This May, I applied to renew my UK spouse visa. If you missed my first post on applying for my UK visa, you can read up on it here. My initial visa was for 2.5 years (30 months), after which I could then apply to renew my visa and extend my leave to remain in the UK for another 2.5 years (30 months). This renewal is the application I made in May. While you can find out a lot of information online about what the initial visa process is to be able to move to the UK, there is virtually NOTHING online about applying to renew your visa and extend your leave to remain in the UK. As in, there aren’t even specific details on the UK government website! I successfully received Further Leave to Remain in the UK to continue living with my husband in July. So I wanted to write a huge post all about how the process works and what my experience was like! I wrote this entire post the week after I received my visa, since I wanted to remember everything just as it was. I hope this will help you, and shed some light on the horrendous process of applying for UK visas.
EDIT: Unfortunately my marriage ended, in the most difficult and painful way possible, at the end of 2020. I loved my husband very much, and intended to be with him for the rest of my life. I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK as a victim of domestic abuse in 2021, a process which I don’t intend to share publicly for obvious reasons. I am very grateful that I will be able to stay living in the UK, which has been my home since 2016.
This blog post has helped so many other people, has served as a forum in the comments section, and I have been so honored to help others in this difficult process. It breaks my heart thinking about what we went through to be together, and seeing all these photos of happy memories together. But I have decided to leave this post up, despite what has happened to me personally, in the hopes that it helps anyone else who needs it. I wish anyone reading this the absolute best <3
Table of Contents
Summary Of The UK Spouse Visa Renewal Process
First of all, a disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this article does not constitute legal advice! If you are seeking legal help, I have included a few resources below of organizations who may be able to help you. This is all just information about my experience applying to renew this visa. You can find the official UK website on this visa here.
If you don’t have the time to read the whole article, I thought I’d start with a brief summary of what the process is like to renew a UK spouse visa. If you don’t care about the ins and outs of the process, please read the last few paragraphs at the end of this post regarding the cruel and inhumane system the Home Office operates in the UK. This visa is technically classed as a “family” visa. However just to make things clear I will be referring to it as a spouse visa (also known as a partner visa), as that is what my process was and what my leave to remain in the UK is based on.
Essentially, you need to gather a lot of paperwork to prove you are still with your spouse (or partner). You fill out the application form online, pay for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), pay for the visa, scan and upload your documents to the UKVCAS website, and book a biometric appointment. At the appointment, you do your fingerprints, have your photo taken, and the application is submitted to the Home Office on your behalf by UKVCAS (the external company also known as Sopra Steria). Assuming you apply in the UK, you will then find out the decision in 8 weeks. Note that if you’re applying in the UK you no longer need to submit the physical documents themselves, as everything is done online.
Accessing (Free) Legal Help In The UK
I had a pretty frustrating process of trying to access (free) legal help in the UK. There are thousands of lawyers who are qualified to facilitate the visa renewal process. However, nearly all of those cost money. If you are looking for free legal help in the UK, I would suggest starting with your local Citizens Advice Bureau. Citizens Advice have locations all over the UK.
Unfortunately, I had a pretty poor experience with Citizens Advice. I went to one of the drop-in sessions in York, arrived 10 minutes after the session opened, and was told that it was full for the day and I wouldn’t be seen. I left my details to receive a callback, which I was told would be in 3 working days. After no one called me back, I went to the next drop-in session, arriving 40 minutes before the session opened to guarantee to be seen. I was then told that no one was able to assist me, as visa queries needed to be handled by a lawyer because of how complex they are.
While I completely understand this (and everyone at Citizens Advice is a trained volunteer!), it was pretty frustrating when it says on their website that they are trained to offer Level 1 Immigration advice, including visas. When I told them I had been in and asked for a callback that never came, they checked their files. According to them, I hadn’t received a callback as their lawyer was away on holiday for two weeks, and she was the only person who could help me. After spending two mornings on my days off of work trekking across town to be denied twice, I was feeling pretty let down. They passed along information for an organization based in Leeds. When I called this organization, the woman I started to speak to literally interrupted me and said, “I’m going to stop you right there,” going on to say that they can’t offer any advice on documents unless they’re doing the visa themselves. So that was completely pointless as well. (This was the start cue for a good hour-long crying session from feeling so shut down and so isolated and alone.)
Some lawyers will offer free advice over email or for free 30-minute sessions. I only came across them after I applied for my visa (because of course), but White Rose Visas may be able to help you if you’re looking for legal advice. They offer a free 30-minute enquiry—along with all sorts of services for visa processing. They have a LOT of information on their website, so I would start there! Please note I didn’t use them, but just found their website useful and the fact that they offer a free 30-minute session very promising. Your other option is to email local lawyers (check and make sure they practice immigration law there first) and enquire about free sessions.
EDIT: I have since worked with White Rose Visas, and would happily recommend them if you are looking for a free 30-minute session, or for an organization to help process your visa. I used White Rose Visas for my ILR application as a victim of domestic abuse, which was successful. They are an excellent organization, and dealt with everything efficiently and with kindness and compassion. If you speak to Lauren, tell her I say hi!
Since this post was published, I have also found Rights of Women to be an amazing organization who offer free legal advice. It can be difficult to get a hold of them as they are quite busy and have limited operating times, but they have been a lifesaver and helped me so much.
Accessing free legal help in the UK to deal with a spouse visa renewal is not easy. It is very stressful. I would highly recommend starting enquiring about legal help several weeks or months before you intend to apply for the visa.
Eligibility To Renew A UK Spouse Visa
No one can just “move” to the UK. And even if you move, you will only be allowed to “stay” if you meet the eligibility requirements. I had to tick all the right boxes to be able to live with Adam. Again, I would strongly advise checking with the official UK website as rules can (and will) change frequently. You will need to meet the following requirements to renew a UK spouse visa:
- You have a genuine relationship with your partner (married, civil partnership, engaged to be married, or have lived together for at least two years before your first visa application)
- You are still with your partner and you live together
- Between the two of you, you meet the income threshold required of £18,600 before tax (this is higher if there are children involved)
- You have a good knowledge of English
- You can pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) – this is a requirement for this specific visa and for many others as part of the visa application in order to access the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK
You can view Appendix FM for the full rules here.
You can also check how much you’ll need to pay for the IHS here. This can (and probably will) change – it doubled between my first visa in 2016 and my renewal in 2019.
For full disclosure, between Adam’s income and my income, we earn well over the required amount of £18,600. In fact, together we earn over double the amount required. Adam earns approximately £25,000/year. I earn approximately £20,000/year, although as I earn commission my base salary is minimum wage – approximately £16,000/year. You can meet the income requirement through a variety of other ways if you need to – I would strongly recommend researching the Appendix FM-SE here to ensure you meet the income requirement and have the documents to prove it.
Total Costs For My Visa
They say you can’t put a price on love… but the Home Office sure does. Visas are expensive. The UK immigration system should be a national embarrassment, every British citizen should be ashamed of the way their country is run regarding this, and the government has made many appalling decisions in the past few years. Don’t forget, the Home Office makes 800% profit on some visa applications. It is in their best interests to deny visas on a technicality, pocket the visa fee, and force people to re-apply and pay again. This is wrong.
My total costs of applying to renew my UK spouse visa are as follows, current as of May 2019:
- Cost of visa application: £1033
- Cost of biometric appointment: £19.20
- Cost of Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1000
- Cost of same-week appointment in Croydon: £100
- Return rail tickets from York to Croydon: £52.30
- Housing report: £90
GRAND TOTAL OF MY VISA RENEWAL APPLICATION: £2294.50
Documents Required
You need to have a LOT of paperwork in order to successfully apply to renew a UK spouse visa. Generally, you will need to have proof in the following categories:
- Relationship
- Finances
- Housing
I thought it might be useful to include a list of all of the documents I submitted to renew my UK spouse visa. This is of course not an exhaustive list you can submit, and of course if you have questions I do highly recommend seeking legal help as it will vary on a case by case basis for each individual application. The Home Office is extremely stringent on seeing original documents and having these be verified. Most documents will need to be stamped to authenticate them, and most documents will need to be on official headed paper. These are the documents I submitted to renew my visa:
- My current passport (all pages)
- My current BRP
- My old passport (all pages, I moved to the UK in October 2016 and renewed my passport in December 2018, so I submitted my old one to show my entry stamps from when I moved to the UK, and stamps of trips we’ve taken together)
- My husband’s passport (all pages)
- 1 year of payslips for both myself and my husband, stamped by our respective HR departments
- Letters from both mine and my husband’s employers’ on headed paper with HR personnel contact details, confirming the following:
- You/your partner are employed there
- Your/your partner’s job title or position you hold
- How long you/your partner have worked there
- The type of contract (ex. permanent and full-time, fixed term)
- What you/your partner earn before tax and National Insurance
- How long you/your partner have ben paid your current salary
- That the paylips provided are genuine
- 1 year of bank statements for both myself and my husband (showing you have received the income earned from your employment) – if this is a print-out of a bank statement, they will need to be printed on headed paper by the bank and stamped by the bank to authenticate them
- Most recent P60 statement, if possible
- Our complete tenancy agreement showing both our names, our address, our landlord, and how much we pay each month in rent
- 7 council tax statements, starting from our first bill in November 2016 (addressed in both our names)
- 4 water bills, starting from our first bill in October 2016 (addressed in both our names)
- Confirmation of opening our joint Savings Account (addressed in both our names), a statement showing funds in our account (from 2018), and a letter from the bank in May 2019 confirming our balance (signed and stamped by the bank employee)
- A surveyor housing report (proving our accommodation is habitable and not legally overcrowded)
- Marriage certificate
- 3 letters of support from family/friends confirming our relationship is genuine and we do live together (including a color copy of each person’s passport page to prove their identity)
- 18 photos of us together from October 2016 to the present
I got tired just writing all of this out! You will also need to list any international trips you have taken outside the UK since you first moved. As I travel quite a lot, I luckily have a list that I update and is saved for visa applications like this. You will need to exact dates of travel and these need to correspond with your passport stamps.
A housing report from a surveyor isn’t technically necessary. But my friend who applied a few months before I did was recommended by her lawyer to obtain this. I used Absolute Inventories for this, who charged £90. While there were quite a few hiccups and it took much longer than I would have liked, I did eventually receive both a PDF and the physical housing report document. It is better to be safe than sorry, you could lose out on ~£1000 of an application for the sake of a £90 report. Your local Council can also generally recommend a company or provide a housing report (for a fee of course) to include in a UK visa application.
