Tricky and Sticky situation!!!

[Hkalian]

Hi guys,

I have an issue which I would really appreciated your advise and thoughts.

I am currently on a work permit. My girlfriend and I have been dating for 7months now and she is Malaysian living in the UK. She initially was married and came here on a spousal visa but have been seperated for 3yrs now. She is still currently on a spousal visa. I wanted to know what the process is if we were to get married. He spousal visa expires (probation period) next yr Auguest and i have heard that she will need to file for a divorce and we should get marriage before then to make the process easier.

Im afraid of the consequences to this and believe their could be risks involved where she will have to leave the country?

Please let me knw ur thoughts on this and whether you can offer any advise.


thanks,

[Wanderer]

Sth does quite add up..

How can she be on a spouse visa still and separated for three years? Spouse visa is 2 years.

She is supposed to return home when her relationship ended - i dunno how the HO will view it now things are getting tougher and tighter - she could be faced with a visa ban.

[yankeegirl]

Was she married to a UK citizen?

[Hkalian]

Hi,

Yes she was married to a UK citizen. From what i knw, she had an extension of some sort on her spousal visa which expires next yr but they are currently sperated.

[Wanderer]

Hi,

Yes she was married to a UK citizen. From what i knw, she had an extension of some sort on her spousal visa which expires next yr but they are currently sperated.

OK, it is possible to get another two years FLR on spouse visa.

But, if she's been separated for three years she still couldn't have got an extension legally if her marriage had ended. The extension would have been two years, four years in all.

Anyway, fact is she should have returned home as soon as the relationship ended so technically she's illegal now, and if she's working, double bubble....

To be honest, the chances of her being granted a third spouse visa all one after the other seem very remote indeed.

Edit - I realised ur on WP and she would need a Dep visa but the point remains......

[Hkalian]

Thank you for your reply :

Is there a possibility that I could be jeapordizing my work permit status if she is actually illegal here and i go through with this?

[Twin]

Hi,

Yes she was married to a UK citizen. From what i knw, she had an extension of some sort on her spousal visa which expires next yr but they are currently sperated.

OK, it is possible to get another two years FLR on spouse visa.

But, if she's been separated for three years she still couldn't have got an extension legally if her marriage had ended. The extension would have been two years, four years in all.

Anyway, fact is she should have returned home as soon as the relationship ended so technically she's illegal now, and if she's working,
double bubble....

To be honest, the chances of her being granted a third spouse visa all one after the other seem very remote indeed.

Edit - I realised ur on WP and she would need a Dep visa but the point remains......

How can she be illegal when she still has an existing leave? How would the home office know that her marriage has broken down if no one tells them?

I'm sure she can switch visas to a work permit dependant as her leave is still current.

[Wanderer]

The leave to remain is depenadant on the marriage substisting, just like a student visa becaomes invalid if the student stops studying. Student must be studying, spouse must be in a subsisting marriage.

[SYH]

If she has been on a spousal visa for 3 years, she can apply for ILR as long as she has passed the life in the uk test

[Twin]

If she has been on a spousal visa for 3 years, she can apply for ILR as long as she has passed the life in the uk test

Is that feasible? Wouldn't she have to show that her marriage is subsisting? Wouldn't her estranged husband have to support the application?

Her best route perhaps is to switch or return home and re-apply to come and join her current partner.

[Twin]

Thank you for your reply :

Is there a possibility that I could be jeapordizing my work permit status if she is actually illegal here and i go through with this?

From the story you have narrated thus far, she isn't illegal.

[paulp]

From the story you have narrated thus far, she isn't illegal.

She isn't illegal but the circumstances under which her visa was granted has changed. The caseworker guidance for cases like that, is that instead of doing the paperwork to curtail the visa, they prefer to catch the applicant at the next application.

[Twin]

From the story you have narrated thus far, she isn't illegal.

She isn't illegal but the circumstances under which her visa was granted has changed. The caseworker guidance for cases like that, is that instead of doing the paperwork to curtail the visa, they prefer to catch the applicant at the next application.

so that means she'll have to leave? Can't she apply to switch in-country?

[olisun]

How can the OP's partner switch as a dependant of the OP if she is still legally married to another person?

[Twin]

How can the OP's partner switch as a dependant of the OP if she is still legally married to another person?

Of course to switch will mean declaring the previous marriage no longer subsist.

I guess it's home for her then?

[paulp]

I think the main point is that there is no risk at all to HKalian in all this. He won't be giving any false declarations, if the girlfriend sorts out her divorce and marries him, when they apply for the dependant visa.

About the gf staying in the country while all this is happening, some immigration consultants will advise to go back home, especially as she has been separated for 3 years while having spent 3 years and a couple of months in the UK on a spouse visa. Other immigration consultants may give different advice. It's up to her to get proper advice.