Spouse Visa Extension After 2.5 Years (FLR(M)): The Complete 2026 Guide

You can earn £40,000 a year and still get refused.

Income is only part of the picture. Extension applications run into trouble when the evidence does not prove what the application claims: payslips that do not match bank statements, an employer letter missing something the Rules require, relationship documents clustered in the last few weeks, or a form sent after the visa has expired.

If your spouse visa is nearing the 2.5-year mark, this guide covers the spouse visa extension after 2.5 years, the FLR(M) application: what it costs, when to apply, which documents you need and what causes refusals. It sits alongside our UK spouse visa guide.

Your FLR(M) application is the second stage on the 5-year route to indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The Home Office decides it against Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, using the evidence you submit. You must meet every requirement again, and prove it again.

“The Home Office is not re-deciding your relationship. It is checking whether the last 30 months prove it still exists.”

Three common mistakes cause avoidable problems. It is easy to cluster your evidence near the application date instead of spreading it across the 30 months, to rely on the online checklist instead of reading Appendix FM-SE (which sets out the evidence the Rules require), or to apply at the wrong time. This guide helps you avoid all three.

We checked the fees, the Rules and the Home Office guidance in this guide against GOV.UK in October 2026.

How long your permission lasts

Your initial spouse visa was granted for up to 33 months. The FLR(M) extension is granted for up to 30 months. If you apply in time, up to 28 days of any unused permission is added to the new grant. You can apply for ILR once you have completed at least 60 months in the UK with partner permission, so your ILR application comes before the extension ends.

No recourse to public funds

Your extension carries the same no recourse to public funds condition as your initial visa. You cannot claim most benefits, tax credits or housing support. Claiming public funds anyway breaches your conditions, and a breach can be a ground for refusing this application or a later one. If you are in real financial difficulty, take advice before you claim anything.

Quick answer: fees, timing and key facts

• Application fee: £1,407. See our spouse visa fees guide for the other costs on this route.
• Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS): £1,035 per year for adults, so £2,587.50 for 30 months.
• Total cost per adult: £3,994.50 (application fee plus IHS).
• When to apply: you can extend at any time before your permission expires. Home Office guidance advises applying no earlier than 28 days before it expires, or 28 days before you complete 30 months in the UK with partner permission, whichever is earlier.
• Standard processing: usually around 8 weeks. Processing times are at the Home Office's discretion and can vary.
• Priority service: £500. Super Priority service: £1,000. Both are available where the Home Office offers them for your application.
• Can you work while you wait? Yes, if your application is valid and made in time. Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 keeps your permission and its conditions in place until a decision.
• Can you travel while you wait? Not outside the Common Travel Area. If you leave it, your application is treated as withdrawn.
• Form: FLR(M). FLR(FP) is a different application.
• Fee waiver: available only in limited circumstances. See below.

Check the fee before you pay

The Home Office increased this fee on 8 April 2026, from £1,321 to £1,407. Many websites still show the old figure.

Fee waiver

A fee waiver can cover the application fee and the IHS. If you cannot afford the fee and the IHS, both are waived. You can also ask for the IHS alone to be waived. The Home Office will not waive part of the application fee. You must request the waiver before you make your application.

On the 5-year partner route, a fee waiver is available only if you are not required to meet the minimum income requirement because your partner receives a specified disability or carer benefit. It is also available on the 10-year routes.

You qualify if you cannot afford the fee after meeting your essential living needs and, if you have children, their needs. You do not have to be destitute. The Home Office looks at your income, savings, assets and outgoings. It also asks whether anyone who supports you could reasonably help. You must send bank statements for all your accounts, normally covering the last six months. Explain the larger and regular payments.

A fee waiver only waives fees. It does not change the requirements. If you cannot meet the minimum income requirement and your partner does not receive one of those benefits, speak to us before you apply.