EDIT: In several more recent comments, others have shared very poor experiences with Absolute Inventories. I would therefore no longer recommend them for this service.
Something that I panicked about in the run up to applying to my visa was our bank statements. We chose not to submit bank statements from our joint bank account, as we both are paid our income into our individual bank accounts. Also, with our joint bank account we frequently go into the overdraft. This isn’t very responsible but we basically top it up whenever we get low but we will sometimes go under for a few days at a time. So we chose not to submit anything for this joint bank account because we didn’t need to.
However, as evidenced on Adam’s bank statements, he did go into his overdraft at two points during the 12 months of bank statements that we submitted. This wasn’t for a long time, and when he received his next monthly paycheck he was comfortably over again. I was worried that this would be an issue – that they would think that he/we were not financially stable as he went under. As my application was successful, I can only assume that they didn’t care about this (yay!). I had found a few posts from other visa applications where people said they didn’t have a problem with this. So long as it is a one-off, and you’re not consistently living in your overdraft, and you are earning the required amount, I would hope it would be fine. The Home Office mainly cares that you earn the money – not precisely how you spend your money.
Whatever you do, DO NOT pick and choose which bank statements to send. Send them all in. It will be better for the Home Office to have a big picture of your finances, even if you may have gone in the red in your account for a bit. Failing to send in required bank statements can (and will) result in your application being refused.
More Information On Required Documents From The UK.GOV Website
Here is a screenshot of what the official statement during the application on the UK government website says:
“You must provide at least 6 items of correspondence, addressed to you and your partner jointly or in both your names. The dates of the items of correspondence should be spread evenly over the whole 2 years. They should be from at least 3 different sources. If you do not have enough items in your joint names, you may also provide items addressed to each of you individually if they show the same address for both of you. For example – 4 items of correspondence in joint names to the same address and 2 items addressed to each partner at the address. In total 8 items would need to be submitted. If you and your partner have no bills or correspondence in joint names, you will need to submit 12 items (6 each) of correspondence evidencing that you reside together at the same address.” You can see the list of acceptable evidence in the screenshot above.
After finishing the actual visa application itself, the website will show you an individualized list of documents to provide (screenshots above). For my UK spouse visa renewal, they listed my passport and my BRP as “mandatory documents.” They listed “other documents” as follows:
- Personal bank statements corresponding to the same period(s) as the payslips showing the salary has been paid into an account in the name of the person or in the name of the person and their partner jointly – for Adam’s job
- Personal bank statements corresponding to the same period(s) as the payslips showing the salary has been paid into an account in the name of the person or in the name of the person and their partner jointly – for my job
- Any relevant declarations or third party consent to request verificiation checks
- Evidence of Adam’s immigration status in the UK (he is British so his passport was fine)
- Payslips covering any period of salaried employment (current and previous) in the period of 12 months prior to the date of application – for my job
- Payslips covering a period of 6 months prior to the date of application – for Adam’s job
- My US passport to prove the level of English language required
- Evidence of council tax costs for the accommodation in the UK where you live or will live
- A letter from the employer(s) who issued the payslips for Adam confirming
- The employment;
- The gross annual salary;
- How long the employment has been/was held;
- The period over which the person has been paid the level of salary stated in their application;
- The type of employment (permanent, fixed, term contract, or agency)
- A letter from the employer(s) who issued the payslips for me confirming
- The employment;
- The gross annual salary;
- How long the employment has been/was held;
- The period over which the person has been paid the level of salary stated in their application;
- The type of employment (permanent, fixed, term contract, or agency)
- A P60 for the relevant period(s) of employment relied up on for Adam
- A marriage certificate, or reasonable equivalent for Adam and myself
- Items of correspondence addressed to Adam and myself at the same address as evidence you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together, covering the last 2 years. It then lists the above details for items of suitable correspondence
This is essentially everything that I had already compiled before I did the application. Obviously, this is a LOT of paperwork involved!!! If you cannot provide these documents, your application very well may be rejected. I took literally no chances. I provided all of the documents I listed above. When I had my appointment, the guy opened my application and actually said, “good grief you have a lot of documents!” (Which I took as a good sign.) It is always better to send in more than you need, than not enough.
It was a huge help for us that we specifically had our council tax bills in both our names since we moved in. We also specifically set up our water bill in both of our names for this exact reason when we first moved in. This made the visa renewal application SO much easier.
The Visa Application Itself
The actual visa application took me approximately two hours to complete. I also spent another hour uploading all of my scanned documents to the UKVCAS website. I had already scanned all of these documents over the last month, which was a HUGE help and a big stress relief.
If you are applying to renew your UK spouse visa in the UK (like me), you will apply online. You create an account, and then go through and answer the questions. Most of the questions are focused on your personal details, your relationship with your spouse/partner, your finances, and your accommodation. Like I said, you will also need to submit all of the international trips you have taken outside of the UK since you originally moved.
There were a few questions that really threw me. I feel like these are included to try to trick applicants, and give the Home Office some leeway to reject your application. Here are screenshots of the questions I thought were unusual:
First, they asked if I have lived in any other country besides the UK. Obviously I put down the US, as I lived there for basically 23 years before I moved to the UK. They also had a question asking, “what family or friends do you have in the country where you were born and/or any other country whose nationality you hold?” I believe they ask this so that they can build a case that if they rejected your application, you would have a support network in another country. It would therefore be more difficult to appeal a refusal based on having no family/friends in your former country of residence.
Not to sound popular, but I have a lot of family and friends in the US. How am I supposed to put down every single family member and friend’s name and address?! In the end, I listed the names of my dad, mom, and sister (all living in Minneapolis, Minnesota). I then said I have extended family primarily based in Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. I also said I have many friends across the country. I don’t know if this was the right answer, but it’s what I put and my application was successful.
The next question that threw me was they asked if I had to leave the UK, which country I would go to. Then they asked if, “there are any factors which would make it difficult or impossible for you to integrate and establish a private life in that country?” This, again, is included I believe in an effort to allow the Home Office to be able to refuse applications if it would be easy for you to return to your home country. On this question, I ticked “yes.” I wrote that my husband does not have a long-term visa to reside with me in the US. This would obviously make it difficult for me to move back to the US.
On the visa application, they asked questions about if I’d committed war crimes or was involved in terrorist activities. They also asked, “have you, by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to commit terrorist or other serious criminal acts?” I just thought this was interesting that it’s a question they specifically ask.
Some of the questions were about the visa I was applying for itself. It asked about “extending or switching to a partner route.” The question (above) reads, “Is this the first time you have applied for a partner route, or an extension, with your current partner (including as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner)?
It also asks for “reason for extension.” I selected “First extension as a partner (following an initial period of entry as a partner, or as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner of a settled person). This was just a bit stressful for me as there are so many options!
The application asks for details about your relationship. It includes a question confirming you have met your partner, and asks for the month/year you first met your partner and when your relationship began. It also asks which language(s) you and your partner use to communicate.
There was also a question (I forgot to take a screenshot) about whether you and your partner could easily continue your relationship outside of the UK. I ticked no and wrote that my husband does not have a long-term visa allowing residency in the US, which would make maintaining our relationship would be very difficult. Again, I feel like this is a bit of a trick question: of course, you automatically want to say yes, you’ll continue your relationship no matter what because you’re in love and will be together forever! But actually I think (in my case) it was better to say no, and say that Adam does not have a visa to permanently reside in the US. Again, I feel like this is a bit of a trick question thrown in by the Home Office to give them more grounds for refusing your application if they need/want to.
At the end of the application, you will be automatically redirected to another website to pay for the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). After you pay for your IHS, you will get a reference number and you can put that into the application to continue on with the application.
The next step will direct you to the UKVCAS website (again, the company is run by Sopra Steria) to make your biometric appointment. There are multiple “Core Service Points” that offer free of charge appointments during 10am-4pm Monday-Friday, with chargeable appointments out of hours, next day, and at weekends. You will need to upload all your supporting documents in advance of your appointment. Although you can purchase the Document Scanning service and someone will do it for you.
I was prepared to pay for a same-week appointment, hopefully in Manchester. Since I had booked flights for a trip to the Balkans at the end of August, I wanted my visa application done and (hopefully) approved in time for us to take the trip. So I was prepared to pay £100 for an appointment to get one in the next few days. York’s service point is the Tang Hall Library, which is not classed as a core service point and therefore if you make an appointment there it is a £60 fee. If I was going to spend £60, I might as well pay £100 and go to the center in Manchester and get it done sooner.
When I went to actually book the appointment on the UKVCAS website, I was shocked, dumbfounded, and enraged that there were LITERALLY NO FREE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE. ANYWHERE UP NORTH. I looked at every single center in the North of England: York, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, and even Edinburgh in Scotland… none of them had appointments available in the following week. Not a single damn appointment. Free or chargeable. Most locations did not have any appointments available for 2 full weeks. And they only list 3 weeks, as you will need to have your biometric appointment and submit your application within 3 weeks of doing the online application. The website only directed me to the Premium service available in London. You can read this article about how the Home Office is (again) a national embarrassment and Sopra Steria as the outsourcer has made a disgusting amount of profit from refusing to release more free appointments, and only releasing chargeable appointments.
Luckily, I was able to book my appointment for two days later in Croydon (which is south London). Although Croydon is a Core Service Point (free appointments), of course all the free ones were sold out/unavailable. So I had to pay £100 for an “out-of-hours” appointment at 6pm.
I would strongly recommend booking your biometric appointment and uploading your documents right after you do the online application. Obviously this helps if you have all of your documents scanned and ready to go. Then that bit is done. You and your partner (and others listed on bank accounts or bills) will also need to sign declarations, giving the Home Office your consent to perform checks and access your information (and then you can scan and upload these). In general, scan your documents as PDFs or JPEGs. Make sure documents with multiple pages (ex. passports, bank statements of multiple pages, letters more than one page, etc.) are included in one PDF/JPEG file. The maximum size for each file is 6 MB. I hope this helps with a bit more information on what you can expect from the actual visa renewal online application!
The Biometric Appointment
I had my appointment booked for 6pm in Croydon. Above is a photo from my phone of what the building looks like. You can get direct trains from central London to Croydon. I traveled from London St. Pancras to East Croydon. The journey takes about half an hour. The Home Office is signposted from East Croydon station. You will need a printout of your appointment confirmation. This will have a barcode/QR code that they will scan to let you into the building. Print this out and take it with you, do not take any chances having it on your phone!!!
