Relationship Akin To Marriage FLR M

[melbgirl]

I have been refused (flr m) as they think I have not been living in a relationship akin to marriage.

How do I prove this if we lived with parents for the 2 years? We did not have bills in our name as it was all in our parents and we just contributed cash towards other household items.

Also my partner was a marine engineer and therefore was working abroad for a period of this time.

I have read and re read my original application but I cannot work out what other evidence i can give. (i sent phone bills, bank statements and flight tickets.) I do not have anything else with both our names except for Christmas and birthday cards, and wedding invitations. As we used Skype calls and whatsapp for communication I have no record of this.

I don't know what else I could possibly give them.

[casnz]

I'm in a similar boat, having just been refused FLR(M). We have lived together for >2 years in total, but due to work commitments were living apart for ~12 months of the last 2 years. So, because we haven't lived together for the two consecutive years prior to application we've been refused...despite now having a house and mortgage together.

I don't know if there is anything you can do if you don't have enough mail (from official sources) to prove you've lived together (and it needs to cover the two year period).

We had a premium appointment and the woman told us my options were to try for sponsorship (Tier 2) or get married. Given that i'd have to go back to NZ for apply for the Tier 2, which can take 2-3 months (not sure work would be keen on that), I feel that marriage is the only option for us...we're already engaged so it's not a complete shock. When I said to the woman "surely it'll be dodgy if we come back in a month having gotten married a week beforehand", she said it doesn't matter because you'll be married. Ultimately, marriage removes the need for proof of living together for two years. So, after being refused my visa yesterday we're now trying to get married asap so I can reapply.

I haven't really been able to answer your question sorry, but thought sharing my experience might be helpful??

Good luck!!

[melbgirl]

Hi casnz,

Thank you so much for sharing.

Surely a mortgage should set it in stone just as much as marriage!

By the time my appeal comes around and maybe gets refused it will be around September so by then we would have only had 2 months apart in the two years, and they allow up to 6 months apart (if it is not possible for one person to join their partner in work) so we may just have to reapply. And the worst scenario is that I go home for a few months. We just need to work out whether it is a shorter time period to apply for an Australian partner visa or reapply for a UK one.

I can't wait til it is all over, even if I get refused just so we can get on with our lives!

Good Luck!!

[batleykhan]

Ultimately, marriage removes the need for proof of living together for two years. So, after being refused my visa yesterday we're now trying to get married asap so I can reapply

I disagree with this . You will still have to prove that you have lived together for the two years even for the spouse visa.

This is an essential requirement for partners or spouses.

The preparations for FLR or ILR should be made straightaway after arrival in the UK.

Open joint bank accounts
Have some utility bills on each others name instead of one
Council Tax can be on both names if you ask the Council
Register with the same doctors using the same address would help
Women in particular should keep letters from doctors or hospitals for any medical treatments
Any Official letters from Council, Police, Government departments are good evidence
Mortgages/loans docs
tenancy agreements in both names are helpful.

Unfortunately some people do not do this for this purpose, and I can understand why doubts are raised in the mind of UKBA officials and hence refuse such applicants.

The onus is the applicant and their partners/spouse to prove they have been living together for the time period prior to teh application for FLR or ILR

[Casa]

batleykhan...having trawled through previous posts it appears that melbgirl has applied to switch to FLR(M) from a Tier 5 visa...in which case the 2 year co-habitation for a spouse (if they marry) wouldn't apply.

[batleykhan]

batleykhan...having trawled through previous posts it appears that melbgirl has applied to switch to FLR(M) from a Tier 5 visa...in which case the 2 year co-habitation for a spouse (if they marry) wouldn't apply.

Yes you are right.I didnt ( or dont )have time to trawl through previous posts

[Casa]

Neither do I usually...

[melbgirl]

I need a certified copy of my passport, which I did not do before I sent off my application. Has anyone been able to get a copy of their passport while it is in the agency's hands? I never expected it to be out of my hands for this long.

