FLR(FP)

GUIDANCE
NOTES
Version 0 4 /2017

If you wish to apply for an extension of stay in the UK on form FLR(FP), please read these
guidance notes and the separate rules for passport photographs guidance before making your
application.

CONTACTING US

Our main website address for contacting us is given below.

OUR WEBSITE www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-

immigration

For information about immigration law and policy, for the services offered by our Premium
Service Centres, to see and download application forms and related guidance, and to book an
appointment to apply in person.

OUR PREMIUM SERVICE CENTRES

Our Premium Service Centres are for premium service applications only. For details of the
services and facilities provided by each of the Premium Service Centres, please go to www.gov.
uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/find-a-premium-service-centre

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 GUIDANCE NOTES

1. WHO MUST USE FORM FLR(FP)?

You MUST use this FLR(FP) form if you are applying for leave to remain in one of the
following categories:

• Family life as a partner (10 year route)

• Family life as a parent (5 year and 10 year routes)

• Dependent child of a person who has, or is at the same time applying for, limited leave to
enter or remain in the UK other than under the points based system or UK Ancestry (10
year route)

• Private life in the UK (10 year route)

• Leave outside the Rules on the basis of family or private life

You and any dependants (family members) must be in the UK to apply.

Do not use this form:

• if you wish to apply for discretionary leave (DL) to remain;

• if you already have discretionary leave (DL) to remain and you wish to apply for further DL;

• to make an application for asylum or international protection (this includes an application

for humanitarian protection or an Article 3 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
application made on medical or protection grounds); or to make further submissions on
asylum or protection grounds after the refusal or withdrawal of an earlier asylum or human
rights claim.

2. QUALIFYING FOR AN EXTENSION OF STAY

To qualify for an extension of stay in the categories of the Immigration Rules for which you must
use form FLR(FP), you must meet the requirements set out in the following parts of the Rules
(the full Immigration Rules are on our website):
 Appendix FM – Family life as a parent of a child in the UK - 5 year and 10 year
routes to settlement
 Appendix FM – Family life as a child – 10 year route to settlement
 Appendix FM – Family life as a partner – 10 year route to settlement
 Part 7 – Private life – 10 year route to settlement
Or
 Outside the Immigration Rules on the basis of Article 8 exceptional circumstances.

3. WHO MAY APPLY ON THIS FORM?

You and your spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner, children under 18, adult children,
parents, grandparents or other family members, who wish to be considered for leave to remain on the
basis of their family live with you, and/or their private life.
You can only qualify under the Immigration Rules on the basis of your Family Life with a Partner
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(10 year route) if your partner is a British citizen or present and settled in the UK, or is in the UK
with leave as a refugee or beneficiary of Humanitarian Protection.

4. THE FEE
If you do not pay the specified fee, the application will be invalid and will be returned to you.

We will not refund the fee if we refuse the application or if you withdraw it.
Applications can be made in person at a Premium Service Centre for a same day consideration of
your application. There is an additional fee for this service and all fees will be taken when you book
an appointment. You can only make on-line or in person payments by using one of our accepted
credit or debit cards (see below). Please note that you cannot pay by cheque or postal order if you
are making an application in person using the premium service. For more details and to book an
appointment please visit www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres

When making large or multiple payments using your credit card, the anti- fraud measures that banks
operate sometimes stop the full payment being taken. This can happen for a number of reasons. To
prevent this you should inform your bank of your intention to make large or multiple payments in
advance so that your bank allows the full payment to be taken when you submit your application.

Please be aware that not all banks offer this service.

For information about methods of payment, please see the payment details guidance on page 4 of
the form.
For more information about the current fees, please go to our website.

5. WHEN TO APPLY
You and any dependants should apply before the end of your/their permitted stay in the UK. We
encourage you to apply 28 days before the expiry date.

6. MAKING SURE YOUR APPLICATION IS VALID

Paragraph 34 of the Immigration Rules specifies certain requirements with which an
application on a form specified for the purpose of the Rules must comply. To make a valid
application, you must:

• apply on the current version of form FLR(FP).

• pay the specified fee by one of the methods specified in the payment guidance.

• ensure the correct payment has been made towards the Immigration Health Surcharge,
if applicable. You will need to assess the likely cost using the online portal www.gov.uk/
healthcare-immigration-application.

• provide photographs of yourself and any dependants applying , in addition to a photograph

of your partner if they are not applying with you and will not been included in section 3 of the
form, as specified in the application form.

• Provide a valid or most recent passport, travel document or national identity card for
yourself and any dependants applying as specified in the application form, as evidence of
your identity and nationality, unless it is not available for reasons beyond your control.

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 • Complete all sections of the form as required, including all mandatory sections of the form.

• Sign the declaration in Section 17 of the form as specified.

If you fail to do any of these things, your application will be invalid and we will return it to you.