If you have seen the show Peep Show, you should recognize this building! The actual Apollo House is located in Croydon and so of course I went for a quick wander to go and see it! I also made lots of notes about what my actual appointment was like. Essentially, you have your fingerprints done, your photo taken, and submit your documents. UKVCAS then submit your application to the Home Office on your behalf after checking your documents are legible and in the right order.
I arrived to the Croydon service point at 4:55pm, just over an hour before my appointment. I had to do a brief security check – you will need to show your passport and appointment confirmation. Note that if your spouse/partner accompanies you to the appointment, they might not be allowed into the actual building. There was a notice that said that companions were not allowed to enter, and there were quite a few people just sitting outside the building. Presumably, they were waiting for someone doing their appointment.
Once I got past the security check, I got a number and waited. The Croydon location has free wifi, which I was very grateful for as I could mindlessly scroll on my phone to keep myself from panicking and crying. You need to bring the original copies of all of your documents with you, as they may need to see these or re-scan these. DO NOT STAPLE YOUR DOCUMENTS. They may need to un-staple all of your documents to scan them so do not staple any documents together if you can avoid it.
I was called in at 5:05pm, and went to a specific room with a chair. I’m not sure if I got a room with a chair because my appointment was chargeable (if I’m paying £100 the least they can do is let me sit down…), but it was better than standing at a desk. The man who did my application was very nice. He asked a lot of small talk questions which I tried to answer but mainly just spluttered out with high-pitched fake/nervous laughing. Keep in mind UKVCAS/Sopra Steria have absolutely NO outcome on your application. They can’t answer questions or offer advice about it, their job is literally just to check your documents are uploaded correctly, take your photo and fingerprints, and click submit.
As I said above, I took it as a good sign that the man started off by saying, “good grief you have a lot of documents!” It took a very long time to load, mainly because of the photos I included which were a large file size. Even though I had uploaded all of the documents, he still scanned the following documents: our letters from employers, our bank statements, our payslips, and Adam’s P60. He confirmed we had uploaded our tenancy agreement, housing report, council tax bills, water bills, our marriage certificate, our declarations allowing the Home Office to use our details for necessary checks, my passport and my old passport, and my BRP. He did re-scan all of the stamped pages of my current passport.
After all this fun scanning, I then did my fingerprints and had my photo taken. I also provided my signature. And then it was all done! I left over an hour later, at 6:20pm. I’m glad I showed up early and got seen early, as my appointment took 1 hour and 15 minutes!! It was a huge relief finishing this and knowing it was submitted and I couldn’t do anything to change it! It didn’t really stop me from stressing and panicking about it, but it sure helped. I treated myself to a Nando’s after my appointment and damn was it good! My stress levels weren’t helped by the fact that both my trains to and from York to London were cancelled. Going there was fine (I actually got an earlier train), but on the way home I was delayed by 2.5 hours and didn’t arrive back to York until nearly 2am. Thanks, LNER!
Waiting Times For The Visa
For applications inside the UK (like mine), the Home Office will give you a decision on your application by 8 weeks after the application was submitted during your biometric appointment. This can take longer if there are issues with your application, if the Home Office needs to call you for an interview, etc. One of my American friends received her visa 7 weeks after her biometric appointment. Another of my American friends received her visa 11 weeks after her biometric appointment. (I know this was tricky as she was moving house and sorting out a mortgage during this time, and she had had to do an interview for her original visa.)
In my case, I heard back on my UK spouse visa renewal application almost exactly 8 weeks after my biometric appointment. I submitted my application on line on Sunday 19 May. My biometric appointment was on Tuesday 21 May. I then had attempted delivery of my decision letter and BRP on 17 July. (Tuesday 16 July was the exact date 8 weeks from the day of my application.) As I was at work and unable to sign for items, I then received my letter and BRP the next day, on 18 July. THE BEST DAY! My BRP states that it was issued on 12 July. I think it sat in a pile of applications until just before the 8-week mark, when the Home Office thought, “yeah we should probably get this one done,” and finalized my application. I was impressed (and grateful) that it was essentially exactly 8 weeks waiting time, and actually on time by their guidelines.
I’m unsure of what to do to check on the status of your application. I believe you can call the Home Office (phone calls of course cost quite a bit of money) and ask for an update on your status. I think if your application is going to take longer than 8 weeks, they will contact you and let you know? Otherwise, if you haven’t heard anything and are unable to get an answer from the Home Office, take it to your MP. Compile all the necessary information and ask your MP to contact the Home Office on your behalf for a decision.
My MP, Rachael Maskell, is a member of the Labour Party for York Central. When I was stressing about my visa, I remembered that a few months ago she had fought for a woman from China, living in York, who had been threatened with deportation. You can read about the story in the York Press. The reassurance that my MP cares about immigrants, and will fight for us, was a huge comfort to me in times of stress. If I had needed it, I am sure she would have fought for me too.
Visa Decision Delivery Information
If you are applying to renew your UK spouse visa in the UK, you will receive a letter from the Home Office with their decision on your application. If your visa renewal is successful, your BRP will be sent by a separate courier within 10 working days. You should not make any travel plans until you have received your BRP.
My case was pretty curious. I (essentially) received both my visa decision letter and my BRP on the same day! Both required signatures and proof of identity. My visa decision letter was sent through the post by Royal Mail and it was sent second-class (because even from all the profit they make from my £1033 visa application fee, they clearly can’t afford to spring for a first-class stamp…). My BRP was sent by DX, the courier I used to send off my documents when I renewed my passport.
I had a huge panic as when I went to the post office to pick up my letter, they said they couldn’t find it!!!!!! Luckily, it turned up a couple hours later. I had DX redeliver to my work, as someone would be at reception to sign for it between 9am and 5pm. DX required proof of my identity (passport, driving license, credit/debit card), AND proof of identity for my co-worker who signed for it.
I got the envelope with my BRP in it and burst into tears and started sobbing at my desk in the middle of my office. It was such a huge relief, such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. There are no words to describe this feeling.
UK Spouse Visa Renewal: Recap
If you are still reading this, I can only assume that you are either curious about how this process actually works, or you are also applying to renew your UK spouse visa and extend your leave to remain in the UK and looking for answers. I genuinely hope this post helps you. While I am not a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice, I wanted to put together a guide for how this process worked. There is NO information online about applying to renew your UK spouse visa. Essentially all of the information is on applying for your initial visa/leave to remain. There is very little out there about renewing.
In case it isn’t clear, the process of obtaining and extending visas is horrible. It is expensive, it is stressful, and it is agonizing. In the days leading up to my application, I got quite physically ill: I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, had diarrhea on and off for 5 days, constantly felt nauseous and like I was going to throw up, couldn’t focus on anything at work and found it hard to concentrate. I started to get anxiety about how phyisically ill I got. I would not wish this experience on my worst enemy. I love Adam and I just want to be with him.
To drive home how difficult and stressful it is to meet the financial requirement, we were very lucky that following Adam’s car crash in January when he was off work for 2 months, his contract had him on full pay for those 2 months. Had he not have been paid (earnings to be claimed back through the insurance claim), and if he had needed another 2ish months to recover, he would not have earned enough to sponsor me. Therefore I would not have been eligible for this visa, and we would not be able to be together. Those “what if’s” haunt me every time I think about it.
The UK government and Home Office makes it clear that loving the person you love is a privilege, not a right. And it is a privilege only afforded to those who are (relatively) well-off. The people who can afford the visa fees. The people who can physically travel to Croydon if they need to. The people who speak the language fluently and with ease and who can understand the tricky questions.
And just a reminder: approximately 40% of British people earn less than the £18,600 threshold. That means 40% of the entire British population does not earn enough to be able to live with their loved one. The choice of who you love is only open to those privileged people (like me) who tick the right boxes. This article is a good one on how EU citizens may be impacted if Brexit does happen.
The Home Office is an embarrassment and every British person should be disgusted and ashamed by the Home Office’s policies and actions. For example, they charge ludicrous prices for child citizenship. They make up to 800% profit on certain visa applications. They have wrongly rejected passports for UK-born children of EU nationals, many of whom happen to be from Central and Eastern Europe. The Windrush scandal, where the Home Office destroyed landing cards from citizens, mainly from the Caribbean, who came to the UK legally – many of whom lived in the UK for decades – and then denied them healthcare and wrongly deported many of them, is an international disgrace (this is another good article on what happened with Windrush). The Home Office (under the direction of Theresa May) destroyed these documents knowing full well that these people may face problems in the future. At least 11 people who were wrongly deported from the UK have died. Just recently, an asylum seeker died after being refused cancer treatment due to how her claim was being processed. The Home Office will stop at nothing to target foreign individuals. In one of their most cruel and inhumane acts to date, the Home Office threatened forcible deportation TO A WOMAN IN A COMA.
If the above is news to you, I strongly suggest you do some research, open your eyes and your ears, and check your privilege. The best thing that both you and I can do to help is to TALK ABOUT THIS. So many (British) people were shocked not only that I had to get a visa to live with my husband, but were astounded that I had to pay for it! Let alone earn enough money and provide all the proof of this! The privilege to not know about these rules speaks volumes. The way to fight it is to draw attention to these issues. Most British people who I have spoken to about this agree that this system is unfair. So talk to more people about it. Support immigrants. Vote out politicians who do not support immigrants. Use your voice and use your vote.
To clear a few things up (since I know there will be those people out there), I’m happy to pay for a visa. I’m happy to pay for healthcare. What I disagree with is the obscene amounts of money charged for visas, the disgusting way the Home Office and the UK government treat foreigners not as people but as a way to squeeze out even more profits, and the strict regulations that determine who is allowed to love the person they love (hint: you have to have a lot of money). And while I’m happy to pay for my healthcare, I don’t think it’s fair to charge immigrants so much more. When most foreigners work like I do, and contribute to the NHS through our taxes like normal people do. I don’t agree with paying so much extra twice over (and remember, some British people in the UK pay nothing at all because they don’t work and therefore don’t pay tax).
I am so grateful this visa process is over. In another 2.5 years I will be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, or settled status. This will be an even more stressful and expensive process. But after that, it should be over – I will have a right to stay in the UK forever (although it does lapse if you are outside the UK for 2 years or more). But applying for ILR is a problem for 2022. (For those wondering, citizenship would be the next step – however it does cost ~£2000 and I don’t know if I will be able to afford it following the ~£3000 cost for ILR.)
