UK settlement visa (Nigeria FLR FM umarried partner)

[Pharmgirl]

sorry to keep harassing you all, does anyone have any input:

Has anyone heard of cases where the HO has allowed a notice to go through without photo ID or have sent a person's photo ID to a registry office to allow the notice to be put through so that HO's 70 day investigation process can be carried out?

thanks

[CR001]

It is unlikely that HO will release an overstayers passport.

Those that are more often than not successful in registering are usually non-EU partners of EU citizens.

[Pharmgirl]

UPDATE:

Well, we submitted the FLR FP due to strong persuasion from our solicitor, but as expected, it failed (due to lack of insurmountable obstacles only, everything else was fine).
Solicitor then lodged an appeal without even consulting us

We have decided that he will return to Nigeria and re-apply from there instead of waiting for this appeal that is doomed to fail. With the backing for a Barrister to cover all possible grounds of dismissal within the law (mainly the overstaying), i am hopeful we will be ok .

Thank you all for the sound advice, will keep updating.

**If anyone could direct me to any recent threads relating to spouse/unmarried partner visas from NIGERIA, i would really appreciate it.**

[CR001]

**If anyone could direct me to any recent threads relating to spouse/unmarried partner visas from NIGERIA, i would really appreciate it.**

There isn't a specific thread for Nigeria. Suggest open a topic with your questions when you get to the point of preparing the application.

Are you married? It would be a lot easier to do this application if you are married rather than an unmarried partner visa.

[Tamandua]

UPDATE:

Well, we submitted the FLR FP due to strong persuasion from our solicitor, but as expected, it failed (due to lack of insurmountable obstacles only, everything else was fine).
Solicitor then lodged an appeal without even consulting us

We have decided that he will return to Nigeria and re-apply from there instead of waiting for this appeal that is doomed to fail. With the backing for a Barrister to cover all possible grounds of dismissal within the law (mainly the overstaying), i am hopeful we will be ok .

Thank you all for the sound advice, will keep updating.

**If anyone could direct me to any recent threads relating to spouse/unmarried partner visas from NIGERIA, i would really appreciate it.**

When did you submit your FLR(FP)?

I know that there's a huge backlog. Even spouses who paid for priority have been waiting for 3 months or more. I'm not sure if that applies to everyone or specific countries/continents.

[Pharmgirl]

**If anyone could direct me to any recent threads relating to spouse/unmarried partner visas from NIGERIA, i would really appreciate it.**

There isn't a specific thread for Nigeria. Suggest open a topic with your questions when you get to the point of preparing the application.

Are you married? It would be a lot easier to do this application if you are married rather than an unmarried partner visa.

I will do,will start gathering all the paperwork in the coming weeks.
No we are not married.we did consider us going to Nigeria together and getting married so that we can apply for a spouse visa but our new lawyer said that wouldn't be necessary since we have all the requirements for umarried partner already. As I mentioned before,on the FLR FRP refusal, HO agreed that we met all the umarried partner criteria but did not have enough insurmountable obstacles.
Do you mind clarifying why it would be easier a spouse? I was under the Impression that the requirements are the same,the only difference being that the spouse visa would need a marriage certificate.

[Pharmgirl]

When did you submit your FLR(FP)?

I know that there's a huge backlog. Even spouses who paid for priority have been waiting for 3 months or more. I'm not sure if that applies to everyone or specific countries/continents.

We applied in Feb 2017 and received the rejection end of march. The appeal was then lodged and we have been in limbo since
From what I have seen on other forums,the priority cases are taking up to a month, but most settlement visa in Nigeria take 2months according to the lawyer. Granted this for typically straightforward cases with no extenuating circumstances like ours (the overstaying and refusals) so will need to seriously discuss whether it is worth in our case.We obviously what him to be there for the shortest amount of time but that's out of our hands.

[Tamandua]

We applied in Feb 2017 and received the rejection end of march. The appeal was then lodged and we have been in limbo since
From what I have seen on other forums,the priority cases are taking up to a month, but most settlement visa in Nigeria take 2months according to the lawyer. Granted this for typically straightforward cases with no extenuating circumstances like ours (the overstaying and refusals) so will need to seriously discuss whether it is worth in our case.We obviously what him to be there for the shortest amount of time but that's out of our hands.

Thanks for your reply. You mentioned that your partner was an overstayer when he applied for FLR(FP). Did he fall for refusal? Did the caseworker point that out? Also, was he granted right to appeal from inside the UK?

[Pharmgirl]

Thanks for your reply. You mentioned that your partner was an overstayer when he applied for FLR(FP). Did he fall for refusal? Did the caseworker point that out? Also, was he granted right to appeal from inside the UK?

Hi ,not sure what you're asking but yes we did explain why he is an overstayer (due to 2 x tier 1 enterprenuership application refusals) , he has technically overstayed since may 2016 ...
He was given right to appeal In the UK ,but it feels like a waste of time to go ahead as we do not have significant insurmountable obstacles so there is nothing to appeal really

[Pharmgirl]

Hi
This post is just FYI as I have not seen many people on this forum in our situation (young couple, unmarried partner application from Nigeria). Hopefully someone will find useful in the future! I will post a full timeline once biometrics are done and the countdown begins