This could result in the loss of appeal rights if your permitted stay has run out by the time you
make a valid application.

7. ENSURING YOUR APPLICATION IS COMPLETE

You do this by completing every relevant section of the form as required and providing all
the documents specified for your particular application.
If you do not do this, we reserve the right to decide your application on the basis of the
information and documents provided.
It is important, therefore, to provide an explanation if you cannot give us all relevant information
or documents when making your application.

8. COMPLETING THE FORM

Please use a black pen to complete the form; write names, addresses and similar details in
capital letters.
In the payment details and other sections where you give personal details and addresses, leave
an empty box between each part of the name and of the address.
Please note that we always use the personal details in an applicant’s passport, national identity
card or travel document for official purposes, including any residence permit if the application is
granted.
Take care to complete all sections as required, including the Personal History section. Follow
the guidance on page 5 of the form when completing the payment details. Read the notes in
various sections of the form.
As already emphasised in part 7 of these notes, you must enclose a letter of explanation if you
are unable to provide all the required information or any relevant specified documents.

9. PHOTOGRAPHS
For your application to be valid, it is mandatory to provide the following photographs:

• Two identical passport-size photographs of yourself with your full name written on the back
of each one.

• Two identical passport-size photographs of any dependants who are applying with you with
their full name written on the back of each one.

• One passport-size photograph of your partner if they are not applying with you and will not
been included in section 3 of the form with their full name written on the back of it.
The photographs you provide must also comply with the format requirements specified in
the separate rules for passport photographs guidance at: Rules for passport photos -
GOV.UK.
Please ensure that you place the photographs in a small sealed envelope and attach it to section 1
of the form as instructed there - and without any staples, clips, pins or anything else which could
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mark or damage the photographs.
The photographs will be checked against the images taken when your biometric features and those
of any dependants applying are enrolled.

10. PASSPORT, NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD OR TRAVEL DOCUMENT

For your application to be valid, it is mandatory to provide your original, valid passport, national
identity card or travel document as evidence of your identity and nationality, unless it is not
available for reasons beyond your control. If your document is lost or stolen, you should
replace it before making your application unless there are reasons beyond your control why you
cannot.
It is also mandatory for you to provide an original, valid or most recent passport, national identity
card or travel document for each of your dependant’s included in the application, as evidence of
their identity and nationality, unless it is not available for reasons beyond your or their control.
Reasons beyond your control may include where you do not have a national authority to provide a
document, or where you have applied for a document and your national authority cannot provide
one in time for you to make your application.
If you cannot provide your passport, national identity card or travel document, then you must
provide an explanation as to why this is. If it has been lost or stolen, you must provide your crime
reference number and reasons why you have not been able to provide a replacement document.
If your passport is already with the Home Office, you must tell us and provide information as to why
we already hold your passport, national identity card or travel document.
If you are not enclosing a current, valid or most recent passport, national identity card or travel
document, then you must provide alternative satisfactory evidence of your identity and
nationality, which must include your full name, date of birth and nationality.

11. DOCUMENTS
Documents provided with the application must be originals. All supporting evidence must be in the
form of original documents.
Copies of any kind are not acceptable unless there are valid reasons for not being able to
provide the original document. The reasons for not being able to provide the original document
must be explained in a covering letter. We are unlikely to grant your application without the
original document.
We will accept electronic bank, building society or bill statements which are provided as
evidence, where they are accompanied by a letter from the issuing authority on its headed
stationery confirming that the documents are authentic, or bear the official stamp of the issuing
authority on every page.
Any documents which are not in English must be accompanied by a reliable English translation.
Make sure passports or travel documents are signed.

12. APPLYING BY POST - THE ADDRESS

The address to which you must send an application on form FLR(FP) is as given on the front of
that form.
Posting it to any other address will not only delay your application but could make it invalid. This
address is only to be used when sending your application. Please use the address given in section
17 of these Guidance Notes for any other correspondence about your application.
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If you use Recorded or Special Delivery, this will help us to record the receipt of your application.
Make sure that you keep the Recorded or Special Delivery number.
We will return your passport(s) and other documents by Recorded Delivery. If you would like them
to be returned by Special Delivery, you must provide a prepaid Special Delivery envelope which is
large enough.
You will receive a letter of acknowledgement within a few days of your application being received,
unless there is a problem concerning the payment of the fee. The validity of your application will
then be checked and we shall contact you in writing if your application is invalid.

13. APPLYING IN PERSON

We offer a service to people who apply in person at one of our Premium Service Centres. This
service is available only for applications which are straightforward and do not require further
enquiries.

14. APPOINTMENTS
To apply in person, you must book an appointment in advance with one of the Premium Service
Centres. You can do so online at: Visa premium service centres - GOV.UK.