If you are applying to renew your UK spouse visa, I sincerely hope that this is helpful for you! It is one of my longest blog posts to date. But there is SO much information that you can’t find about the process, and I wanted to share it. Again if you want to know all about my first visa application to move to the UK to join my husband, you can find that post here.
EDIT: As I said at the beginning, I have decided to keep this post up, even though my marriage ended. Another person’s choices have had devastating consequences on my life, and I won’t pretend that it isn’t the most difficult thing I have ever experienced. But this post has helped so many people and if you are reading, I hope it helps you. I still do my best to respond to comments, and to help where I can. I wish you all the best!
Have you ever applied for a residency visa before? Where was it and what was your experience like?
You might be interested in these posts:
15 Harsh Truths About Living In England
What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved Abroad
13 Tips For Surviving Life Abroad
What I’ve Learned About British Culture After 2 Years Living In England
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Thanks so much for posting this! I’m a bit stressed but it’s nice to see a post from someone who went through the process so recently. I’ve passed it on to two of my friends and they are also using it to help with document prep. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Hi Apphia, thanks so much for reading! It’s such a stressful process, so I hope you find it useful! Good luck and best wishes to you 🙂
Just to say, thanks for taking the time to post this, My wife’s visa to entre the UK was rejected at first, the home office’s excuse was they don’t believe our relationship is genuyine!
I immidiately employed a lawyer and appealed. a year later at the court, while challenging the (very rude young man in his early 20s) home office representative, he admitted “his manager” didn’t put forward all the documents we submitted such as hundreds of pages of photos, skype chat and so on!
When the judge asked, why is that? he had no answer to her question and said he doesn’t know why, but he knows from the records that all those documents were not submitted with our application, the home office then help themselves to reject the visa because now had an excuse to say we didn’t provide those relationship documents.
They were hoping I also re-apply and give them more business, instead I spent the money on a lawyer that finally paid off!
I’m about to start the process of the renewal now and you’re correct, there are NO information about this specific task at all!
The fights goes on and I shall see the resutl in few months.
Hi Mal, thanks so much for reading and for your comment. I can’t believe your story that they didn’t submit your supporting documents – but with it being the Home Office somehow I’m not surprised!!!!! What a nightmare! I’m glad you got a lawyer and fought, instead of paying to re-apply again. Best wishes to you in the next step, and I’m sending best wishes to the both of you! 🙂
Glad to have found your post! I want to ask when did you submit your application? Did you apply 28 days before the visa expired, so you got a decision after the expiry of your first visa? Thank you 😊
Hi Ella, thanks for reading and hope you found it useful! I submitted my application exactly 28 days before my visa was set to expire, as soon as possible. Unless you pay for the fast-track 1-day service, everyone gets a decision after their current visa is already expired. There are no issues with this, the Home Office has confirmed you are still allowed to live and work here normally, as long as you applied to renew your visa BEFORE your current visa expired (anywhere from 28 days to 1 day before the expiration date). You just shouldn’t leave the UK during your visa process as you might face serious issues getting back in. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Maya! I just would like to thank you for taking the time to put all this information together! When my husband and I started researching for my visa extension application, we couldn´t find much info and didn´t know from where to start. So your blog was very helpful! I also got my visa granted and am very happy ! And you are totally right about the headaches. I didn´t have as much as you did, but some last minute fees were add to our bill. And the most tricky part was to find a free-of-charge appointment that wasn´t too far away, so we also ended up paying for one. Guess I can breath for another 2 and a half years and I´ll keep tuned in your blog just in case you are taking the permanent step too 😀
All the best and huge thanks!
Hi Rossanna, thanks for reading and I’m so glad you found the post useful! I’m thrilled that yours was granted and yes, it’s very nice to feel like you have 2.5 years to breathe!! Best wishes for the future 🙂
Hey Maja! This post is amazing and super helpful! I’ve got my extension coming up in September and I’m dreading it more and more every day lol. One thing I’m still confused about is how far in advance can you make your application online? I know they say you have to apply within 28 days of your visa expiry, so does this mean you can only start the online application at the most 28 days before the expiry date? And then you have a like a 3-4 week window to schedule your appointment?
Thanks so much again!
Beth
Hi Beth, so glad you found the post useful! You can only start the application (aka, apply online) to renew within 28 days of the date your current visa is set to expire. So as mine was expiring on 15 June, I applied basically as soon as I could, on 19 May. You will need to have your biometric appointment within 3 weeks of the date of your online application – there are consistent long-term issues with not having enough appointments (I linked some of the articles in my post), so be prepared that you may have to pay extra for a different center or “out of office hours” appointment in Croydon. Let me know if you have any other questions – good luck!! 🙂
Hello, just curious… at what point in your initial visa did you start this process? My brp is dated may 3 2018 valid until feb 17 2021 but my entry stamp is May 20,2020. I’m just curious about when to start the process and if you think it’s still too early. Very detailed btw. This was really helpful!!
Hi Tiffany, glad you found it useful! It’s never too early to start preparing for something like this. I applied exactly 28 days before my leave to remain expired (so, as soon as I was able to) but had started compiling paperwork well over a month before. In reality, I was thinking about this before I even moved to the UK in the first place to make sure I would have paper copies of bank statements/bills in our names etc. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Tiffany, thanks for the super detailed article, and greatly appreciate it. quick question hoping you can help, did you start filling it out and save the applications days before the 28 day you submitted it? or did you fill it out all on the 28 day? I’ve read somewhere that filling the application in might count towards the application time? Thanks!
Hi Eva, thanks for reading! I’m not sure if you can access the application up until 28 days before your current leave to remain expires. I wouldn’t risk it and on that day you need to, just set a few hours aside to fill everything out in one go. As I mentioned in the post, I scanned in all my documents in the weeks before which made things a lot easier. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Maja, Your previous visa expired on 15 June 2019. Can you please tell when your new visa expires? Is it exactly 2.5 years from 15 June 2019 (i.e. 15 December 2021) or about a month later (i.e. January 2022, 2.5. years from when your new BRP was issued to you).
Many thanks,
Roy
Hi Roy, my current visa/leave to remain in the UK now expires on 8 February 2022. My BRP for this visa renewal was issued on 12 July 2019, and expires 8 February 2022, so I actually have a bit of a grace period! Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Maja, Your previous visa expired on 15 June 2019. Can you please tell when your new visa expires? Is it on 15 December 2021 (exactly 2.5 years from 15 June 2019) or about a month later in January 2022 (i.e. 2.5 years from mid July 2019 when your BPR was issued.
Thanks a lot
Roy
Thanks Maja. This is important I think for other readers. So, the second 2.5 period for you has started from around 8 Aug 2019. Visa application site (www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa) says “If you’re extending to stay with the same family member, you’ll only get up to 28 days left on your current stay added to your new visa.” It doesn’t say DON’T apply earlier than 28 days before the expiry of your current visa.
Because you applied exactly 28 days earlier than the expiry day you have received the visa for 2 years, 6 months and 28 days or so counting from the day your new BRP was issued. When you apply for ILR after 5 years of residence (around 15 December 2021) you have a period of about 9 weeks to do so (i.e.before 8 February 2022).
Additionally, if a spouse received the first visa while he/she was abroad, the initial visa is issued for 2 years and 9 months…. They allow an additional 3 months to arrive here. If the arrival is almost immediate the first visa is actually valid for almost 2 years and 9 months and the 5 years to ILR requires only a further 2 years and 3 months, approximately.
My wife arrived here with the first visa on 27 Sept 2017 and her visa is valid until 15 June 2020 (she arrived a couple of weeks after she received the visa abroad). She will complete 5 years for ILR on 27 Sept 2022 (assuming she gets the extension). Although she has almost 3 months left in her current visa she has already started the application process. There was nothing stopping her starting the application. The only thing is that even if the application is made too early, they only add 28 days of the remaining period to the new visa. However, when it comes to ILR, it doesn’t matter too much that she has lost some of the remaining period because her initial visa was for 2 years and 9 months.
Thought this might help others who are reading. We hope to submit when she has about 8 weeks left, although she can wait another 4 weeks. Due to Corona virus, we are not sure whether the availability of appointments etc. will be affected or in fact the whole visa renewal process will be stopped for a while with automatic monthly extensions or whatever!
Another thing is that we weren’t sure what is meant by application date. (i.e. the date when the application was submitted and paid online or the date the appointment was completed). It seems from your experience the application date is the former.
Cheers.
Wow, thanks for this – I hope others reading will find it very useful!! My original visa was 2 years and 9 months as well, since I also had to apply from outside the UK. In regards to the date of application, I think the current advice is that it takes 8 weeks to get a decision – and this is based on the date of appointment (or it was for one of my friends!). I hope the current COVID-19 situation doesn’t affect you, and that your wife’s renewal is successful! 🙂
Hi maja
Hi
Thanks for your post. It was worth reading.I am going to apply Flrm extension visa in coming week. I have some queries. Once we submit the application and in the documents upload part do they have different sections categorised accordingly? Can we upload multiple files in each section as my scanned documents are crossing the size of 6 MB? Can we see the documents after they have been uploaded? whether they have been loaded correctly or not.
Many Thanks
Rajj
Hi Rajj, the online document uploading (done through UKVCAS) has different sections so you can categorize. I can’t remember all of them, but one was education, finances, one for work, etc. You can upload multiple files in each section as long as each file is only max 6 MB. For example, to show proof that I live with my husband we scanned in our entire tenacy agreement. This was like 25 pages but when we scanned it we combined it into one PDF/JPEG file to make it easier. The documents will appear in each section after they have uploaded. When you go to your actual biometric appointment, they will check over your application to make sure everything has been uploaded correctly, and they will re-upload anything that isn’t uploaded correctly (at least, this was what mine was like). I hope this helps – good luck! 🙂
Hi
Thanks for your detailed post. It was worth reading. I am going to apply my Flrm extension visa in coming week. I have some queries regarding uploading documents. Are there different categories for documents uploading accordingly? And can we upload multiple files in each category as my documents are crossing 6MB size. Can we see the documents once they are uploaded?
Hi Maja, thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience! There is hardly any information on extensions out there, and it’s extra stressful since everything is shut due to the pandemic, so I just want to tell you how helpful and reassuring reading your post has been. (If/when you eventually apply for ILR, please please keep us updated on the process!)
