For the purposes of FLR application under 10 years partner route, the “partner” means

- the applicant’s spouse;
- the applicant’s civil partner;
- unmarried partner i.e. 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.
 

A person who does not meet the requirements of leave to remain as a partner under the 5 years route can submit an application for leave to remain as a partner under the 10 years route to settlement. Generally, the following applicants submit applications under the 10 years route to settlement using FLR  application form:
 

- Those who are unable to meet the financial requirement;
- Those who are unable to meet the Immigration Status requirement;
- Those who are unable to meet the English language requirement.
 

For an applicant to succeed under the 10 years route to settlement, it is important to meet the requirement of EX1 in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. EX1 requirement can be met in one of the following ways:
 

Parent of a Child
 

One way of meeting the requirement of EX1 under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules is that the applicant shows that he/she has the genuine and subsisting parental relationship with a child who is:

- in the UK, and
- is under the age of 18; and
- is either British Citizen or has ILR; or
- has lived in the UK continuously for at least 7 years; and
- It is unreasonable to expect the child to leave the UK.
 

Where the child is British Citizen, there is a legal presumption that it is not in the best interests of the child to be required to leave the UK. Where the child is not British Citizen, unreasonableness test is satisfied through circumstantial evidence including the private life of the child in the UK and impact on the life of the child if required to leave the UK.
 

Insurmountable Obstacles
 

The second way of meeting the EX1 requirement under the Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules is by showing that the applicant is in genuine and subsisting relationship with the UK partner and that there are insurmountable obstacles for family life to be continued abroad. It is not very easy to meet the threshold of insurmountable obstacles and in very exceptional and compassionate circumstances, the test of insurmountable obstacles can be satisfied.

A person who has been granted leave to remain for 30 months as a partner under the 10 years route can switch into leave to remain as a partner under the 5 years route. The applicant will be required to meet the Financial Requirement of earning £18,600 and the English language requirement at level A1 to successfully switch from 10 years route to 5 years route.

What we can do for you 
 

If instructed to represent you regarding your application, the work carried out by our immigration solicitors will include the following:

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- Take detailed instructions from you and advise you about the relevant immigration law and procedures to be adopted by the Home Office, UKVI in your  application;
- Discuss your immigration case in detail with you and advise you about the weaknesses and strengths of your FLR  application;
- Advise you about the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of your spouse visa application;
- Consider contents of the documentary evidence to be submitted in support of the application and discuss the same with you;
- Complete the FLR  application form and discuss the same with you;
- Prepare a cover letter to introduce and support the application. 
- Liaise with the Home Office, UKVI for an expeditious decision on your application;
- Protect your interests while your application is pending with the Home Office and keep you informed of the progress on your application;
- Follow up work until decision is reached on your application;
- Our immigration solicitors will advise you about the implications of the Home Office decision on your application.
 

Our Fee for FLR Application
 

We will charge you a fee from £1,200 for our professional immigration services in relation to your application for switching into partner visa under 10 years route . The agreed fee will depend on the complexity of the partner visa application and the casework involved in the matter.

If you cannot afford to pay our fee in full at the time of instructing us in relation to your partner visa application, you can pay half of the fee at the time of instructing us and the balance can be paid by monthly instalments.

The agreed fee will cover all our work until decision by the Home Office on the application. However, it is pertinent to note that the agreed fee will not cover any disbursements to be incurred by us on your behalf e.g. translation of documents, Home Office, UKVI fee for the partner visa application, etc.