JamesC wrote:
You may have had exceptional reasons for overstaying your visa, but did you have to set up a business, have 3 kids and get married in the knowledge that you were here illegally. I think not.
I don't think you can be always right here, James. In my case, for example, the chicken up occurred on the part of IND resulting in me being branded an overstayer. It is clear from my file, from my CID, etc. The IND failed for many years to communicate with my reps or myself despite having all my contact details necessary to communicate with me and despite my reps calling them to enquire on the progress and sending letters but receiving, what it turned out to be in the end, wrong and inaccurate information.
So, what would be in your opinion, shall I just sit in the corner and wait for IND to make a decision without having any right to work, to study, to form a family? Does the IND's system that allowed those blunders deprive me of all my rights (human rights) all of the sudden?
I accept that if I had knowingly overstayed, then I would have agreed with you. However, the Section 10 of 2002 Act does not, for some reason, distinguish between the people who knowingly breached the law or those who were victims of a completely disorganised administrative system. Why? Who has written those rules?!
Now about marriages while on "unsettled" status. As yo are aware, there are many Tribunal cases when HOPOs try to put this point across to the appellants basing on the Mahmood test. But where is it written (please give the the reference) that prior to 2004 the registry offices had the statutory requirement to check the immigration backgrounds of the couples who were giving their notices? There was no such a rule until 2004. When I got married in 2002 and my status was still undecided, I had no knowledge about this requirement and at that point, I was not familiar with the immigration rules and none of my representatives advised me accordingly.
Why, providing it was illegal, the Registry never pointed this out to me or asked for appropriate documentation??
So how can you possibly blame people for getting married in the knowledge that they were illegal or had no status if there was no such requirement in the law!