Hi Molly, thanks for reading! I’m so glad you found it useful – things change so quickly but I hope the post helps give an idea of what the extension process is like. I’ve got a while still before I have to worry about ILR but I plan on sharing that as and when it comes! Best wishes to you 🙂
Thank you Maja for taking the time to document the Spouse Visa extension process. It is extremely helpful and illustrates that immigrating to the UK is not for the faint-hearted.
May i ask, when you say “You and your partner (and others listed on bank accounts or bills) will also need to sign declarations, giving the Home Office your consent to perform checks and access your information (and then you can scan and upload these).”, is the “declaration” an official form to be completed and signed or just a letter written and signed by each individual? If it’s the former, where does one obtain it?
Edit: I Googled it I found this: https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/documents/family_consent.pdf
Maja, if this is the correct consent declaration form, may I ask at what stage of the process is the applicant alerted to this being required?
I didn’t know about the declarations until I was doing/finishing my actual online application. They also specify it when you upload your documents to the UKVCAS website. The online visa application has them so I downloaded them, printed them, myself and my husband signed them, and then I scanned them back in to upload. Thankfully no one else is listed on any of our accounts or bills so we didn’t have to get any signatures from anyone else – the declaration part is pretty straightforward!
Hi Maja
My wife is applying for the Spouse visa extension, we are stuck on this part of the form. We only have 2 joint accounts, for Council tax and BT internet (counts as utilities i think).
For the bit on: Consent for the Home Office to request verification checks for joint accounts or third party support
do you think we would answer YES to:
Is the account with a bank or utility company for which you have supplied information and supporting documentation held jointly by you and other people?
(as I am the ‘other people’?)
and then when completing the declaration form my wife signs part 1 and I would sign PART 2: Consent for the Home Office to verify third party information
AND PART 3: Consent for the Home Office to verify information from third party sponsor
https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/documents/family_consent.pdf
Or just part 2 only? or none?!
Thank you very much for any insight!!
Hi Ashley, when I did my application for the consent declarations, I signed Part 1 and my husband signed Part 2. I believe they mean “other people” as if some of your expenses are paid for on an account in someone else’s name (ie. one of your parents pays your rent/mortgage or council tax, one of your parents is listed on the bank account that pays for your council tax etc). Basically if the Home Office needs to check an account and there’s someone else named on the account else besides you/your spouse then that person will need to sign Part 3. I was very confused about this as well but this was my understanding – sorry if I didn’t explain it very well! Good luck to you! 🙂
Hi Maja
Thank you and yes thats how I understand it also (I think!), since there’s no other 3rd party involved in finances then my wife will sign part 1 and i’ll sign part 2. Its great to get your feedback, we appreciate so much thanks! Almost there..
Good luck and best wishes to you both!! 🙂
Thanks for the detailed explanation. It’s really useful!!! Can I just ask that when we provide the photocopy of our current BRP as an important document, do we need to scan both sides (front & back)? I’m going to renew my spouse visa next month but I sent my BRP to DVLA to apply for a provisional license in early April at which time they still accepted application. But now they can only deal with applications for key workers and I don’t know how long I’ll need to wait for to get my brp back. I’ve only got a photo of the front side of BRP taken before, so not sure if the home office also requires to see the back side. Thx
Hi Emily, thanks I’m glad you found it useful! I’m almost certain you need to scan in both sides of your BRP, and I can’t remember but you may need to actually show the physical card when you do you in-person biometric appointment. I would call the DVLA urgently, explain the situation, and ask them to get your BRP back to you ASAP. It may mean you have to pay again for a provisional license, but I wouldn’t trust that the Home Office would be understanding even in the present situation… good luck!
Hi Maja,
Thank you very much for sharing your UK spouse visa renewal/extension experience, thank you so much. It is a great help for people applying for an extension/ renewal.
I have a question if you could help me with it.
My visa is expiring on 27th July 2020, I’m confused regarding collecting documents of correspondence, if I’m not wrong, I have to apply before 28 days of my visa expiry date that would be 29th of JUNE, so I need to submit documents of correspondence on my name and on my wife’s name (6 papers on each name total 12 papers).
How do I calculate the last two years since we started living togather.
The day I will make application which is 29th of JUNE? Counting 24 months as 29th-06-20, 29-05-20…….29-08-18
Or from the date we started living together which is 05 November 2017 as 05-11-2017, 05-12-2017…05-10-19
How to collect Bank statement and pay slips prior to application date? I mean bank statement should be last sixth months from the date I will make online application which is 29th JUNE, I can only get a statement after that date and same is pay slips. I can get pay slips earlier for coming months,
Can you help me with these questions please
Waiting for your reply soon
Take care and blessings!
Hi Liaquat, thanks for reading and I’m glad you’ve found it useful! I’m not sure regarding your documents of correspondence regarding living together, but I would send in documents that prove you have been living together since you started (5 Nov 2017 as you said). My husband and I moved in together in October 2016 and I used documents from this month (including our tenancy agreement) all the way through to prove we have been living together. In general, it is better to submit too much than too little. Hope this helps, good luck to you! 🙂
PS. I should also say, the earliest you can apply for your visa is 28 days before your current visa expires… but you don’t need to do it precisely on this date! You can apply anytime between 28 days before and 1 day before. I just chose to do it this way since I wanted it to be over with as soon as possible!
Hi Maja,
Thank you very much for sharing your UK spouse visa renewal/ extension
When to collect documents of correspondence 28days before the visa expiry to the last 2 years or the date started living together in UK to 2 years??
Visa expiry date is 27th July 2020
Application date 29th JUNE
Ducuments of correspondence 29th JUNE 2020 to 29-07-2018 or 05-11-2017 to 5-10-2019. 05-11-2017 is the date we started to live together in the uk
Hi Maja,
Thank you so much for this. This is really helpful. With the current situation, my husband and I are really worried especially as it’s hard to get things stamped – we can’t even get physical copies of letters from our employers due to the lockdown and there’s no guidance on this on the government’s website!
A couple of quick questions:
So you printed out any paperwork or got original physical copies of statements/letter/etc. and then scanned them? Did you use digital copies with electronic signatures?
Also, did you get an email before you received the decision letter? I have seen from other posts that say they did, but it doesn’t seem like you did.
Finally, it looks like you received your letter and the BRP card at work – can I ask how you arranged this? I found out where you can change your home address while waiting for a decision to be made, but I don’t really want to change my home address – instead just receive my letter & brp card elsewhere. I’m sorry to ask these questions here, but I’d really appreciate if you could share your experience on these. Thanks! Stay safe:)
(Just tried to post this comment three times. If I’ve been bombing you, I’m sorry! You can delete the other ones if they’ve been successfully posted. I just can’t see them)
Thanks for reading and I’m glad you found it helpful! We had hard copies of all of our documents (bank statements, payslips, tenancy agreement, photos together, etc.) and scanned all of these in. We didn’t use any digital copies with electronic signatures. I don’t envy you having to try to get all of this stuff with the pandemic and lockdown!!
I didn’t get any email before I received the decision letter – I had no communication by email at all, I just got my decision letter in the mail exactly 8 weeks after my biometric appointment. I actually “receieved” my decision letter and new BRP on the same day, but as they needed to be signed for/proof of identity, I just got slips from Royal Mail and DX saying I had missed a delivery. I had to go to the central post office to pick up the decision letter the next day (which they actually lost for about 4 hours!!!!), and I was able to rearrange DX (the courier who delivered my BRP) to re-deliver to my office as I didn’t want to miss the delivery again (the stress is real!!). According to the Home Office, they send the decision letter first and then it can take up to 10 working days to get your BRP. They posted my decision letter second class, which is why I think it arrived the same day as my BRP (which I think was posted first class as DX is a specialty courier).
I hope this helps! Good luck and best wishes to you! 🙂
Hi Maja – a huge thank you from me and my husband for writing this. We are about to apply for my spousal extension – and even just a quick few hours on the home office website, my blood pressure and confusion are through the roof! We had a nightmare the first time around, and had to apply twice for our marriage visa – nothing says the first year of marriage like spending 6 months of that in two different countries and wiping out your savings account!
I did have a quick question – which you may definitely not have the answer to – my passport and BRP are still in my maiden name, as I wasn’t able to change it due to the first visa fiasco – but I go professionally and personally by my married name and want to change this – though I am scared if I change my passport and it doesn’t match my current BRP that will cause problems – any insights on this? Additionally, did you consider paying the ‘day of’ fee for an answer the day of the biometric appointment?
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this – there’s such a huge community of us – and I feel lucky we can stick together!
THANK YOU x
Hi Maggie, thanks for reading and I’m so glad you found it useful! In terms of changing your name, to be honest I don’t really know… I do know most official forms/documents ask “have you been known by any other name” ie. your maiden name, and if you have changed your name sometimes you need to provide additional documentation for this (ie. your paperwork from when you changed your name). But in terms of renewing your visa I really don’t know! I’d like to think that it wouldn’t cause any problems, but I really don’t know.
There were no “free” appointments anywhere in the north of England when I needed them (there are links to a few articles about how Sopra Steria refuse to release these “free” appts to make more money…) so I ended up paying £100 for an “out of hours” appt for 6pm in Croydon two days after I applied online. The tricky thing is that you *need* to have your appt within 3 weeks of the online application (otherwise you have to start over?!?), but UKVCAS/Sopra Steria don’t release enough free appts. (They do this on purpose to make more money.) So you might be able to get a free one, but I would recommend budgeting enough to expect to have to pay for one just in case. Also, for my case I needed it to be done as soon as possible and was expected to pay for a same week appt.
I hope this helps! Good luck to you and best wishes!! 🙂
[…] our lives as difficult as possible (more below). As you read this, remember that I pay thousands in visa fees to live here, so that my Minnesota driver’s license is now invalid here. But my friends and […]
Hi there, thank you so much for this article! So much helpful knowledge I couldn’t get elsewhere!
I have myself a bit worried – do we need have a biometric appointment scheduled for BEFORE our visa expires? Or do we only need to have applied online before the expiry date, and can attend the appointment shortly after the visa has expired? Thanks!