If you request a waiver more than three months before your permission expires, the Home Office considers whether you could save for the fee by then. If a waiver is granted, you must submit your application within 10 working days of the decision. A valid application made within that time keeps your Section 3C protection if your permission expired while you waited.

The 5-year route and the 10-year route

Before you look at individual requirements, you need to know which route you are on. The difference in cost and time is large.

The 5-year route

The 5-year route is for applicants who meet every suitability and eligibility requirement at each stage: relationship, financial, accommodation and English language. The structure is a 33-month initial visa, a 30-month FLR(M) extension, and then ILR once you have 60 months in the UK with partner permission.

If you meet all the requirements, the Home Office should grant you leave on the 5-year route. Say clearly in your cover letter that you are applying on that route and that you meet every requirement. Do not leave the caseworker to infer it.

The 10-year route

The 10-year route is for people who do not meet every requirement but qualify through an exception or exceptional circumstances. That means paragraph EX.1 applies, or refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it would have unjustifiably harsh consequences. If you fail a requirement and none of these applies, the application is refused.

On the 10-year route you need 120 months in the UK with partner leave before you can settle. For someone with a 33-month initial grant, that typically means three further 30-month extensions instead of one. Extensions on this route are made on form FLR(FP).

Comparing the cost

If you can only qualify on the 10-year route, it adds five years and about £8,000 in extension costs, before you count the ILR application itself.

If you are switching from another visa

Eligibility for a spouse visa extension

Five areas apply: valid permission, suitability, relationship, financial requirement and English language. This guide assumes you and your partner are still together. If your relationship has ended, or your partner has died, FLR(M) is no longer the right application and other routes may be open to you. Speak to us before you apply.

• Your current permission has not expired, and you are not in the UK as a visitor or with permission of 6 months or less.
• You do not fall for refusal under the suitability rules (NHS debt, criminality, deception, breaches of immigration law).
• Your relationship is genuine and subsisting.
• You meet the financial requirement (£29,000, or the transitional £18,600 if it applies to you).
• Your accommodation is adequate and not overcrowded.
• Your English is at level A2 in speaking and listening, or you are exempt.

What the Home Office looks at

The Home Office will not rebuild your case for you. If the figures are unclear or the evidence does not match, you carry the risk. It compares what you say now with what you said in earlier applications, and it looks at the period since your last grant.

That is why unexplained differences matter. If the address on your first application differs from your current address and you do not say why, it will notice. Treat this as a new application covering ground you have already lived through. Every document should answer one question: does this prove the last 30 months looked the way we said they would?

Valid permission

You must apply before your current permission expires. If you apply in time and your application is valid, Section 3C keeps your permission and your right to work and rent in place until you get a decision.

“Apply in time and your permission carries on. Apply late and it does not.”

The Rules disregard a short overstay in only one situation. You applied within 14 days of your permission expiring, and you had a good reason beyond your control. That is a narrow exception, not a grace period. Your permission is gone in the meantime, along with your right to work and rent, and the problem follows you into your ILR application. Never plan on using it.

An invalid application, for example one with the wrong fee or missing the biometrics or documents required to make it valid, receives no Section 3C protection. Check the fee and the form before you submit.

Suitability

You must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules. The main grounds are these.

NHS debt. The Home Office may refuse an application where an NHS body has reported unpaid charges of £500 or more. Check for any NHS bill and clear it before you apply.

Criminality. Some grounds are mandatory, such as a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more. Others are discretionary, such as a shorter sentence, a non-custodial sentence or an out-of-court disposal recorded on your criminal record.

Deception. If the Home Office is satisfied you made false statements or did not disclose relevant facts, the application must be refused.

Breaches of immigration law. These include overstaying, breaching your conditions, and entering illegally.

If you have a speeding fine or similar penalty and you are unsure whether it counts as a conviction or an out-of-court disposal recorded on your record, find out how it was dealt with. Take advice and declare it with an explanation. A failure to disclose can lead to a deception refusal, which is more serious than the original issue.

