If your current UK visa is coming to an end and you are not yet eligible to settle, you will need further leave to remain (FLR): permission from the Home Office to stay in the UK for a further period, on the same basis as before or on a new one. Family, private life and human rights extensions, discretionary leave, long residence and a number of categories under the Immigration Rules are all applied for on one of the FLR forms.
Sterling Law’s immigration solicitors prepare and submit FLR applications for partners, parents and children of British citizens and settled persons, for people relying on private life or human rights grounds, and for those extending under the Immigration Rules. We identify the correct form, check that you meet the requirements before anything is submitted, assemble the evidence and deal with the Home Office until the decision is in your hands.
The single most important rule is timing. An application submitted before your current leave expires keeps your right to stay, work and rent while it is decided, under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971. An application submitted even a day late does not. If your visa expires within the next few weeks, contact us now rather than after reading this page.
Which FLR form do you need?
The form depends on the basis of your stay, not on the visa you currently hold. The table covers the routes we deal with most often. If your circumstances do not fit one line neatly, we confirm the right route before anything is submitted: a wrong form costs the application fee and, if your leave has expired in the meantime, far more than that.
| Form | Who it is for | What it leads to | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLR (M) | Partners and children of British citizens, settled persons and certain others on the family route | A further 30 months; settlement after five years on the route | FLR (M) requirements and fees |
| FLR (FP) | Family life as a partner or parent, private life in the UK, and cases relying on exceptional circumstances | A further 30 months, usually on the ten-year route to settlement | FLR (FP) requirements and fees |
| FLR (HRO) | Human rights claims and other applications not covered by another form | Depends on the grounds relied on | Human rights claims |
| FLR (DL) | People refused asylum but granted discretionary leave who need to extend it or settle | A further period of discretionary leave; settlement after 10 years, or 6 years if first granted before 9 July 2012 | Discretionary leave to remain |
| FLR (IR) | Categories under the Immigration Rules: UK Ancestry, domestic workers, victims of trafficking, parents of a child student, dependants applying separately, representatives of overseas businesses and others | Depends on the category | UK Ancestry visa |
| FLR (LR) | Applicants with ten years’ continuous lawful residence who are not yet able to settle | Extension towards settlement on long residence | 10-year long residence route |
| FLR (AF) | Members of HM Armed Forces and their family members | Extension on the Armed Forces route | Speak to us about your circumstances |
How the extension process works
Whatever the form, an FLR application follows the same sequence, and most refusals trace back to one of these steps being rushed. Extensions on routes that do not use an FLR form are covered in our guide to extending a UK visa.
- Assessment. We confirm the route, check whether you meet its requirements today rather than when you first applied, and work out how much time is left on your current leave.
- Evidence plan. Relationship, financial, accommodation, English language or protection evidence, depending on the form. Documents that are not in English need a certified translation.
- Online application and fee. We complete the form, calculate the Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and check whether you qualify for a fee waiver.
- Identity and biometrics. A UKVCAS appointment or the identity app, depending on the route and your current document.
- Decision. Standard processing times vary by form: family route applications are usually decided within a few months, while private life and human rights applications can take considerably longer. Priority services are available for some FLR routes at an additional Home Office fee.
- Next step. We diary the expiry of the new grant and plan the route to indefinite leave to remain, so that each extension counts towards it.
Apply before your leave expires: section 3C
If you apply before your current leave runs out, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends that leave automatically until the Home Office decides the application, and while any appeal or administrative review is pending. You keep the same conditions as before, including your right to work, rent and use the NHS, and you do not become an overstayer while you wait.
If you apply after the expiry date there is no 3C protection. You become an overstayer, the application is exposed to refusal on that ground alone, and the gap may break the continuous residence you need for settlement. A short period of overstaying can be disregarded in limited circumstances, but that is a matter for advice, not something to plan around.
Two practical points follow. Do not travel outside the UK while an FLR application is pending: leaving the country withdraws it. And for family route extensions, apply close to the end of your current leave. The Home Office allows applications from 28 days before it expires, and applying far earlier is rarely helpful, because a new grant that starts early can mean an extra extension before you qualify for settlement. Our note on fee waiver applications and section 3C leave covers a common variation of this question.
FLR (M): partners and children
FLR (M) is for people extending their stay on the basis of family life with a British citizen, a settled person, a refugee or a person with humanitarian protection: spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners and dependent children, as well as those who came on a fiancé(e) visa and have since married. It is the form most spouse visa holders use for their first extension.
The requirements are the ones you met when you first applied, tested again: evidence that the relationship is genuine and subsisting, the financial requirement, adequate accommodation, and English language at the higher level the rules set for extensions. A successful application gives a further 30 months and keeps you on the five-year route to settlement.
The current fee, the document checklist and processing times for this form are on our FLR (M) page. If your relationship has ended, or you are extending a spouse visa in changed circumstances, tell us before the application is prepared: the right form may be different.
FLR (FP): family and private life
FLR (FP) covers applications based on family life as a partner or parent where the five-year route requirements cannot be met, applications based on private life in the UK, and cases relying on exceptional circumstances. The main elements are:
- family ties in the UK, or a length of residence that engages the private life rules;
- evidence of the exceptional or compelling circumstances relied on;
- the category you fall into: partner, parent, dependent child, private life, or leave outside the rules on family and private life grounds.
Leave under FLR (FP) is usually granted in 30-month periods on the ten-year route to settlement. The evidence of circumstances carries the application, so this is the route where preparation matters most. Our FLR (FP) page sets out the requirements, current fees, processing times and fee waivers in detail, and our private life visa page explains the private life tests.