Hi, I’m so glad you found the post useful! Unfortunately I’m not sure if you need to have the biometric appt before the visa expires. I’d guess that as long as you have submitted the application online before your visa expires, it’s okay to have a biometric appt after the visa expiration date as long as it’s booked (ie. you’ve booked it when you did the online application) before the expiration date – but I really don’t know. I’d try to ask a lawyer if you’re able to. Good luck to you! 🙂
Hello Maja
Many many thanks for your post – my wife has already signed up. We had a shock when spouse visa application was refused due to an administrative mistake – overtuned after 5 weeks but not before I had lodged a formal appeal. Later obtained an apology from HO but request for compensation – for extra expenses – denied. So now I am preparing ahead of time collecting documents and scanning for visa extension. I wonder if there is any cross referencing from initial application? Would reduce the burden but the assumption has to be everything starts again. I am ashamed for my country that this part of the public administration has become so atavistic to the citizens (the partners of the spouse applicants) it should be serving.
Hi Chris, so sorry to hear about your issues with this! I believe there may be some cross referencing from the inital visa application. A friend of mine (American) had her spouse visa renewal take longer than usual – it took hers 11 weeks (standard time is 8 weeks). She thinks it was because they were applying for a mortgage at the same time, and that her original application was a bit complex and she had to go to an in-person interview. Not sure if that helps but I would prepare as much as you can. Good luck to you! 🙂
Hello Maya,
Your detailed explanations, answers and willingness to answer each question is commendable. thanks a lot. i have just one question. i actually knew my husband way back 1995-1996 but we didn’t date then but lost contact and started dating in 2011. now i can’t remember the date i put down in my first application for ;when did you first met your spouse’ and this question has come back to haunt me. i remember when we started dating but not when we first met. do you think this will be an issue? i plan to explain in a cover letter though.
Hi Winifred, glad you found the post useful! On the actual application, they had two separate questions, one for “when did you first meet your partner” and “when did you start a relationship with your partner” – so they do differentiate that not everyone starts dating as soon as they meet ha! A cover letter is always a good idea, the more information the better 🙂 good luck to you!
Hello Maja, thank you for your blog. My husband is biological scientist. I applied for Spouse Visa in 26 June and biometric in 2 July. (In my country not so much applicant in Visa Center said me) Our application with saving 62.500£. They say that by saving and biological scientist is priority for Hime Office. I am still waiting. What do you thing about priority is this true?
Hi Nara, I’m not sure if you’re applying for your original spouse visa outside the UK, or applying to renew your spouse visa within the UK? Waiting times for the inital visa application can be extremely lengthy – depending on your country it can take from 12-24 weeks. If you are in the UK applying to renew, it should be 8 weeks and based on your dates you should hear back in the beginning of September. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Maja..thanks for this informative post..very helpful. I just have one query, my BRP card states that Visa expires on 1st September 2020 and my visa letter states it expires on 1st November 2020 that was since I applied for visa extension and I arrived in the country in Feb 2018 instead of December 2017 which was my original visa entry date..Can you please help me decide when should I actually start submitting my online application? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Michael, thanks for reading and glad you found the post useful! Unfortunately I really don’t know what date to use, I would think November 2020 but I would highly recommend asking a qualified lawyer/solicitor just to be sure – you might be able to get help from Citizen’s Advice. Good luck to you!! 🙂
Hi Maja, I’m so glad I find this helpful information from you while I am in need of it. I just got my initial spouse visa, I was wondering what to do after it is expired. There’s not much information I could find and I saw your post. I know exactly what I have to do to extend the visa now. A million thanks to you for your detailed information. Would you please also post your experience of applying for the ILR after your second half spouse visa has expired? It will definitely be of great help to many people.
Thanks again in advance!!!
Hi Stella, thanks so much for reading and I’m so glad you found the post useful. I will definitely post about applying for ILR when I do that late next year, so hopefully it helps others as well! Best wishes to you! 🙂
Hi Maja, great article! Very informative and helpful! Can I please point out that you listed Edinburgh as a city in the North of England? It is actually in Scotland :).
Thanks so much for reading and your comment! I can’t believe this has been up for a year with that mistake!!!! 🙈🙈
Very useful page, thank you!
Glad you found it useful! 🙂
HI, This post is so so useful, thank you so much. We applied for the first spouse visa and it was so stressful, and we’re just coming up to the renewal date. I do have a question which you might be able to help with that I can’t find anywhere on the internet. How long before the current visa expires can you apply to renew? Our current visa expires the 2nd Jan 2021 – can be start the process now or do we have to wait until nearer the time? Does anyone know? Thanks
Hi Esther, thanks for reading and glad you found it useful! As far as I’m aware, you can apply to renew your spouse visa up to 28 days before your current visa expires. I believe technically you *can* renew it further in advance than that, but the Home Office only adds on an additional 28 days maximum to your visa/leave to remain. You can always start preparing documents/paperwork before this though – I got all my documents together in the month before I applied, and then when it was 28 days exactly before my visa expired, I did the actual application. Sorry if this doesn’t answer your question, but I hope it helps!
Hi Maja,
This is very informative and detailed article. Once again, thank you for your help. Can I request you to please share the adequate accommodation letter with me. I have contacted a company and they need a sample letter. As my case is very similar to yours, it would be very helpful fir me.
Hi Adnan, thanks for reading and I’m glad you found it useful! By adequate accommodation letter, do you mean the letter from the surveyor proving that our accommodation is habitable? I don’t think it’s possible to share the surveyor letter as it has private information on it, but essentially the letter we got is three pages:
-First page: lists all of the rooms of the house, their sizes, and the names/ages of the occupants in each room (which is just me and my husband). At the end, it says: “The current occupancy does not cause the property to be overcrowded in accordance with the definition described below.
Upon visual inspection, the property appears to be in a good state of repair and there is no evidence of defect or condition that may cause the property to be deemed uninhabitable.”
-Second page: Is a long definition of overcrowding (from the Housing Act 1985), and has two tables with the occupancy allowed in rooms
-Third page: is a floor plan of both floors of our house with the sizes of the rooms
You can ask your local council who will either be able to do the letter, or recommend a company that can, although it may cost a bit of money. I do think it’s a bit weird that a company is saying they can do this letter, but asking for a sample as if they don’t know what needs to be in it? So I would maybe look at a different company that knows exactly what they’re doing. (Sorry if this isn’t the case, it just seemed to come off this way based on what you said!)
Good luck to you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Maja!
This has been so helpful to me, I’ve been trying to find more information everywhere. Though it gave me even more anxiety, still super helpful. While I was reading I thought “I like her, she seems so smart, and quite sweet.” Turns out you’re also from the Midwest! So happy your visa was approved, hopefully mine will be as well!
Hi Felishia, thanks so much for your comment! I’m so glad you found the post useful. Good luck and best wishes to you!! 🙂
Thank you very much Maja. This is very helpful.
Can I ask you couple of more questions?
1- You know when you submitted documents, application ask you a certain document one or more time, for example, let’s say bank statements, it go with financial requirements as well as proof of address.
My question is, did you submitted/scanned them separately each time?
2- Can I ask you to enlist your items of correspondence, I mean, which documents did you submitted in joint names (and how many) and which docs you submitted with individual names on it (and how many).
I have completed my application, but I am very confused with this section.
Hi Adnan, I’m not entirely sure if what I did was correct, as when I had my biometric appointment the guy might have moved some things around in the online document part of the application. But I scanned in all of my bank statements in separate pdfs (ie. April 2019 was one pdf, March 2019 was another, etc), and then submitted each of these separate pdfs in the same section online. As to your other question, I did write in the post a list of all of the items of correspondence that I submitted – all of these were addressed to us jointly (council tax bill, water bill, letter from bank regarding joint bank account, etc). Hope this helps, and good luck!
Hi Maja,
I am in process of applying for the visa extension (the same as yours). I submitted my application form and waiting to do biometrics on 11th of December. My employer wants me to prove my right to work asking for one of these documents :
-Application documents and proof of postage
-Documentation from their legal representative/Home Office/ UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) confirming their application is in progress
-Certificate of Application
Did you get any of these when you submitted your biometrics or later from UKVI? I am not sure what to provide as I only have Application form (submitted) , emails from UKVI and appointment confirmation letter from UKVCAS.
Thank you
I have found the answer myself.
The Visa and Immigration service told me this:
1. During Covid-19 if any or all of the documents can not be provided then:
1.1 The employee should provide the employer with the on line application reference number.
1.2 The employer uses the Employer Checking Service at https://www.gov.uk/employee-immigration-employment-status
to check the right of the employee to work by entering the application reference number.
2. If the employers wishes to discuss this further with the Visa and Immigration Service then they can call:
2.1 Prevention of Illegal Working line at 0300 1235434
Hi Mirjana, thank you for your comment and for sharing the answer! I honestly had no idea so this is good to know! Best wishes to you.
Finally! I have received an email with the Decision, 89 days after my biometrics were submitted. Standard waiting time is 8 weeks. I waited for almost 12 weeks. I hope this Info will help to all of you waiting for your visa decision. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Mirjana, what fantastic news – congratulations!!!!! I’m thrilled for you! Thank you for giving an update as to the waiting time for the decision, I’m sure others will find it useful. Best wishes for the future! 🙂
Hi Maja,
Thanks for this great in depth guide to renewing the partner visa. My wife’s visa is up for renewal very soon. We are a little confused on which date the expiry date is? Is it the date on the BRB or the date that would be 30 months from entry to the UK? For example, she entered the UK on 07-July-2018. 30 months from that date is 07-Jan-2021. Her BRB is dated 07-03-2021.
I know in order to get settlement after 5 years you require 60 continuous months living in the Uk, which is why you should never apply too early.
Also I have come across another comprehensive guide to renewing the visa that may be of help to others. Although this has confused me even further!
https://www.migrate.org.uk/flr-m-2018/#when-to-submit-flr-m-visa
It states on there that the application starts from the moment you submit and pay for the visa, so as long as you submit before the current one expires there will be no problem.
Cheers
Paul
Hi Paul, thanks for reading and I hope you found it useful! As far as I’m aware, the expiry date is the date on the BRP. For example, when I did this renewal my BRP was expiring in July and so I applied 60 days beforehand, in May. Hope this helps and good luck! 🙂
Hi Maja,
This was incredibly helpful. Do you know how we can find the link to start off the process of renewing. Thank you
Thank you for reading, you should find more information on the gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse
Hi Maja,
Thanks for sharing your experience, which helps lots of people here. As you mentioned in one of the comments “I believe technically you *can* renew it further in advance than that, but the Home Office only adds on an additional 28 days maximum to your visa/leave to remain. You can always start preparing documents/paperwork before this though – I got all my documents together in the month before I applied, and then when it was 28 days exactly before my visa expired, I did the actual application.”
