[nicnac1234]

Hi everyone,

I''m hoping to apply for leave to remain as an unmarried partner to a British national from within the UK. By the time I apply, we will have been in a relationship for 3 years and 3 months. We will have lived together throughout the duration of my time in the UK on a T5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa and have solid evidence to prove this.

The issue I have is in regards to the strictness of the 2 year cohabitation rules as we are technically a day short. I physically entered the UK at about 5/6 am on 2 Dec 2015, so only a few hours after my T5 YMS start date on 1 Dec 2015. Our joint tenancy agreement began on 1 Dec 2015 as this was my intended date of arrival. However, I failed to arrive in time due to difficulty getting on an available flight as a passenger travelling on standby. I know the ECO would have sufficient reason to fail us on this ground but I am hoping to rely on their discretion as it seems harsh to reject us on the basis of 1 day (technically 6 hours).

Is it worth applying? Has anyone slightly short of the cohabitation requirement applied successfully this year?

 

[Joppa]

One day short is almost certainly ok.

 

[nicnac1234]

Thanks for your reply Joppa. Is this because you know of people who have been successful with a longer gap in cohabitation or because it says in the guidelines that discretion can be exercised by the ECO?

 

[Joppa]

I know somebody denied for being a few weeks short, but one day is neither here or there, as it means you have to start cohabiting the day you arrive in UK when your visa starts, which isn't very practical.

 

[nicnac1234]

Good to know there is some leeway! Do they consider the time you have cohabited at the date of application or at the date they receive and review the application? Just wondering whether it will be necessary to apply using the premium service on the day my visa expires so I can get as close to the 2 years as possible.

Also can I use my salary alone to satisfy the financial requirement (I exceed it and will be with the same employer for more than 6 months) or is it compulsory to rely and combine with my partner's too?

 

[Joppa]

It's when they start processing your application, so if you apply by post, by the time they begin looking at your case, you will have cohabited more than the required length of time.
Use just one income if you can meet the requirement, and leave the other column blank.

 

[nicnac1234]

I just had a look at Appendix FM and GEN.1.2.(iv) defines a partner as: a person who has been living together with the applicant in a relationship akin to a marriage or civil partnership for at least two years prior to the date of application, unless a different meaning of partner applies elsewhere in this Appendix.

So wouldn't it actually be two years from the date of application?

 

[Joppa]

Yes, as you have a two-year visa, you will be applying just before its expiry, so you need to have lived together for 2 years at that point (minus one day).

 

[nicnac1234]

So regardless of whether I'm applying online/by post/at a premium service appointment, I should apply on the last day my visa is valid until so it is as close to the 2 year mark as possible?

 

[Joppa]

Yes, that seems to be a wise move. While you get up to 28-day grace period when applying by post (so that you can apply up to 28 days after expiry), you will then lose your in-country right of appeal and have to leave UK if you are denied.

 

[nicnac1234]

Thanks a lot for answering my questions! Really appreciate it!

 

[nicnac1234]

It's when they start processing your application, so if you apply by post, by the time they begin looking at your case, you will have cohabited more than the required length of time.
Use just one income if you can meet the requirement, and leave the other column blank.

After completing the table in s 7.3A and filling out the "You" section of the table (as I intend to use my salary alone to meet the financial requirement), the form asks to provide "You and your sponsor’s total combined income from salaried employment?"

Can I still just use my one own salary if it exceeds the requirement and not factor his in? I basically want to avoid combining my partner's financial situation as it is more complicated (not employed by same employer for 6 months, receives academic/research grants etc)

 

[Joppa]

Yes, you can. The wording is a tad confusing but if you only need one income to meet the requirement, you only total up that income.

 

[nicnac1234]

Yes, you can. The wording is a tad confusing but if you only need one income to meet the requirement, you only total up that income.

Hi Joppa - resurrecting this thread as I have a couple more questions re the financial requirement (FLR-M unmarried partner) and I'm submitting the application in a couple days!

1.) I will be relying on category A. My base annual salary exceeds the financial requirement but I get paid slightly differently each month as I get paid for overtime work. Can I just put my base annual salary as my total income as this is less complicated than doing a precise calculation?

2.) In my letter of employment, the HR manager refers to me as having "regular (not fixed term or temporary) full-time employment". Is this sufficient or does the wording need to include "permanent employment"?

 

[03allisone]

Hi everyone,

I''m hoping to apply for leave to remain as an unmarried partner to a British national from within the UK. By the time I apply, we will have been in a relationship for 3 years and 3 months. We will have lived together throughout the duration of my time in the UK on a T5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa and have solid evidence to prove this.

The issue I have is in regards to the strictness of the 2 year cohabitation rules as we are technically a day short. I physically entered the UK at about 5/6 am on 2 Dec 2015, so only a few hours after my T5 YMS start date on 1 Dec 2015. Our joint tenancy agreement began on 1 Dec 2015 as this was my intended date of arrival. However, I failed to arrive in time due to difficulty getting on an available flight as a passenger travelling on standby. I know the ECO would have sufficient reason to fail us on this ground but I am hoping to rely on their discretion as it seems harsh to reject us on the basis of 1 day (technically 6 hours).

Is it worth applying? Has anyone slightly short of the cohabitation requirement applied successfully this year?

I am in the almost exact position with my partner, except our 1 day gap was due to bad future planning! How did you get on and any advice for how you handled it in the end?

 

[nyclon]

I am in the almost exact position with my partner, except our 1 day gap was due to bad future planning! How did you get on and any advice for how you handled it in the end?

The poster hasn't logged on for a couple of months.

Click on their name and then "find all posts of" and you will find a post where the question is answered.

 

[nicnac1234]

I am in the almost exact position with my partner, except our 1 day gap was due to bad future planning! How did you get on and any advice for how you handled it in the end?

I received an approval in January so I wouldn't worry too much about the 1 day gap! However because I was on the borderline of two years they were more cautious when considering my application. I submitted significantly more documents than the minimum of what was requested to be on the safe side (and they were all considered "good" sources and were evenly spaced out throughout the two years) so I was surprised that I still received a letter requesting further evidence for the first 6 months of our cohabitation. My advice is to just make sure your cohabitation evidence is solid throughout the entire two year period and that you have evidence dating as close as possible to the the start of the two year period (e.g. I moved in with my boyfriend 2 Dec which is one day short but had multiple pieces of evidence that covered 2 Dec).

Good luck with your application!

 

[03allisone]

Thank you so much for your reply. It was really helpful. Gives us some hope ours will work out. Did you use a solicitor to help?

Ed