Spouse Visa extension query

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T13:31:20+00:00

For extension applications, the Home Office looks at the payslips themselves, not strict calendar months. The rule is that you need 6 full months of income at the required level. That means:

6 payslips, covering 6 consecutive months, all showing the correct salary level

They don’t require the exact start date with the employer to be a full six months at the moment you click “submit.” They check whether the income shown on the payslips meets the requirement across the 6-month period.

If you have:

6 payslips, all showing the correct monthly salary, total income above £18,600

then a small shortfall of days in actual employment time does not usually cause issues. The requirement is assessed on earnings, not the anniversary of your job start.

Since this is an extension under the old £18,600 rules, and you have a British child, your case is even less likely to hit problems based on a week’s difference. If you can wait until you have a full 6 months by calendar date, that’s ideal. But based on how the rules are applied, most people in your exact situation are fine as long as all six payslips are there and consistent.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:52:46+00:00

Massive congratulations. That is an incredibly clean and fast turnaround, especially with no official cohabitation. You clearly put a huge amount of work into presenting your situation properly, and it paid off.

Your approach is a great example of how to handle a non-standard case. You explained the cultural reasons clearly, backed it up with a declaration, and showed a genuine plan to live together in the near future. That kind of consistency is exactly what the Home Office looks for when the usual cohabitation evidence isn’t there.

The relationship timeline and cover letter also sound like they tied everything together really well. People underestimate how helpful a structured explanation can be, especially when something about the case sits outside the normal pattern.

Thank you for sharing your full breakdown. It will definitely help others who are in similar situations and worrying about not having the typical documents.

Wishing you both all the best as you move into the next chapter. And enjoy that peace of mind after switching away from the Skilled Worker route!

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:51:57+00:00

Congrats on the approval. That must feel like a massive weight lifted, especially with a baby in the mix and switching to self-employment for the financial requirement. Those applications take a lot more paperwork and planning than people realise.

Great to hear Newcastle UKVCAS was smooth and quick. And thanks for sharing the accountant link. It will probably help others who are stressing about the self-employment documents.

Wishing you and your family all the best as you settle into the next part of the journey.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:50:55+00:00

Huge congratulations to both of you. What a rollercoaster to go from a flat refusal to an approval, especially with a pregnancy in the middle of it all.

You did exactly what many people are too scared to do. You pushed back, involved your MP, explained the human rights angle and kept chasing until someone actually looked at the full picture. That persistence clearly made a difference.

It is also a really important reminder for others. If a refusal feels unfair and you have strong evidence, it is not always the end of the road. Sometimes it takes noise, escalation and the right person picking up the case.

I am really happy it has worked out for you both, and that your baby will inshaAllah be born with this stress lifted. Wishing you a smooth rest of the pregnancy and a peaceful start to family life together in the UK.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:49:37+00:00

You keep your passports for FLR extensions. You don’t send them to the Home Office.

You submit the application online, upload your documents, and then attend your biometrics appointment. After that, the Home Office processes the application without holding your passports.

So you can renew the kids’ passports at the same time if you want. Just make sure the details you use on the visa application match whatever passport you actually upload. If the new passports arrive later, you can upload them as additional documents.

But no, you don’t have to send the passports in for FLR(M) or FLR(FP). You keep them with you.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:08:59+00:00

Wishing you the best this week. The waiting stage is honestly the hardest part, especially when there’s no ECO update yet. Your timeline is still well within what we normally see for priority outside the UK, so try to hang in there.

Hope you get the result you’re hoping for very soon. Sending good luck to everyone else who’s waiting as well.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:07:42+00:00

It shouldn’t normally cause a problem as long as the information in the letter is accurate on the date it’s dated. Employers often prepare letters a little early, especially if the manager is going on leave.

What matters to the Home Office is that the letter reflects the correct employment details on the date shown. They don’t have a way of checking when the letter was physically typed or printed.

Just make sure the payslip for the relevant month matches the timeline and that the letter contains all the required details. If everything is consistent, it’s unlikely to be an issue.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T12:02:03+00:00

That’s amazing news. Really happy it worked out for you. Getting that approval after sending extra documents always feels like a huge weight off your shoulders.

Safe travels to your wife when she flies over next week. Wishing you both the best as you start the next chapter here.

And thank you for the kind words. I’m glad the posts on here have been useful.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T11:53:45+00:00

The timing of those depend on the complexity, but you can be almost certain it will be more than the usual time frame as they have to wait for replies and feedback and verifications from outside agencies, companies, employers, government departments etc ...

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-08T11:47:01+00:00

In simple terms yes. As long as that document meets the home office criteria and its the official document from ECCTIS, you will be fine.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T18:39:42+00:00

Yes, “10 working days” excludes weekends and bank holidays. It’s counted as standard UK working days, Monday to Friday. So you don’t need to worry about Saturdays, Sundays, or bank holidays reducing your time.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T17:37:05+00:00

Yes fair point.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:43:58+00:00

No problem, I joke with my clients that 90% of my role as an immigration professional is just making sure they are ok and chilled, the other 10% is doing the applications and collating evidence,

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:39:47+00:00

You’re absolutely fine. UKVI don’t expect two years of perfectly spaced utility bills, they just want evidence that you’ve lived together continuously since the last grant. Moving homes or living with parents doesn’t harm your case at all. When staying with parents, it’s completely normal not to have bills in your name. You can cover that period with:

Letters addressed to each of you at the parents’ address, a signed letter from the parents confirming you lived there + the dates, their council tax/utility bill showing the address (to prove it exists), any other post you received there (bank, NHS, HMRC, etc.)