If you book some time ahead, please check that the application form you use is still valid on the day
of your appointment.
For applications made in person at a Premium Service Centre, the total fee includes a £100
appointment fee, which may be retained should the applicant fail to attend their appointment without
good reason.
Please note that if your application is successful, Residence Permits for yourself and any
dependants applying will be posted within 7 working days of your appointment; they
cannot be issued on the day itself.
For the latest information about our Premium Service Centre opening times and services, please
go to our website: www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/find-a-premium-service-centre.

15. DECISION TIMES

For the latest information on our service standards for deciding charged applications please go to
our website.
Applications which are not straightforward, or which need further enquiries, take longer to decide.
These include applications by people who have remained here unlawfully after the expiry of their
permitted stay.
As we cannot tell in advance how long it will take to decide particular cases, our general advice is
not to make any non-urgent travel arrangements until your passport(s), national identity card(s) or
travel document(s) are returned.

16. YOUR STATUS WHILE YOUR APPLICATION IS BEING

CONSIDERED
If you and any dependants apply before the end of your permitted stay in the UK, your/their
existing immigration status, including any permission to work, will continue until your/their
application(s) is/are decided.

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17. CONTACTING US AFTER YOU HAVE APPLIED
If you need to contact us after you have applied, please do so as follows.
To send us more information about your application, write to the following address (not the one to
which you posted your application):

Home Office
Initial Consideration Unit - FLR(FP)
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY
and give the following details in your letter:

• the applicant’s full name, date of birth and nationality.

• any Recorded or Special Delivery number.

• the date on which the application was posted or made in person.

• the Home Office reference number if you have one.

If you need your passport because you have to travel urgently and unexpectedly, use the return
of documents request form at: www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned
Your application will be treated as withdrawn if your passport is returned for travel abroad before
we are able to decide the application.

18. OBTAINING APPLICATION FORMS

You can obtain application forms, the accompanying guidance notes and the rules for
passport photographs guidance from our website at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/
uk-visas-and-immigration

19. OTHER ENQUIRIES

For enquiries other than obtaining an application form, consult our website www.gov.uk/
government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
We also have the following freephone textphone number: 0800 38 98 28 9.

20. CHOOSING AN IMMIGRATION ADVISER

Immigration advisers are regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
(OISC). Their website at: www.oisc.gov.uk contains a list of authorised advisers. It also has links
to websites for solicitors, barristers and legal executives.
If you have a complaint about an immigration adviser or need other information, the OISC contact
details are:
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)
5th Floor
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3HF
Telephone: 0345 000 0046
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Alternatively the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which regulates solicitors in England and Wales,
can help you find a solicitor if you contact them on 0870 606 2555 or visit their website at:
www.sra.org.uk.
The address and telephone number for any complaints about a solicitor are:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806,
Wolverhampton,
WV1 9WJ

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

21. COMPLAINTS ABOUT OUR SERVICE

If you wish to make a complaint about our service, please refer to the complaints page on our
website for detailed information on how to do so.

22. DATA PROTECTION NOTICE

We will treat all information provided by you in confidence but may disclose it to other government
departments, agencies, local authorities, the police, foreign governments and other bodies for
immigration purposes or to enable them to perform their functions.
We may also use the information provided by you for training purposes.
The information in the payment details page will be known to the private contractor engaged by the
Home Office to process application payments.

23. ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

If you are applying for an extension of leave on the basis of your family life as a parent of a child
in the UK, you need to show that you can speak and understand English. You can do this by
showing that:

• You are a national of a specified English speaking country.

• You have passed an approved English language test in speaking and listening at the required
level of the Common European Framework of Reference or above, with a Home Office
approved provider.

• You have an academic qualification which is either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD
awarded by an educational establishment in the UK; or, if awarded by an educational
establishment outside the UK, is deemed by UK NARIC to meet or exceed the recognised
standard of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD in the UK, and UK NARIC has confirmed
that the degree was taught or researched in English to the required level of the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages or above.

• You are exempt from this requirement if you are aged 65 or over, have a physical or mental
condition which prevents you from meeting this requirement or there are exceptional
circumstances which prevent you from meeting it.
Guidance on how to meet the English language requirement, including the evidence you
must provide, can be found on GOV.UK at: Chapter 08: appendix FM family members
(immigration directorate instructions) - Publications - GOV.UK.

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From 1 May 2017 a new English language requirement at level A2 of the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages is being introduced for non-EEA parents applying to extend
their stay after 2.5 years in the UK on a 5-year route to settlement under Appendix FM (Family
Member) to the Immigration Rules.

The new requirement will apply to parents whose current leave under the family Immigration Rules is
due to expire on or after 1 May 2017. Full details can be found on GOV.UK at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/a2-english-language-requirement-statement-of-intent .

24. BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE PERMITS

Guidance explaining the Biometric Residence Permit including the application process is available
to download at the following location: Biometric residence permits (BRPs) - GOV.UK

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