The financial requirement

“Meeting the financial threshold is not enough. You must prove it in the exact format the Rules require.”

This is where many applications run into difficulty. Our spouse visa financial requirement guide covers it in full. This section covers what matters at the extension stage.

Which threshold applies: £29,000 or £18,600?

Most applicants must meet a gross annual income of £29,000.

The lower £18,600 threshold applies only if all of these are true. Your first application as a fiancé(e), proposed civil partner or partner was made before 11 April 2024, and it was successful. At the date of your new application you hold permission on the 5-year route. And you are applying to stay with the same partner you were last granted permission with. In that case you must show £18,600 plus £3,800 for the first dependent child and £2,400 for each further child, capped at £29,000.

If you did not first apply before 11 April 2024, or you are applying with a new partner, the £29,000 threshold applies whatever your family size.

Do not assume £29,000 applies just because you read about the rule change in the news. Check the date of your first partner application and the three conditions above. Then state in your cover letter which threshold applies, the date of your first partner application, and the basis for it. One sentence prevents the wrong figure being applied.

Sources of income that can count

One thing couples often miss at extension stage is that your own UK earnings can now count. If you started working after arriving in the UK, do not automatically repeat the financial evidence you used for the original spouse visa. Your combined earnings can help your application, provided your work is lawful.

For an extension the Rules allow your partner's income from employment or self-employment, your own income from employment or self-employment if you are in the UK and working lawfully, pension income, maternity allowance, bereavement benefits and specified payments relating to HM Forces service, other specified income such as rent and dividends, and income and savings of a dependent child aged 18 or over. Income from other members of the household cannot be counted.

If both of you rely on employment income, you must calculate both incomes under Category A or both under Category B. You cannot use A for one and B for the other.

The income categories

• Category A: salaried or non-salaried employment, 6 months or more with the current employer. Variable income can be assessed here using the average of your income over the six months.
• Category B: less than 6 months with the current employer, or longer than six months where you choose the 12-month test, for example because your income varies. Variable income alone does not stop you using Category A.
• Category C: non-employment income such as rent, dividends and interest.
• Category D: cash savings.
• Category E: pension income.
• Categories F and G: self-employment, or work as a director or employee of a specified limited company in the UK. Category F uses the last full financial year. Category G uses the average of the last two full financial years.

Categories A to G are the Home Office's labels. The Rules themselves set out the evidence for each type of income.

You do not need to memorise these categories. You only need to identify the one that matches the income you are actually relying on, because that decides which documents the Home Office expects.

Evidence you need for the main categories

• Category A. Six months of payslips, an employer's letter, and personal bank statements for the same six months showing the salary paid in.
• Category B. Payslips for the period of salaried employment in the 12 months before you apply, employers' letters, and bank statements. Category B also has a second test based on the income you actually received over the previous 12 months.
• Category C. Twelve months of bank statements and the evidence the Rules specify for the type of income, for example proof of ownership and a rental agreement for rent, or dividend vouchers and portfolio reports for dividends.
• Category D. Bank statements for the full six months, and a declaration of the source of the savings.
• Category E. Official pension documents and at least one bank statement in the last 12 months showing payment.
• Categories F and G. Evidence set out in paragraph 7 of Appendix FM-SE for sole traders, partners and franchisees, and paragraph 9 for specified limited companies.

Combining income and savings

You can combine most income categories with each other and with savings, but there are important limits.

Category A income can be combined with Categories C, D and E. Category B can be combined with C and E and with D for the date-of-application test, but savings cannot be used for Category B's 12-month income test. Income under Category F or G cannot be combined with cash savings at all.

Cash savings

If you rely on savings alongside income, the Rules require £16,000 plus 2.5 times the amount your income falls short of the threshold.

• Example one. Income £25,000, threshold £29,000. The shortfall is £4,000. Savings needed: (£4,000 x 2.5) + £16,000 = £26,000.
• Example two. Income £24,000, threshold £29,000. The shortfall is £5,000. Savings needed: (£5,000 x 2.5) + £16,000 = £28,500.