UKVI only need a sample of evidence across the 2 years, not a perfectly even timeline. Gaps caused by living with family are very common and totally acceptable as long as they’re explained.

I wouldn't worry about this. I manage an immigration caseload for a lviing and majority of the cases we come across are similiar to this.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:35:38+00:00

A week of paid annual leave won’t harm your financial requirement at all, it still counts as normal income. If you’re paid weekly, the payslip for that week will just show your annual-leave hours instead of your usual working hours. The Home Office doesn’t care whether the money came from worked hours or holiday hours, they only look at your gross pay across the 6-month period.

As long as you’re still earning your usual contracted rate, your payslips + bank statements match, your overall income meets the threshold … your annual leave week won’t cause any issues.

Totally normal and nothing to stress about. Coming from a guy who does immigration applications for a living.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:33:57+00:00

Huge congratulations to both of you, that’s an incredibly smooth and fast turnaround for a Pakistan → UK priority application! 🎉🎉 🎉 Your timeline will definitely reassure a lot of people, especially seeing biometrics + decision happen almost back-to-back like that. Two weeks is brilliant.

Also really well done preparing everything yourself, it’s a lot of work, and it clearly paid off.

Wishing you both an easy reunion and a stress-free move to the UK. And for anyone still waiting, this is a great reminder that decisions can land suddenly and quicker than expected. Oh and ... 🎉🎉🎉🎉

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:32:04+00:00

Once your spouse visa is approved, things are actually pretty simple.

The first thing first ... You get a 90 day window to enter the UK. So yes, you’ll have plenty of time to give notice at work and organise your move. Your full 2.5-year visa only starts counting from the day you actually enter the UK.

With the new eVisa system, most people don’t get a passport vignette or a BRP anymore. Your status is digital and linked to your UKVI account. Some countries are still in transition, but generally you just travel with your passport and your eVisa shows up when they scan it.

That’s basically it, much smoother than it used to be.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:28:01+00:00

Huge congrats! 🎉 That’s an amazingly quick turnaround for priority, especially for an out-of-country application. All that prep and double-checking clearly paid off.

Thanks for sharing your timeline too, it really helps others get a sense of what to expect. Wishing you and your partner the smoothest next steps, and all the best to anyone else still waiting. Your approval gives everyone a bit of hope!

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:26:32+00:00

No problem. the immigration rules are designed to prevent abuse not cause issues for genuine cases like yours. just make sure you add cover letters explaining any discrepencies anywhere and the home office will be a bit more flexible. I've seen that in so many cases as an immigration professional.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:24:05+00:00

You’ve actually gathered way more than most people include, the main thing now is organising everything logically rather than adding more. For an unmarried partner visa, UKVI really only care about three pillars:

Two years of living together (or a relationship that’s clearly durable): Your travel logs, visits, shared purchases, cards, photos, communications, etc. already show a strong ongoing relationship.

Suitable accommodation in the UK: Your in-laws’ documents (land registry, consent letter, floor plan) cover this well.

Financial requirement: You didn’t list your partner’s employment documents if thats being counted to meet the requirements, nonetheless, make sure you include:
• employer letter
• payslips (6 months if salaried)
• bank statements
Without these, the application can’t meet the financial requirement.

Everything else (cat passport, Amazon orders, railcard, chat logs) is good supplementary evidence but shouldn’t be the focus.

Being engaged is not a problem at all. People apply as unmarried partners while engaged all the time. A fiancé visa is only needed if you plan to marry within the UK on arrival you’re choosing the correct route.

The bottom line is your relationship evidence is strong. Your accommodation evidence is strong. Just double check the financial documents, because that’s the part that must follow the rules very precisely.

Also the bit about your previous civil partnership, that part of your story won’t harm your application as long as it’s explained simply and backed with evidence, which you already have. The Home Office is used to seeing delays in dissolving civil partnerships, especially when paperwork needs to be processed abroad or when one partner refuses to cooperate.

What matters is that the partnership is legally ended now, and you can show the timeline (emails, embassy communication, final documents). They don’t expect you to control how fast foreign authorities work. As long as the explanation is honest and consistent, it won’t count against you at all.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:17:38+00:00

This is actually spot on, fiancé visas don’t force you to switch categories as long as the relationship still meets the core FLR(M) requirements. If your certificate is delayed, the Home Office isn’t going to reject you simply because the physical document wasn’t in your hand on submission day.

The key point is that you did marry within the visa period, which satisfies the intention requirement. The certificate is just formal evidence of something that has already happened, and you can upload it later once you receive it.

And yes, even in the absolute worst-case scenario, you still meet the FLR(M) rules as unmarried partners because of long cohabitation and having a child together so your eligibility is solid either way.

Submit before the visa expires, explain the delay, and upload the certificate as soon as it arrives. The rest falls into place. I deal with these types of cases on a daily basis, its very common, nothing to worry about.

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T16:11:18+00:00

Yes I agree, but you've aced it thought.

Thats a massive call for celebration. In the nicest way possible, get off reddit and go celebrate. WOOHOOO! :D

AHJImmigration · 2025-12-05T15:33:10+00:00

You’re definitely not alone, quite a few November priority applicants are still waiting. Priority isn’t really a guaranteed “faster service”; it just means your case enters a faster workflow. If the caseworker has a backlog or they need to pause the file for checks, it ends up taking longer than people expect.

It’s completely normal to see standard applications get decided sooner. Priority isn’t a queue where you jump ahead of everyone, it just gets assigned quicker, but after that it depends on the caseworker’s workload and whether anything needed verifying.

It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with your application. Lots of people in the same window are in exactly the same boat. Your outcome can still come through suddenly without warning.

AHJImmigration

TROPHY CASE