[Candicesayss]

I am in a similar situation as I have been refused a tier 4 general student dependent visa for not providing proof of my relationship with my boyfriend. I was under the assumption that as a "low risk" applicant (American, applying at the same time as my partner, same nationality, living in the same country, and leaving the country at the same time) that I didn't have to provide any proof with my application, and that anything needed would be requested. A week after they received my application I got an email requesting I show proof of my financial status, understandable. That was sent. A week after that was received they asked for my "actual" statement (as opposed to the cover page that I sent them). Yet another week later I got an email saying my visa had been refused and that the denial letter with the reason would be sent in the mail. Since I had been asked for financial documents (and since I'm sure I read somewhere on their website that they won't request documents for one thing, then deny you for something else) I assumed I had been denied because I somehow did not meet the required amount of money necessary to live abroad for "up to 9 months".

A few days later I read the letter and to my surprise I had been denied because they did not believe that I have been in a relationship with my partner. This was a complete shock... SO my first question is, why would the british consulate waste my time requesting these documents if they knew that I would be denied for a complete different reason. I know that once you submit your application, you can't send any further proof for it unless it is requested... That means wether I had sent my financial documentation or not they would have denied me because I lacked proof of relationship.

I appealed for this reason, and will be leaving my appeal open while I apply again for my dependent visa. I would just like to know if anyone has had a similar situation to this, or knows why they would waste my time (that I could have been using to reapply...) to ask me for unneeded documents (which they did not return).

[anniecc]

You say you're reapplying which is probably a better and quicker course of action than appeal. Your partner should have provided evidence of marital status as part of the application and low risk countries are not exempt from this requirement.

If you're not married, 'evidence of marital status' means evidence that you meet the requirements to apply as an unmarried partner, which UK immigration law defines as having lived together for a minimum of two years in a relationship akin to marriage. If your relationship is that of boyfriend and girlfriend rather than 'relationship akin to marriage' you will not qualify. The usual sort of evidence to provide includes mortgage or tenancy agreement, joint bank statments, utility bills in joint names, official mail showing that you live at the same address. Anything that demonstrates joint financial commitment is good. The documents should cover a period of two years prior to the date of the application.

[Candicesayss]

You say you're reapplying which is probably a better and quicker course of action than appeal. Your partner should have provided evidence of marital status as part of the application and low risk countries are not exempt from this requirement.

If you're not married, 'evidence of marital status' means evidence that you meet the requirements to apply as an unmarried partner, which UK immigration law defines as having lived together for a minimum of two years in a relationship akin to marriage. If your relationship is that of boyfriend and girlfriend rather than 'relationship akin to marriage' you will not qualify. The usual sort of evidence to provide includes mortgage or tenancy agreement, joint bank statments, utility bills in joint names, official mail showing that you live at the same address. Anything that demonstrates joint financial commitment is good. The documents should cover a period of two years prior to the date of the application.

I have collected an abundance of evidence which proves our relationship. My question is still though, why would the british consulate waste my time asking for documents when they denied me for a completely different reason? They asked me on two separate occasions specifically for financial documentation showing I had the required amount of money, never once was I asked to prove my relationship, which was the reason I was denied.

[Obie]

batleykhan...having trawled through previous posts it appears that melbgirl has applied to switch to FLR(M) from a Tier 5 visa...in which case the 2 year co-habitation for a spouse (if they marry) wouldn't apply.

Correct me if i am wrong. Are you suggesting that in some circumstances a married couple will need to establish 2 years cohabitation to obtain Spouse Visa?

[Casa]

Not at all Obie.

[Casa]

No. Batleykhan misread the OP's post.

[anniecc]

I have collected an abundance of evidence which proves our relationship. My question is still though, why would the british consulate waste my time asking for documents when they denied me for a completely different reason? They asked me on two separate occasions specifically for financial documentation showing I had the required amount of money, never once was I asked to prove my relationship, which was the reason I was denied.

Candicesayss my advice is not to waste energy trying to understand why the UKBA does anything. Probably the simple answer is that the process of checking whether an application is complete (including any financial information they deem to be necessary to make a decision) is a separate step from making a decision on the application. It may also be related to the fact that evidence of finances is not automatically requested for students from low risk countries (so UKBA are taking responsibility for requesting additional evidence if they need it), whereas everyone is expected to provide evidence that they are a legitimate dependent.