If you rely on savings alone, you need £88,500 at the £29,000 threshold, or £62,500 at the £18,600 transitional threshold for a couple with no children. That is £16,000 plus 2.5 times the threshold.

The savings must be in cash, held in the name of you, your partner or both of you, and held for at least six months before you apply. You must also declare the source of the savings.

You cannot use savings to top up self-employment or specified-company income under Category F or G. You cannot use them for Category B's 12-month income test either. If either applies to you, speak to us before you rely on savings.

Adequate maintenance: when the income threshold does not apply

If your partner receives one of a specified list of disability or carer benefits, you do not need to meet the income threshold. You must instead show that your partner can maintain and accommodate you, themselves and any dependants adequately without public funds.

The qualifying benefits are Disability Living Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension, Police Injury Pension, and the Scottish equivalents (Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Carer's Support Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance). Universal Credit does not qualify.

Do not simply state that you meet adequate maintenance. Show the calculation. The Home Office looks at your household's income after housing costs, including council tax, so set that out clearly in your application.

Proving your relationship is genuine and subsisting

Our spouse visa relationship requirement guide explains the general test. At the extension stage the Rules require that your relationship is genuine and subsisting. They also require you to show that, since your entry clearance or last grant of permission, you and your partner have lived together in the UK, or that there is a good reason, consistent with your intention to live together permanently, for any period you did not.

The Home Office is looking at the period since your last grant. You do not need to resubmit the story of how you met, or the same kind of evidence you used the first time. Show the last 30 months of shared life, and ask of each document whether it shows you were living together and in a continuing relationship during that time.

We recommend you spread your evidence across the whole period rather than clustering it at the end.

“A handful of well-dated documents from across the 30 months can carry more weight than a large bundle from the last few weeks.”

List each document and its date in a spreadsheet and check that no long stretch is left uncovered.

Which documents carry most weight

The Home Office guidance ranks relationship evidence in tiers. The strongest evidence includes tenancy agreements, council tax bills, utility bills, joint bank statements, letters from DWP or HMRC, medical letters and GP registration, insurance or car finance documents showing your address, and evidence of joint finances. Weaker evidence includes greetings cards, photographs, message transcripts, travel tickets and letters of support from friends or family. Use the weaker evidence selectively and build your case on the strongest.

Real applicant problems

Accommodation

Your accommodation must be accommodation your family owns or occupies exclusively. It must not be overcrowded and must not contravene public health regulations. Provide your tenancy agreement or mortgage statement, a landlord's letter if relevant, a recent council tax bill, and the number of rooms and occupants. If you share a home with relatives, the overcrowding assessment covers everyone in the household.

English language: level A2

If you met the English requirement at A1 in your initial application, you must now show A2 in speaking and listening. Your A1 certificate does not meet the A2 requirement. If you were exempt from the English requirement at your initial application, you must now meet the requirement, unless you are exempt again.

You can meet the A2 requirement in three ways. Pass an approved Secure English Language Test at A2 or above from a provider on the GOV.UK list. Or hold a passport from a majority English-speaking country. The countries listed in the Rules are Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Overseas Territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA. Or hold a degree awarded in the UK.

A degree from outside the UK needs confirmation from the qualification and language assessments provider (currently Ecctis) that it was taught in English to at least A2.

You are also exempt if you are aged 65 or over, if a physical or mental condition prevents you from meeting the requirement, or if exceptional circumstances prevent it. A test certificate must be from a test taken no more than two years before your application date, unless you already met the requirement at the level required in a previous successful application.

English for ILR: B1 now, B2 from 26 March 2027

For ILR the English requirement is B1 in speaking and listening for applications made before 26 March 2027. The March 2026 Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 1691) raises it to B2 in speaking and listening for applications made on or after that date.

