and that my wife would receive her biometrics residency permit within 7-10 working days. Obviously we were delighted! The Croydon office was well staffed, the staff of which very pleasant and the whole experience very smooth.

I think fiancé transfers to FLR (M) normally go fairly smoothly as the scrutiny is normally carried out with the fiancé visa, however, I recommend still being as vigilant with your application as possible and organize it thoroughly. Essentially, if you forget anything your application will be unsuccessful and you will have to re-book. Nobody wants that, so check your documents over and over again, it’s worth it. Doing so, and providing you meet all the requirements, there really shouldn’t be any problem. Good luck to all who apply and hope that this experience benefits as many applicants as possible!


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## yunnipie (May 12, 2014)

Congratulations, and this is great info.


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## Kamarj (Mar 28, 2014)

This is really helpful as I'll be doing this in two months time


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## Kamarj (Mar 28, 2014)

What is the total cost for the application the 1000 pound includes cost of service as well as the cost of application?


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Yes, £1000. This is the total coast you will pay, providing you aren't paying for any dependent children as part of the application. The cost of the application itself is, i think, £601.00 and the rest of the cost is for the booking and service you receive at the PEO center.


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## Kamarj (Mar 28, 2014)

Thank You. Did you book your appointment before you got married? Im thinking if its possible to book appointment before marriage, so my appointment date could fall very soon after im married. What do u think?


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

We did indeed book ours before we got married, i think we booked ours on 30th April and got married May 17th. I'd recommend booking it for soon after the wedding for sure. We probably would have booked ours a little closer to it, but we need to wait until the end of may for that months pay slip and statements to count towards the application.


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

JrmHarding HEllo...

Would it be the same procedure for a situation like ours? i am holding a Spanish Passport.


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Hi Putlet...

Are you currently on your fiance visa and living in the U.K? If so, it would be the same booking and appointment situation.


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

JrmHarding,

My Boyfriend is the one holding a Fiance visa. I'm holding a Spanish passport living and working in UK since 2001... i don't know how and where to start the application after our wedding dated 8July. >.<


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Putlet,

Unfortunately, I think it best to try and get Joppa or Nyclon to answer this one for you as I'm not very sure of the situation with your certain circumstance and how to move forward.


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

I have created a new thread hoping and waiting for their reply. One more question please. By holding a Fiance visa applying to FLR, do you need to give a proof of address?


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Yes, most definitely. I gave proof using my council tax bill and electricity bill. My parents who own the flat we live in and are essentially our landlords also wrote a letter giving permission for my wife to live there, however this was just a copy of the one submitted with our fiance visa.


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## Pultet (Sep 17, 2013)

JrmHarding said:


> Yes, most definitely. I gave proof using my council tax bill and electricity bill. My parents who own the flat we live in and are essentially our landlords also wrote a letter giving permission for my wife to live there, however this was just a copy of the one submitted with our fiance visa.


I meant, Proof of address with my Fiance's name on it? i can definitely provide proof of address with my name such as telephone bill etc... but there is no proof that my Fiance is living with me, there isn't any bill with my Fiance's name on it. State agent is refusing to write another tenancy agreement as our contract is due to expire soon (september) i can only get my Parents to write a letter stating that my fiance does live with us. would that be sufficient?


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

It shouldn't be a problem. The proof that i provided had my name on the bills only. As for the tenancy agreement, can you not contact your landlord privately away from the estate agent and request an updated tenancy agreement from him?


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## Dale.r (Jun 24, 2014)

Jrm, i read your thread, but wasnt sure if you mentioned your wifes nationality, i ask because i may be going through this process with my turkish fiance in the coming weeks/months, she has a language requirement however and having gained entry to the uk on her fiance visa with an a1 pass, is this suitable for this next flr application or does the b1 english test come into play? Hoping you or someone can help thanks


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## JrmHarding (Jan 6, 2014)

Dale.r, my wife is American, so no need for the English language test and in all honesty I'm not sure what your wife needs in regards to this. Hopefully someone in the know can chime in and help out!


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