Short on Spouse Partner Visa - Apply for ILR

[MattMarnie2022]

Hi there,

I am new to the forum and I am hoping you will be able to help me figure out what to do in our situation. My wife seems to be falling 30 days short of the 60 month (5 year) spouse visa requirement to apply for IRL. We applied a few months early for her spouse visa extension as we were travelling overseas and needed her passport and didn't realise this would be a problem later down the line.

As it stands we're looking for guidance on whether we need to apply for an additional 2.5yr spouse visa to cover the 1 month she's short on or if we can go straight to applying for the ILR. We came across this thread so there's still some hope we can apply for ILR? ... indefinite-leave-to-remain/spouse-ilr-a ... 46388.html.

Here's our back ground + current timeline

Wife was originally in the UK on Tier 5 - Youth mobility visa then moved onto sponsorship visa prior to Spouse visa.

Spouse visa - applying from within the UK
Date applied - 14 April 2015
5 year/60 months complete - 14 April 2020
Current Visa Expiry - 15th March 2020
ILR 28 day eligibility - 17 March 2020

From what we can tell she falls short by 1 month between current visa expiring and being eligible to apply for ILR.

Are you able to confirm where it says we can apply 28 days earlier for ILR?

If we apply for ILR, maybe 3 weeks prior to her current visa expiring, do you think this will work for us like it did for "Kolly B" in the thread mentioned above?

Thanks for all your help! Please shout if more info is required to guide on this.

[zimba]

The 5 year period starts from visa issue date if you applied in the UK. What was the initial FLR(M) visa issue date ? The 28 rule applies to all ILR routes and this is simply a concession made by HO. As you must be eligible on the day of the decision, it is possible to apply before qualifying and then book the appointment on a date which falls within the 28 days qualifying period.

[MattMarnie2022]

Hi Zimba, thanks for your speedy reply. It's much appreciated.

The initial FLRM issue date is showing on my wife's BRP as 14th April 2015.

Would it be possible for us to apply say, 7 days before my wife's current visa expires (15th March 2020) and then as you suggest, book the appointment for after 14th April 2020?

Are you able to point us in the right direction regarding the 28 days concession? We can't seem to find any reference to it online. We're not fully clued up on what it means at this time.

We're most concerned with her not having a valid visa in that period between her visa expiring and becoming eligible. And also looking for guidance on when we should make the first application.

Thanks again for your help in advance. This is a minefield!

[zimba]

Would it be possible for us to apply say, 7 days before my wife's current visa expires (15th March 2020) and then as you suggest, book the appointment for after 14th April 2020?

Yes. However as I stated, there is 28 day concession. This is not part of the rules but a concession made by HO for all ILR applications.
So as long as you book the appointment from mid March onwards, she will be eligible.
The concession used to be mentioned in the SET(M) GUIDANCE NOTES but I cannot find a new version. Older version online explains that you can apply within 28 days.

[MattMarnie2022]

That’s great, thanks for the explanation

We’ll let you know how it works out

Cheers
Matt