Document checklist

The online application checklist is not complete. The Home Office generates it as you go through the form, but Appendix FM-SE is the rulebook. If you follow only the checklist you risk refusal on evidence grounds.

• Identity: your current passport and any previous passports, and your BRP if you still hold one, or access to your eVisa through your UKVI account.
• Relationship: your marriage or civil partnership certificate, and relationship evidence from across the 30 months.
• Financial, employment: payslips (formal payslips showing the employer's name, or accompanied by a letter from the employer confirming they are authentic), bank statements for the same period, and the employer's letter. A P60 can be added if issued.
• Financial, self-employed: the evidence in paragraph 7 or 9 of Appendix FM-SE, including tax documents, accounts or an accountant's certificate, bank statements and evidence of ongoing trading.
• Financial, savings: six months of bank statements for every account and a declaration of the source of the funds.
• English language: your test certificate or evidence of exemption.
• Accommodation: the documents listed above.
• Sponsor's status: a British passport, or evidence of settled status.
• Children: birth certificates. A child who needs permission applies as a dependant and pays the application fee and IHS in their own right. The IHS for under-18s is £776 per year, which is £1,940 for 30 months.

Documents that are not in English or Welsh need the original and a full translation, dated and signed, with the translator's details and confirmation that it is accurate. Evidence for a period ending on your application date must be dated no earlier than 28 days before you apply.

If you are sorting documents into folders, start with the ones the Rules specify and add everything else second. Do not let the online checklist decide what you gather.

The employer's letter

The letter must confirm your employment and gross annual salary, how long you have been employed, the period over which you have been paid the salary you rely on, and the type of employment (permanent, fixed-term or agency). A standard reference letter often leaves out some of these.

Uploading your documents

Follow the file type and size limits shown on the upload page. Upload clear, complete colour scans, unlock any password-protected files, and name each file clearly so whoever opens it can find what they need.

Step-by-step application process

1. 1

   Three to six months before your permission expires, gather documents, work out which income category applies, check your English test, and build your evidence spreadsheet.

2. 2

   Apply online at the right time (see the timing section below). Check every field against your documents before you submit.

3. 3

   Pay the application fee of £1,407 and the IHS of £2,587.50, a total of £3,994.50 for an adult.

4. 4

   Book your biometrics appointment as soon as you have paid.

5. 5

   Upload your documents.

6. 6

   Attend your biometrics appointment with your confirmation email and your passport.

7. 7

   Wait for a decision

   Standard processing is usually around 8 weeks, but timings are at the Home Office's discretion and can vary. Priority (£500) and Super Priority (£1,000) are available where offered if you need an earlier decision.

Section 3C and travel

If you apply in time and your application is valid, Section 3C extends your permission, with the same conditions, until a decision is made. You keep your right to live and work on the same conditions as your original visa, even after the expiry date.

Do not leave the Common Travel Area while your application is pending. It covers the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. This is an easy mistake to make, and the consequence is serious. If you leave it, even for a family emergency, your application is treated as withdrawn and your Section 3C protection ends. You would need to apply again and pay all the fees again. If you must travel, get advice first.

When exactly should you apply?

You can extend your spouse visa at any time before your current permission expires. But only up to 28 days of unused permission is added to your new grant, and the Home Office guidance advises applying no earlier than 28 days before your permission expires, or 28 days before you complete 30 months in the UK with partner permission, whichever comes first. Some guides count back only from your expiry date. The guidance gives a second date, and for most people it comes first.

For example, suppose you arrived on 1 March, the day your permission started, and it runs for 33 months, to 1 December. You complete 30 months on 1 September, so the guidance date is 4 August. Twenty-eight days before expiry would be 3 November. In this example the two dates are three months apart. Apply on or after 4 August, and always before 1 December.

If you apply earlier than the guidance dates, you may not have completed the qualifying period and may need to make another application, with another fee. If you apply in good time, up to 28 days of your unused permission is added to the new grant.

