Spouse Visa Extension in the UK
If you need help with a UK Spouse Visa extension application then our UK Immigration Lawyers can help you secure your next Family Visa. Our experts understand that your extension application is an important step in your journey to settling in the UK.
Whether you employed our specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors for your first Spouse Visa application or not, our team of friendly Immigration Solicitors can help ensure your extension application proceeds as smoothly as possible by providing you with all the expert and up-to-date immigration legal advice you need on the Family Visa immigration rules and transitional provisions.
UK Online and London-Based Family Visa Solicitors
For efficient Spouse Visa extension advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or Skype consultations or at our offices in London.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
Why you need a Spouse Visa extension
If you entered the UK on a Spouse Visa you can't apply to settle in the UK when your first Family Visa is nearing expiry. That’s because the UK Family Visa immigration rules require you to have been resident in the UK for at least five years before you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Your first Spouse Visa only lasts for 30 months if you applied for it from within the UK or 33 months if you applied for your visa from overseas.
The immigration rules therefore require you to apply for a second Spouse Visa before you qualify to apply to settle in the UK. The Family Visa extension application is not a formality. You must meet all the immigration rules to qualify for your extension visa. If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria you won't get your extension. Also, if you don’t apply for an extension in time this will affect your chances of being able to successfully apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
Length of a Spouse Visa extension
Your Spouse Visa extension will last 30 months. That time, combined with the time spent in the UK on your first Family Visa, should mean you meet the five-year residence requirement and can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. It's essential to apply to settle in the UK before the date that your Spouse Visa extension expires.
Why you need a specialist Spouse Visa Extension Lawyer
The UK Government has changed the rules on the Family Visa minimum income requirement. The financial requirement rules apply on your first Spouse Visa application and when you are applying for a visa extension or applying to settle in the UK.
The minimum income requirements are complicated because transitional arrangements apply to many Spouse Visa extension applications. It's vital to choose London Immigration Solicitors who understand how the transitional arrangements apply to your circumstances so you get accurate immigration legal advice on how the financial requirement relates to your application and the best evidence to supply to ensure you get a positive reply from the Home Office.
If you don’t get your Spouse Visa extension from the Home Office it could spell trouble for you as you will either have to go through the expense and stress of an appeal or apply for an administrative review. Alternatively, your UK Immigration Lawyers will need to advise you on alternative visa options to switch to so you can stay in the UK and add time to meet the Indefinite Leave to Remain five-year residence requirement.
Criteria for a Spouse Visa extension
The criteria for a Spouse Visa extension are:
- Age -you and your sponsoring partner must be 18 or over
- Presence – you must be present in the UK and living together permanently with your sponsoring husband or wife
- Relationship – you must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship with your sponsoring spouse
- You meet the Family Visa financial requirement – on an extension application your income can be considered when the Home Office official assesses if you meet the minimum income requirement
- You meet the English language requirement – this should be straightforward as you won't need to re-sit the English language test if you can show that you passed it or were exempt when you applied for your first Spouse Visa
- You meet the general eligibility criteria. This means that you haven’t done anything since you arrived in the UK that makes the Home Office think that your extension application should be refused on general immigration refusal grounds. For example, if you have been convicted of a serious criminal offence or your good character has been called into question by an HMRC or other government department investigation
Relationships and Spouse Visa extensions
Applicants for Spouse Visa extensions assume that it is self-evident that they meet the relationship criteria as they are in a loving relationship with their husband or wife. If they weren’t they would not be applying for a visa extension. Whilst that’s true, it is equally true that Home Office officials require evidence of the genuineness of a relationship in an extension application.
Proving love is something that our specialist Spouse Visa Solicitors are rather good at. It isn’t as exciting as it sounds but our Immigration Lawyers do need to ensure that your application, any statement, and all your supporting documents spell out how you meet the extension eligibility criteria.
The financial requirement and Spouse Visa extensions
Applicants for Spouse Visa extensions must meet the financial requirement applicable to them at the time of their original Family Visa application. They do not need to meet the current minimum income requirement of £29,000 or the figure the Migration Advisory Committee recommend as the revised financial requirement.
If you applied for your Spouse Visa before the financial requirement rule changes your extension financial requirement will be £18,600. If you have dependent children your financial requirement will increase by £3,800 for the first child and by £2,400 for each additional child who is not a British citizen.
Spouse Visa holders can legally work in the UK so if you are employed in the UK your salary can be added to your partner’s income to prove you meet the financial requirement. This can be helpful if you both work part-time or if the Spouse Visa holder is now working full-time whilst the sponsoring partner is caring for a child or has other caring responsibilities.
Proving you meet the financial criteria relevant to the date of your application is vital as the Home Office doesn't just waive extension applications through. These applications are as vigorously checked as your original Family Visa application. The immigration rules remain complex on whether you can combine different types of income or how capital can be used to prove you meet the financial requirement. Our Immigration Lawyers in London ensure that we advise you on the best evidence to produce for your situation.
Speak to our Spouse Visa Lawyers in London now.
For advice on a Family Visa extension application call us for an appointment at our offices in London or for a phone, Zoom or Skype consultation.
For expert help contact our Spouse Visa Solicitors.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
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