FLR (HRO) and FLR (DL): human rights and discretionary leave
FLR (HRO) is used for applications on human rights grounds, for example a real risk to life or liberty in the country of origin or interference with family life that the other forms do not cover, and for other applications that fall outside every other form, including leave outside the Immigration Rules on grounds other than family or private life. The application rests on the evidence of the risk or interference relied on.
FLR (DL) is for people who were refused asylum but granted discretionary leave, and need to extend it or apply to settle. Our discretionary leave to remain page explains who is granted it today and the route to settlement. You will need confirmation of your existing status and evidence that the circumstances which justified it still apply, or that you cannot return to your country of origin. After the qualifying period, holders of discretionary leave can apply to settle.
FLR (IR): extensions under the Immigration Rules
FLR (IR) covers a set of categories under the Immigration Rules that do not have a dedicated form, including:
- visitors, in the limited situations where an extension is permitted;
- people on the UK Ancestry route;
- domestic workers in private households;
- victims of slavery or human trafficking;
- parents of a child at school in the UK;
- dependants applying separately from the main applicant;
- representatives of overseas businesses;
- members of the armed forces and their dependants, in specified situations.
The requirements depend on the category, but every applicant must hold valid leave that can be extended and continue to meet the conditions of that route: employment, study or maintenance as the case may be. FLR (IR) is not the form for family life or private life applications, and it cannot be used where a fee waiver is claimed. Choosing it in those cases leads to refusal and the loss of the fee.
FLR (LR) and FLR (AF)
FLR (LR) is for applicants relying on ten years’ continuous lawful residence who are not yet able to settle, for example because the English language or Life in the UK requirement is outstanding. Our page on the 10-year long residence route explains how the qualifying period is counted. FLR (AF) is the form for members of HM Armed Forces and their family members extending on that route.
What FLR means and how it differs from ILR
FLR stands for further leave to remain: time-limited permission to stay in the UK beyond your original grant, usually with the same conditions attached. It is the mechanism the immigration system uses for every extension that is not yet settlement. Indefinite leave to remain (ILR), by contrast, has no expiry date and is the settlement stage that most FLR routes lead to after five or ten years, and the step before British citizenship.
Fees and processing times
Home Office fees are set per form and revised, almost always upwards, each year. Alongside the fee you pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for the whole period of leave applied for. Applicants who cannot afford the fee may qualify for a fee waiver on some family and human rights routes. We confirm the exact figures for your route before you apply, rather than publishing numbers here that will be out of date within months. The current fees are set out on our FLR (M) page and our FLR (FP) page.
How Sterling Law can help
Our immigration team handles further leave to remain applications from first assessment to decision. We:
- confirm the correct form and route, and whether you meet its requirements now;
- plan and check the evidence, including certified translations and the financial requirement calculation;
- prepare and submit the online application and a supporting representations letter;
- calculate the fee and Immigration Health Surcharge and apply for a fee waiver where you qualify;
- handle Home Office correspondence, requests for further evidence and interviews;
- advise on section 3C leave, travel and work while the application is pending;
- challenge refusals by administrative review or appeal;
- map the route from this extension to indefinite leave to remain.
Speak to our immigration solicitors
Tell us when your current leave expires and on what basis you are in the UK, and we will confirm the right form and what your application needs. Where time is short we work to the expiry date, not to our diary.
FAQ about further leave to remain
1. Who is eligible for an FLR visa?
Anyone lawfully in the UK whose leave is ending and who meets the requirements of one of the FLR routes: a partner, parent or child of a British citizen or settled person (FLR (M) or FLR (FP)), a person relying on private life or human rights grounds (FLR (FP) or FLR (HRO)), someone extending discretionary leave (FLR (DL)), or a person in one of the Immigration Rules categories covered by FLR (IR). You must apply from inside the UK and before your current leave expires.
2. How long can I stay on FLR in the UK?
A grant of further leave to remain is usually for 30 months on the family, private life and discretionary routes. You can extend again when it ends. Once you have completed the qualifying period for your route, five years on the partner route or ten years on the private life route, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain instead of a further extension.
3. How much does FLR cost in the UK?
The Home Office fee depends on the form and is revised each year. On top of it you pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for the whole period of leave. Applicants who cannot afford the fee may qualify for a fee waiver on some family and human rights routes. We confirm the current figures for your route before you apply; the current FLR (M) and FLR (FP) fees are listed on our FLR (M) and FLR (FP) pages.
4. Can I work full time on an FLR visa?
In most cases, yes. Leave granted on the partner, parent, private life and discretionary routes normally allows unrestricted work. While a valid in-time application is pending, section 3C leave continues the conditions of your previous visa, so if you could work before, you can keep working. Check the conditions on your biometric residence permit or eVisa, because some categories under FLR (IR) carry restrictions.
5. What happens if my visa expires while my FLR application is being considered?
Nothing changes, provided you applied before it expired. Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends your leave on the same conditions until the Home Office decides the application and any appeal or administrative review is concluded. You must not leave the UK while the application is pending, as this withdraws it.
6. Can I go straight from FLR to indefinite leave to remain?
Only once you have completed the qualifying period for your route and meet the settlement requirements, including the Life in the UK test and the English language requirement where they apply. If your current leave is ending before that point, you extend with a further FLR application first. We map the route to settlement at the outset so that each extension counts.