“Plan every application backwards from your ILR date.”

Your ILR date does not depend on how early you apply. The Rules require at least 60 months of continuous residence in the UK with partner permission. Work out that date from the day you entered the UK with partner permission. Our guide to ILR after a spouse visa explains the next stage.

Absences and ILR

On the 5-year partner route we have found no fixed limit on days spent abroad in the rules, unlike the 180-day limit that applies on some other routes. That does not mean absences are ignored. You must show continuous residence and that you and your partner intend to live together permanently in the UK, and long periods abroad can cause problems. Keep a record of every absence and its reason. If you are on the 10-year route, the 180-day rule is likely to apply, so ask us before you travel.

eVisas and your UKVI account

Your BRP card may show an expiry date that differs from the end of your permission. Many people hold an old BRP card and wonder whether their status is still valid. Check your grant letter or create a UKVI account to see your immigration status online. Your grant letter or eVisa shows your real permission end date.

An eVisa is a digital record of your status, linked to your passport. It has the same legal effect as a BRP card.

To prove your status to an employer or landlord, generate a share code in your UKVI account. The code is valid for 90 days. Share only the code, never your login details, and generate a fresh code for each check.

If your FLR(M) is granted you will not receive a BRP card. Your new permission appears in your UKVI account.

Common refusal reasons and how to avoid them

• Financial evidence that does not meet the Appendix FM-SE rules. Payslips, bank statements and the employer's letter must cover the right period and match each other.
• Wrong English level. An A1 certificate does not meet the A2 requirement.
• An employer's letter that leaves out required information, in particular the period over which the salary has been paid.
• Applying after your permission has expired. Apply in time.
• The wrong form. FLR(M) is the partner extension form. Using the wrong form can make your application invalid or lead to refusal.
• NHS debt of £500 or more. Clear it before you apply.
• Inconsistency with your first application. Explain any change.
• Travel outside the Common Travel Area while the application is pending.

“The refusals that hurt most are rarely the ones where you clearly failed a requirement. They are the ones where you met it and the evidence did not prove it.”

If your application is refused

A refusal is not the end. Your options depend on the reason.

Appeal. A refused Appendix FM partner extension generally carries a right of appeal on human rights grounds. The refusal notice states how to appeal and the deadline, which is short. Your permission under Section 3C continues while an in-time appeal is pending.

Fresh application. If the problem is fixable, gather the right evidence and apply again, paying all fees again. Time matters. Your Section 3C protection ends at set points, which depend on whether you can appeal. From then you have no permission to work or rent. The Rules disregard a gap if your new application is made within 14 days of the refusal, the end of Section 3C leave, or the end of the time limit or process for an appeal or administrative review (Part Suitability, paragraph SUI 13.1). Apply immediately and take advice.

Administrative review. This is generally for decisions that carry no right of appeal. It costs £80. Your refusal notice will say which route applies.

Judicial review. This challenges the lawfulness of the decision and is a last resort. It needs specialist representation.

An appeal, a fresh application and an administrative review do not lead to the same position, and the choice can affect your ILR date and your immigration history. Take advice before you choose.

Building your ILR case during this extension

Do not treat the extension grant as the finish line. The 30 months of this extension are part of the record your ILR application will rely on, so build your evidence as you go, not at the end.

• Track every absence from the UK, with dates and reasons.
• Keep address documents across the full period. The ILR application looks at the whole 5-year period.
• Keep payslips and bank statements without gaps.
• Plan your English test for ILR. B1 applies to applications made before 26 March 2027. B2 applies to applications made on or after that date.
• Book the Life in the UK test in good time. You must pass it before ILR. The test fee is £50 and the ILR application fee is currently £3,226.

For full guidance on the ILR stage, see our guide to ILR after a spouse visa.

Frequently asked questions

When can I apply for the extension?