To recap see below:

immigration-for-family-members/flr-fp-r ... 24772.html

My partner has now left the UK. We have submitted a FLR FM (unmarried partner visa). Below is a full list of all the documents we supplied:
Application Form
Appendix 2 to application form
Witness Statement from us both detailing relationship, how we are as a couple and the immigration issues in the last 18 months and impact of refusal (5 pages each!)
Two recent passport photos –applicant
TB test- not needed as he has been living in the UK for 8 years prior to departure but do not want to give them a reason to say no and have to appeal etc
English-partner has 2 degrees, both from the UK
Applicant original current passport
Any previous passports used to enter or remain in the UK and covering the last 10 years (total 3)
Applicant original birth certificate
Certified copy of sponsor (me) current passport
Certified copy of sponsor (me) previous passports
Certified copy of sponsor (me) birth certificate
Evidence of my naturalising as a British Citizen-certificate

2 year evidence
On the failed FLR FP application, HO already acknowledged that our relationship is genuine AND subsisting so this is good for us (hopefully)
Tenancy agreement- submitted original agreement from oct 2014 with partners name only and updated one from jan 2017 with both of our names
Letter from your landlord (with copy of photo ID) confirming the dates that tenancy commenced. Also confirmed that he knew I moved in dec 2014 and was ok with not updating agreement at the time.
Property inspection report- not essential as we live alone in a 2 bed flat but as I said, do not want them to find any reason to say no
Joint correspondence=council tax, shared Barclays account
Other correspondence = utility bills split between us in individual names. We also have phone bills, bank letters, appointment letters, HM revenue and work related mail covering the period. We also sent some not-so-official items e.g junk mail, online delivery invoices etc to strengthen the evidence and cover some gaps in the period esp in the first 6 months after I moved in. This is also explained in my witness statement

Relationship
Photographs of us together throughout the course of your relationship
PDF I made of relationship timeline with social media screenshots to authenticate the timeline dates
Evidence of trips taken together: travel tickets, hotel bookings, reservations etc. All are in the UK as we have never travelled abroad together.
Letters from family (x4, 2 each) and friend (x1 mutual and very close friend) confirming that our relationship is genuine and that we have been living together. The letters all have a copy of photo ID of the author.
Greeting cards exchanged between the two of us- definitely not essential but want to show level of emotional support
Communication- facebook, Instagram and text messages screenshots, some dating back to 2011. No call log as we (typical millennials) prefer to text or just speak face to face.

Sponsor ties to UK
We added this because in the FLR FP they stated there was no reason to stop me from moving to Nigeria. It’s not much but at least we have tried to address it.
Family ties to UK- spoke about my family, how close I am to them, details of how I support them (corroborated with family statements) and attached photos of me with my family
Other ties to UK-spoke about my career, my post grad qualifications and compared my career trajectory in the UK to Nigeria (my partner did the same for his career). Attached photos showing my social life with friends and in the community etc.

Finance
Payslips covering a period of 6 months prior to the date of application (march-august) showing gross annual earnings of over £18,600. I lost my March payslip so I obtained a letter from payroll to send with a photocopy which they also stamped and signed.
A letter from employer stating post, type of work (full time, permanent), duration at the post and salary( showing salary increase)
April p60 showing gross income
Bank statements from march-aug. I couldn’t obtain original copies for July and Aug in time so I printed online statements and the bank stamped each page and wrote a letter confirming final balance. I also avoided going into overdraft so that balance every month would be positive
I sent an email attachment from when I was first offered the job as I could not obtain my original contract from HR

Immigration history and compliance with HO
This is to show that although he had overstayed his last visa, there was no deception or malicious intent at any point
Copies of previous refusals of immigration applications (2x tier 1, 1x FRL FP). Partner also explained the refusals of the tier 1 visas from his point of view in the witness statement i.e. explained his choices at the time).
Copies all other correspondence with HO- e.g our enquires into the process details for a judicial review which they replied to. HO also wrote a letter after the 2nd tier 1 refusal asking if he had any other reason to stay in the UK and we replied stating that we would submit an FLR FP (which we did). After FLR FP, an appeal was lodged (now cancelled).
IS. 96 form issued and him stating that he had never missed an appointment (i guess they can call the station to verify)
Proof from that employers check thingy (cant remember the official name for it) showing that he could work until Nov 2016 and paperwork from company payroll and tax office taking him off payroll after Nov.
Email correspondence with board members about how his on-site work at the company would be covered after Nov 2016
Correspondence with voluntary departure

That is all, quite a hefty package any comments are appreciated

[Pharmgirl]

Oh, i forgot to mention that in terms of joint financial commitment- we dont own the house or even a car(very eco-conscious) but we have receipts of home furnishings we have purchased together and the dates match the period we have been living together.

We have also provided photographic evidence that we have met each other families (also supported by the family statements).

I was debating attaching some correspondence i have with regards to wedding plans? we both mentioned that our future plan when he returns is to marry and i have some emails where i was enquiring about how to give notice ( we even had an appointment at a registry office at some point!) and getting some venue price quotations. We are not "officially"engaged" as we never publicly announced it to friends and extended family but its common knowledge to both our immediate families that marriage is the next step.

i just dont want to confuse HO and end up receiving a fiance visa (as i have seen happen on this forum!). Any thoughts?

[Pharmgirl]

Just an update,we have collected passport today and it is great news!!!

Application Submitted online: 11/9/17
Type of application: settlement, umarried partner
Country: Nigeria
Additional services: priority
Biometrics completed: 14/9/17
Confirmation application forward to decision making center: 14/9/17
Confirmation of supporting documents received at Sheffield: 18/9/17
Letter stating application not straight forward:N/A
Additional Documents Requested on (if any):N/A
Escalation (calls, email,MP):N/A
Confirmation that decision made: 12/10/17
Decision of Application : granted!!!!
Visa validity: 13/10/17-12/11/17

Thanks guys. This forum as been a source of comfort, knowing we were not alone. Good luck to all !