What did you mean by “Home Office only adds on an additional 28 days maximum to your visa/leave to remain” is this on top of second term (2.5 years)? Like 2.5 years+28 days?
In other example: ” For example, when I did this renewal my BRP was expiring in July and so I applied 60 days beforehand, in May. Hope this helps and good luck! 🙂”
But you said you have just submitted your application 28days before expiry in previous comments. Can you please clarify this doubts? thanks!
Hi, I’m not sure how to clarify besides that you can apply for the visa 60 days before your leave to remain/BRP expires. The Home Office adds on 28 days when they approve the application. So for example, my visa was set to expire in July 2019, so I applied in May 2019 (60 days before). When I got the news that the application was approved, my leave to remain was approved until Feb 2022 (2.5 years + 28 days). Besides that I’m not really sure how to help you, it may be beneficial to speak to a lawyer! Good luck 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have two doubts: What do you mean by “Home Office only adds on an additional 28 days maximum to your visa/leave to remain”. Is it like 2.5 years extension + 28 days?
For example, when I did this renewal my BRP was expiring in July and so I applied 60 days beforehand, in May. Hope this helps and good luck! 🙂
Did you apply 60 days before or 28 days? Thanks very much.
Absolutely brilliant thank you Maja, been looking for info on how to renew and couldn’t find anything – until now!
Good luck!! 🙂
Hi Maja! Your explanations are a total stress reducer for me!!! My husbands renewal isn’t due til June and I’m already having anxiety about it but reading through your page has settled my nerves. I have one question… when you scanned on all your supporting documents to upload online… do they all need to be scans or can they be word/ PDF document ect. For example, do I need to print off the photos and scan each page on or can I just upload a word document which contains the photo? Wishing you all the best!
Hi Katherine, I’m glad you found it useful! I wouldn’t recommend using a word document to upload your files. I’d recommend scanning them and uploading them as jpegs/pdfs instead. For example, I had to scan all the pages of the tenancy agreement, but I combined all of these pages into a single pdf file that I uploaded. I uploaded individual pictures on their own as jpegs. I’m not a lawyer so can’t offer legal advice but this is what I did! I hope this helps, best wishes to you! 🙂
Hi Maja,
Thanks for your post and willingness to respond to others queries.
Almost like you , I did send in quite a lot of documents that in hindsight I figure some might be irrelevant. Do you think that matters .
Also my salary income more then met the financial requirements but I also included my side job income , savings and stock holdings. I did mention in the provided box that I know my salary meets the threshold but I am included other finances with statement to show that I will not have recourse to public funds . What are your thoughts on this please ?
I submitted and did my biometrics last week .
Hope to hear from you and thanks again .
Hi Alex, when I did my first visa application I was told (in a free consultation with an immigration lawyer) that it is better to send off too much information, than not enough. For example, my spouse’s income met the financial requirements, but I included all the information about my income at the time as well, to show that (between the two of us) we earned well over the minimum of £18,600. In general, I’d say it’s best to include extra information and the caseworker can ignore it if it’s unnecessary – rather than not submit enough information and have your application refused. Best wishes to you, hopefully you hear back with good news soon! 🙂
Hi there!
My friend suggested your page for me to have a look at as my husband’s renewal is coming up and I’ve been extremely stressed about it.
We are currently living with my mum who’s renting while we try and save up for a place of our own. My problem is that the council tax is in her name as the property is under her name. So could our application be penalised/denied because we can’t provide council tax statements?
This has been really weighing on my mind and has been causing me a great deal of stress. I really hope to hear back from you about your thoughts on this. Thank you so much!
Sheika
Hi Sheika, I’m not a lawyer and so I can’t offer legal advice regarding council tax statements. It said on my application to submit “evidence of council tax costs for the accommodation in the UK where you live.” If you are not on the council tax, you could in theory submit the bill with your mom’s name, and have her write a letter confirming that you live there and explaining the council tax, but I really don’t know if they would find this acceptable or not. Depending on how much time you have, you could also call the council (or have your mom call the council) to update the names at the address, and get a new council tax bill that shows your names on it – you could then submit this bill which shows the council tax costs for your accommodation.
You will need to have 6 “items of correspondence” addressed to you and your partner jointly/in both your names, spread over the 2 years, and they should be from 3 different sources. You don’t need to submit council tax statements necessarily for this, but you will need to submit 6 pieces of evidence – this can be energy or water bills, phone bills, letters from a GP or dentist, letters from any official government department, etc. If you don’t have anything that’s addressed jointly, you would need to submit 6 items each (so 6 for you and 6 for him, total of 12) that prove you are residing at the same address, from over the 2 years and from 3 different sources. However, it may be worth trying to speak to an immigration lawyer to ensure you have the right documents/evidence going forward, and what they would recommend regarding council tax. I know how stressful the process can be – best wishes to you! 🙂
The UK has such a stifling amount of rules and regulations administered by petty bureaucrats which will only get worse because of Brexit. Well done you for sticking with it. I like your blog and well written observations on the British way of life. Keep up the good work!
Hi Greg, thanks for reading and for your comment. I really appreciate it!
Hi Maja!
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I really appreciate your time.
Sheika
Hi Maja,
Wow, great article. Thank you for taking the time to share all the information. I was really pleased to see you are from Minneapolis as I am from Rochester MN. Me and my girlfriend are applying for our first 2.5 years from a proposed civil partnership visa now and are just about to send it off this week! Fingers crossed Ill be approved in the next few months. This article was very helpful still as its actually the same application. Glad you touched on the atrocities of the immigration system, most people have no clue! I have been detained on three different occasions trying to enter the UK, all due to the incompetence and inhumane nature of the UK boarder control, none of which led to anything permanent on my visa record thankfully. We have had no visa problems up to this point thankfully and I think the fact that we have a lawyer helped greatly. Again, goes to show how fortunate the people who have money and speak English are. Just wanted to say I appreciate your post and feel your pain and stress, its not an easy process. Im very happy for you and Adam. Families are the fundamental units of society and are protected under the declaration of human rights, which the UK signed. Love is a right and the UK’s attempt to make it a payable privilege is an abomination and infringement. I would love to take these crimes to the “Majesty’s Court” but like everyone else, ill just pay the fee and play along. I agree its important to make people aware of these things and hopefully spur change. Hope you both are doing well and enjoying your time in England.
Kind Regards,
Ian
Hi Ian, thank you so much for your comment and so glad this post has been useful to a fellow Minnesotan!! I’m so sorry to hear about your immigration difficulties, and I agree absolutely and completely that the process should not be the payable privilege the Home Office makes it. Best wishes to you and good luck on your application, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! 🙂
Hi Maja,
Great article!
I just went for my biometrics appointment yesterday and came out really surprised that they hadn’t physically taken my passport or BRP! Does this mean I can travel while they’re processing my renewal? My BRP only expires in May.
The other question I had was, did you get any sort of acknowledgement or confirmation from UKVCAS or UKVI after your biometrics appointment? I haven’t had any communication since I walked out of the Sopra Steria Centre last night so a bit nervous that they actually haven’t hit a submit button?!
Hi Rudro, thanks for reading! While you no longer have to physically give your passport and BRP, you are not allowed to travel outside the UK. If you leave the UK while you have an application pending, you could very well be refused entry to the UK and forfeit your application. I didn’t get any confirmation from UKVCAS or UKVI that they submitted my application, after I left my biometric appointment I had nothing until I got my decision letter! Good luck to you, keeping my fingers crossed for you 🙂
Hi Maja,
Just a quick one to let you and whoever’s reading know that I have already received my BRP!
Flow of events if it’s of any help to people reading:
BRP Expiring – 23 May 2021
Online Application Submitted – 4 March 2021
Biometric Appointment – 31 March 2021
Email confirming successful application – 9 April 2021
Email confirming BRP on its way – 13 April 2021 (Also received the BRP on the same day!)
New BRP Expiring – November 2023
Hopefully that reassures whoever reading on timelines, etc..
Hi Rudro, wow that’s amazing!!!!!! Congratulations and I can’t believe how quickly you got yours! Do you mind me asking if you used a priority service (I had heard they were stopping this during the pandemic) or an external company/lawyer? I’m thrilled that you got yours and I hope your timeline will be useful to others! 🙂
Hi Maja,
I was shocked to receive it so quickly!
I didn’t use the priority service or and external company/lawyer.
That’s great, thanks for sharing. Thrilled for you!!!
Hi Maja,
Thanks for the very helpful and useful information. I have some information which may also be helpful to others. My wife’s FLM(R) application is not until January 2021 but I am am doing as much research and preparation as I can beforehand. As you rightly point out the Home Office give very little guidance on FLM(R) applications which makes things more difficult than the initial entry application. I am investigating whether we can create an account and begin filling in the online forms well in advance of the “28 day before current visa expiry” period. I can see no reason why not. The Government website has documentation which clearly states that “The date of application for an online application is the date it is submitted using the online process”. This can be found in the following document by searching on the government website for: “Validation, variation and withdrawal of applications”, published December 2020, which is intended for Home Office staff and gives other useful information also.
There are quite a few other very useful documents intended for Home Office staff (not easy to find but I have spent many hours trawling through and searching the gov website) which the government does not issue as guidance for applicants, but does as guidance for Home Office Staff and Entry Clearance Officers. These include: “Partners, divorce and dissolution” (search these words on Gov website). This gives information on “How UK Visas and Immigration staff recognise a genuine and subsisting relationship and identify a valid divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership”. Incidentally, there is no mention anywhere in this document (or elsewhere) about when providing proof of a genuine and subsisting relationship, of the need to provide photos for FLR(M). Other forums mention also that photos are not required for FLM(R). If a search is made on google for “FLR(M) version 11/2018″, a document (application form) will be found which on page 59 instructs the applicant not to send personal photos and other types of evidence specified by most ” fee charging immigration advice providers” as being required. Whether the document is genuine and whether or not the information in it was or still is correct, I do not profess to know, but the information certainly makes sense. It would be good to get confirmation from the Home Office about the need or otherwise to provide photos.
Other useful Home Office staff guidance documents include:
“Family life (as a partner or parent), private life and exceptional circumstances” search these words on gov website. This has a lot of useful information. definitions and links for applicants.
