Arranged marriage, visitor & student visa, is it right?

[jnny]

This could go here or on the Tier 4 board but think here might be better, very much need some opinions and advice on this (bit long) story...

Our family are friends with a girl originally from Pakistan who settled in the UK after an arranged marriage to a cousin. She suffered years of abuse from the husband but finally escaped and divorced a couple of years ago. We helped her in setting up a new home and life. She has no other family but her mother in Pakistan.

Recently we assisted her with a family visit visa application for her mother, with the girl as sponsor, which was successful. The single stated purpose of the visit was them just spending time together, as they missed each other so much.

Within a week of the mother arriving and to our shock, the girl told us she was to be married again. All along the mother had been making the arrangements with the intended groom’s family in Pakistan, and on arrival immediately started finalising things here.

The groom himself is here on a Tier 4 student visa. He is meant to be a postgraduate student in Manchester, but has been living 200+ miles away in Glasgow with his relatives. He also regularly works in two shops there, likely to be full time but unlikely to be documented. His actual attendance in Manchester is unknown, he has an address there for post and official purposes, and says he goes back and forth every so often by train, doing course work by email.

The girl tells us he just didn’t like Manchester, missed being around family, has no real interest in study and just wants to work. If he doesn’t marry her he has “other optionsâ€

[batleykhan]

The girl has a choice to make if she wants to.

If she wants to do what her mother wants, then she should be ready for the consequences.

If she is not happy with this arranged marriage, then she must say so now,otherwise it will be to late.

It might not go down well with family but thats their tough luck, but then the girl might have to accept that she could possibly be shunned by her own family as well.

[jnny]

Thanks for your reply, batleykhan. I do accept it is an entirely personal choice how someone goes about finding a spouse, and certainly understand the cultural expectations on her.

Can anyone comment on the actually legality of it all? Both the mother and the groom are going against the stated intentions on their visas. The groom’s college also seems iffy (Manchester College of Higher Education and Media Technology), perhaps a “visa factoryâ€

[batleykhan]

[quote="jnny"]Thanks for your reply, batleykhan. I do accept it is an entirely personal choice how someone goes about finding a spouse, and certainly understand the cultural expectations on her.

Can anyone comment on the actually legality of it all? Both the mother and the groom are going against the stated intentions on their visas. The groom’s college also seems iffy (Manchester College of Higher Education and Media Technology), perhaps a “visa factoryâ€

[ElenaW]

I think all this mother pleasing, please everyone but myself thing is just ridiculous. Tell her to do what she wants. Life is too short for all this nonsense. The only thing she can do is control her own life and actions. Everyone's elses reaction is irrelevant. People will always judge no matter what.

It's pretty clear from what you wrote, she would only be getting married to him for all the wrong reasons. It shouldn't be her concern to help others move to the UK. If they really want to, they will find some other way. Using her is just horrible.

As far as legality, I don't even really know that they'd allow this tier 4 holder to switch to a spouse visa. Firstly, their relationship is not genuinue. Secondly, he's not been abiding by the terms of his student visa.