You can apply at any time before your permission expires. The Home Office guidance advises no earlier than 28 days before expiry, or 28 days before you complete 30 months in the UK with partner permission. Only up to 28 days of unused permission is added to the new grant, so applying too early can leave you short of the time you need to settle.

Can I work while my application is pending?

Yes, if the application was valid and made in time. Section 3C keeps your permission and its conditions in place. An invalid application attracts no protection.

Can I travel while my application is pending?

Not outside the Common Travel Area. If you leave it, your application is treated as withdrawn, and you would need to apply again and pay again.

My BRP card has expired. Has my permission expired?

Not necessarily. Check the end date on your grant letter or in your UKVI account. The card's expiry date can differ from your permission's expiry date.

We had a baby while on the visa. What do we do?

A child born in the UK to a British citizen or settled parent is generally British and needs no permission. If your child needs permission, they apply as your dependant and pay the application fee and IHS of £776 per year in their own right.

I changed jobs during the 2.5 years. Does that matter?

Changing employer is not a problem in itself. Use Category A if you have been with your current employer for six months or more, and Category B if less than six months. The employer's letter must come from your current employer.

My income has dropped. Can I use savings to top up?

In many cases yes, using the formula above. But not if you rely on self-employment or specified-company income (Category F or G), and not for Category B's 12-month income test. Speak to us before you rely on savings.

My employer will not give me a letter. What can I do?

Show them the Appendix FM-SE requirements in writing. The letter is an evidential requirement, not a favour. We can write to the employer to explain what the Rules require. Supporting documents, such as your contract and P60, help but do not replace the required letter.

Do I need to declare a speeding fine?

It depends on how it was dealt with. If you are unsure whether a penalty counts as a conviction or an out-of-court disposal recorded on your record, take advice and declare it with an explanation. A failure to disclose can lead to a deception refusal.

Can we use my in-laws' address as our accommodation?

Often yes. The accommodation must be adequate, not overcrowded, and your family must own or occupy it exclusively. Get the homeowner's letter and individual documents for both of you at the address.

What is the difference between FLR(M) and FLR(FP)?

FLR(M) is the partner extension form this guide covers. FLR(FP) is used for family and private life applications that rely on exceptions or exceptional circumstances, including extensions on the 10-year route. Using the wrong form can make your application invalid or lead to refusal, so confirm which one applies before you pay.

Can I apply for a fee waiver?

Only in limited circumstances. On the 5-year route it is available only where your partner receives a specified disability or carer benefit, so you do not need to meet the income threshold. It is also available on the 10-year routes. You must request it before you apply, and you must still meet the other requirements of the route.

When to get professional legal help

Plenty of straightforward applications can be completed without a solicitor if you follow this guide and the Rules closely. These situations carry more risk, and professional advice can make a real difference.

• Straightforward case: you are employed, living together and have no previous issues. You may be able to apply yourself.
• Self-employed or company director income: we recommend a solicitor, because the rules and evidence are complex.
• Income below the threshold, or using savings or both partners' incomes: we recommend a solicitor, because the calculations and evidence are strict.
• Previous refusal: take advice, because a past refusal affects credibility and your options.
• Any criminal conviction or immigration breach: take advice, because suitability needs careful handling.
• Periods of separation or unusual living arrangements: we recommend a solicitor, because the way you explain them matters.
• Application already submitted with concerns: contact us immediately. Some problems can be addressed before a decision.

A well-prepared extension is rarely dramatic. The evidence is complete, the dates line up, and the story is easy to follow. If yours is not there yet, it is far easier to fix before you apply than after a refusal.

Official sources

• Home Office immigration and nationality fees (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Appendix FM: family members (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Appendix FM-SE: family members specified evidence (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Immigration Rules: Part Suitability (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Family visas: apply, extend or switch (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application: how much you have to pay (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Fee waiver: human rights-based and other specified applications (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)
• Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1691, 5 March 2026 (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)

This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. The Immigration Rules and fees change often. Check GOV.UK before you submit any application. KQ Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (firm SRA number 619078).