“English language requirement: family members” search these words on gov website. Updated 6th April 2021 so a very recent update. This gives clear information including that a higher level test can be used, for example, taking B1 at initial entry instead of A1 or at FLR(M) instead of A2. It clearly explains that if used for a previous application, B1 can be used again for all or any later applications even if past its expiry date (see document). This is a great saving on test fees, if the applicant is competent to pass B1 then it makes sense to take this.
Hi Ian, thanks so much for your comment and for sharing what you’ve found! I hope other people find it useful. Interesting what you say about photos, I do know that they’re not technically required but I’ve done my applications based on “it’s better to send in too much than not enough” to be on the safe side, but again this isn’t legal advice, just my own experience. I always think it’s good to get started on these things earlier, it makes it less stressful getting all the documents together. Good luck to you! 🙂
FYI for those considering using Absolute Inventories, once I paid the £90 the surveyor (RICHARD UNWIN) stopped responding to communication. I requested a hard copy of the report and requested clarity on the report but he would not respond. Just something to consider.
Hi Abby, thanks so much for your comment, that’s really good to know. I’m planning on putting in some edits on the post and when I do I’ll make sure to add a line about your experience, just so people can be aware of it (and maybe consider using someone else). Hope everything works out okay for you!
Hi Maja, from one Minnesotan in the UK to another, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to put all of this information up. I also wanted to let others who might be struggling to know my experience. I submitted my renewal app in mid Jan, and was supposed to do my biometrics in late Jan, but the appointment was rescheduled for the end of Feb due to (I presume) Covid. It’s been 14 weeks and I STILL haven’t heard back. Of course I started panicking around week 9, and have been in touch with a lawyer as well as the immigration team at my employer (I work for a university) – and they all say that the waiting times at the moment are all over the place. So, if anyone else has been waiting be a really long time, you are not alone. In week 9 I called UKVI’s call centre to ask for an update, and received an email a week later saying they were doing “checks” on my application, could provide no update, and no timeline. It’s really nerve-wracking, but my solicitors says there is no evidence that anything is wrong. Here’s hoping it comes this week, as we have been planning to spend most of the summer in Minny with my parents.
Hi, thanks so much for reading and hope you’ve found it useful. I’m so sorry to hear about the delays in your application, it must be so stressful! One thing you could do is contact your MP, with all the details of your application, and ask them to contact the Home Office on your behalf. Hope you can get back to MN soon, fingers crossed for you!!
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Hello Maja,
Thanks for taking the time to document your experience. It is very reassuring to hear of others who have gone through the process and what it was like for them. I hope you are enjoying your life in the UK and not having to worry about going through this process again for some time.
I just wanted to ask with regards to the BRP/Document check appointment; you state the appointment needs to be within 3 weeks of the application being submitted?! May I ask when or where you were told this, as we have not seen mention of it anywhere else. We could only get a paid appointment for 22 days later and a bit worried now after reading this.
Much appreciated.
Em
Hi Em, thanks for reading and I hope you’ve found the post useful. As far as I’m aware, the 21-day restriction was mentioned on the website. It is still the case, if yours is 22 days I would honestly recommend seeking legal advice to see what they say. Rights of Women offer a free phone advice line service, which I have used serveral times: https://rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-advice/immigration-and-asylum-law/ I know how stressful it can be and I wish you the best! 🙂
Hi Maja. Thank you for your informative guide. I’m an English guy trying to complete my wife’s visa extension and your guide is far more helpful than the UK Gov website.
I do have a few questions if you have time please?
1 – From my understanding, we shouldn’t apply too early before the current visa expires, I thought it was no more than 28 days but now I’m not sure again. Someone else commented above, that you firstly stated you applied exactly 28 days before your visa expired. But then said you applied 60 days before you BRP expired. So, not sure which,28 days or 60 days?
2 – As you applied online and uploaded all your documents to the website, what made you take all your documents with you to Croydon, were again some of them were scanned. Were you told to take them?
3 – Do you only need to scan all pages pf your passport ( including blank ) during the application and not physically send your passport off in the post?
4 – Are you able to start the application, early for example and then save as you go and come back to it another time?
Many thanks
Graham
Hi Graham, thanks for reading and I’m so glad you found the post useful!
1) I applied for the extension exactly 28 days before my current BRP was due to expire (it was due to expire on 15 June, I applied on 19 May)
2) I am paranoid about everything to do with this process haha! I’m unsure if you would need to take all your documents with you, but I did and some were scanned. This could have been because I had a paid biometric appointment (not a free appointment). In every instance with anything to do with the Home Office, my attitude is to always be safe rather than sorry!
3) I scanned in all the pages of my passport, including the blank ones. I did not physically send my passport off in the post, I did need it to take to the biometric appointment. Please be aware that the applicant can’t leave the UK while the application is ongoing.
4) The gov.uk website does let you save and return to the application, but I did mine all in one go.
Hope this helps, good luck and I’m wishing you the best!! 🙂
Thank you again Maja. It’s such a helpful guide. I’ve tried calling the so called ” Visa Helpline ” every day at different times for 2 weeks and no one ever answers. It’s an absolute joke!
Hi Graham, I’m so glad you found the post useful! It is so stressful… I hope you can get some answers and a postiive result soon! Fingers crossed for you! 🙂
I just wanted to say a big thank you Maja. I just received my visa extension. Your blog helped me so much as was so informative. It gave me lots of information that I couldn’t find anywhere else. Also it helped with my anxiety about the whole process as I didn’t feel like I was all alone out there going through this. UK visas are so much more complicated than it would have been if my husband were getting one in the states but our lives are here so we just have to deal with it I guess. I now have a bit of time atleast before I start the process all over again for indefinite leave to remain. You wouldn’t be planning a blog about it would u? Lol.. Again I cant say how much help your blog has been and how much I appreciated being able to find so much information. Thanks again
Hi Donna, thanks so much for reading and I’m so glad you found the post useful! I knwo just how stressful UK visas and immigration here can be, and I’m thrilled that you’ve gotten it successfully! Best wishes 🙂
Maja, thank you so much for posting this helpful information, and for keeping it up even after the terrible events you have gone through. I appreciate your honesty/transparency and generosity. I am also an American preparing to apply for a spouse visa renewal so I can relate in many ways! I also find your other blog posts interesting and have just signed up! Wishing you well, thank you Maja.
Hi Kevin, thank you for reading and for your kind words! I am so glad you found the post useful, and I hope it helps you as you apply. Wishing you the best! 🙂
[…] One of the worst parts about living abroad is the stress (and cost) of visas. I have spent a horrific amount of money on visa fees to be able to live in the same country as my husband. (You can read about my application for my first visa here.) If you move abroad, keep track of restrictions. Know when you’ll need to apply for a visa or renew your visa. Save a bit of money each month in a visa fund so you can afford it when the time comes. Have a calendar with dates if you are living somewhere short-term and need to do a visa run out of the country. Your life abroad will be so much easier if you can be aware of these things at the beginning! (You can read about my visa renewal here.) […]
Hi Maja, thank you so very much for your post, it was super duper helpful. And im so very sorry to read that your marriage did not work out. I hope that if it is still your desire, youere able to find a way to remain n the UK
Thank you for reading and I’m so glad you found the post useful! I should probably put an update on this post, as I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK in August 🙂 best wishes to you!!
Hi Maja, i can’t thank you enough for this blog post! It is so incredibly helpful and certainly gives us peace of mind in applying for a visa renewal & what’s required! I’m so sorry to hear of the awful events you have gone through, but very much appreciate you keeping the post up. It really feels like you are alone in making these applications & we only know one other couple who have endured it, so it’s great to see clear examples in black and white! It really is so frustrating how little information is out there in what is already a very confusing and stressful time.
The only question I have is weather the housing report is mentioned/referred to in the application? We submitted one first time round for peace of mind and saw that you did too but not sure if it’s an actual requirement or just for peace of mind and additional evidence of living arrangements.
Thanks again! 🙂
Ruth
Hi Rose, thank you so much for reading and I’m really glad you found the post useful! When I did this application, I definitely felt so alone in doing it and I am so happy that sharing my experiences has helped others – not just with practical information, but in feeling like we’re all in this together 🙂 as far as I’m aware, the housing report isn’t required as it’s not listed on the documents required on the gov.uk website. However, like I said in this post I did submit a housing report for piece of mind, and just as more evidence. Hope this helps, and good luck to you – keeping my fingers crossed for you! 🙂
Hi,
your post is very helpful. now I am in the process to renew my spouse visa. I have a doubt. in the online application form, in the current status (what UK visa) section. i added D PARTNER(STANDARD). home office said, your visa type is in your BRP card or in your passport. in my BRP card there is only LEAVE TO REMAIN and, in my passport, the UK visa stamp section they write, D PARTNER(STANDARD) in the visa type. so, can i use D PARTNER(STANDARD) in the online application form?
Thank you in advance.
Chikku Thomas
Hi Chikku, thanks for your comment and glad you found the post useful! Unfortunately I’m not sure about what to put on the visa application form, but my (uneducated, non-legal) guess would be that it should include that you have leave to remain through your partner. As for your next comment regarding finances, as long as your partner meets the income threshold that will be okay. I would recommend you submit proof of your salary though, just to make the application stronger and to show that, between the two of you, you are earning well over the £18,600 threshold. Good luck to you! 🙂
Hi again,
i have another question. In the finance section, i only added my husband’s employment details. he is earning above 18,600. is that okay? i am also working at NHS. so, I am planning to add my salary slip, P60 and letter from employer in the other document section. is that okay?
Thank you in advance.
Chikku Thomas
[…] moved to be with my (now ex) husband, dealt with so many complex issues about living abroad and complicated visa renewals, had my life and heart shattered – and yet somehow, I’m still standing. I was granted […]
[…] started planning this trip, flights were about £200 total. But as I had to wait until I got my visa back to make any travel plans, by the time it came to book they had jumped a bit in price. However, […]
Hey Maja!
This post is such a relief to find! I wanted to know how long before your BRP expired did you submit your application to extend?
Hi Demi, I submitted my application 28 days prior to when my BRP was due to expire! This could have changed in the last few years though, so perhaps best to double check 🙂
[…] married a Brit and still had to shell out thousands for a visa to get to live with him. I had to renew my visa and prove it all over again, too. It is extremely difficult to just move to another country, […]
[…] were times during the long-distance part of my relationship with my ex that I sobbed for days over visa complications, documents, and paperwork. I cried ending a Skype call, missing the person I loved so […]