Overstayer returning on spouse visa

[fletchmonkey]

Hi,

My wife is a New Zealand citizen but has lived in the UK since the age of 13. We recently found out that she was an overstayer of 8 years so we decided to leave the UK to sort it out.

We were married 3 months ago in New Zealand and are now in Australia. We applied 4 weeks ago to Canberra for a spouse visa, is this visa likey to be accepted of refused?

Secondly can anyone tell me the the average time for these visa's to come through, I know it says up to 12 weeks but does it normally come any sooner?

Any help with this would be most apreciated

[OFCHARITY]

You will need to give more details.

What's your nationality?
What documents did you submit?
and just out of curiosity, was she in the uk for at least 14 years? if so why didn't she try to 14yr long residence route?

[Dawie]

"We" recently found out? Sure you mean "you" recently found out. She must have known all along that she was an overstayer...

[fletchmonkey]

Hi,

Thanks for your responses.

She came over with her family, and her mum was quite controlling with her saying that she had lost her passport and that she didn't want her to fly anywhere because of terrorism.

She is 22 now so only stayed for 8 years

I am a british citizen, born in the UK.

She submitted documents including,

Marriage certificate
Proof of my employment
Proof of finances - able to support ourselfs in UK
Sponsor letter
Explanation that she has been paying tax since school
Passports
Letter explaining her overstaying - not her fault
She has no criminal record and earns decent money in UK

Thanks again

[fletchmonkey]

You will need to give more details.

What's your nationality?
What documents did you submit?
and just out of curiosity, was she in the uk for at least 14 years? if so why didn't she try to 14yr long residence route?

Hi,

Thanks for your responses.

She came over with her family, and her mum was quite controlling with her saying that she had lost her passport and that she didn't want her to fly anywhere because of terrorism.

She is 22 now so only stayed for 8 years

I am a british citizen, born in the UK.

She submitted documents including,

Marriage certificate
Proof of my employment
Proof of finances - able to support ourselfs in UK
Sponsor letter
Explanation that she has been paying tax since school
Passports
Letter explaining her overstaying - not her fault
She has no criminal record and earns decent money in UK

Thanks again

[Dawie]

Just trying to play devil's advocate here, but you might find it tough to convince the Home Office that the overstaying is not her fault. How has she managed to study, get a job, apply for a national insurance number, open a bank account, etc without her passport?

[Wanderer]

Letter explaining her overstaying - not her fault
She has no criminal record and earns decent money in UK

Thanks again

Sorry to be a bit a brutal mate but the letter sounds a bit whiney, ignorance of the law is no excuse and she's old enough to know whether she's legal or not.

Also if she is an overstayer she is working illegally, also her employers are commiting an offence and are liable to a hefty fine if found out..

[Dawie]

In answer to your question about how long a spouse visa can take, it varies from being issued on the same day to taking months and months depending on the personal situation of the people involved.

I personally know Mexicans who have been issued spouse visas on the same day they applied at the British embassy in Mexico City, so I would imagine a spouse visa application in a first-world country like Australia would likely take a similar amount of time.

While the fact that your wife overstayed cannot in itself prevent her from being issued a spouse visa, it will almost certainly delay the application from what should only take a day or two to what will probably take a few weeks or even months because of her overstaying while they check out her story.

[Docterror]

Just trying to play devil's advocate here, but you might find it tough to convince the Home Office that the overstaying is not her fault. How has she managed to study, get a job, apply for a national insurance number, open a bank account, etc without her passport?

Just playing the OP's advocate. I think it will be easy to convince the ECO that the overstaying was not her fault. Becoming an overstayer at the age of 14 is not so implausible a thing as at that age the focus usually tends to be on sex, drugs, music and alcohol. She may have understood her status an year or a couple of years ago, but if she claims that she has just stumbled upon it and now since she has decided to recify it, the ECO has no way to proving that she deliberately overstayed from the age of 14 and should look kindly upon any application.

However, the not having a passport bit is a bit tougher to explain. Good thing I am not being paid! I do have British friends who have not stepped out of Stoke their whole lives and still has done all these things. But they were automatically send their NI at the age of 18 and managed to do all the things (except study, of course) without any hassles at all.

[Dawie]

However, the not having a passport bit is a bit tougher to explain. Good thing I am not being paid! I do have British friends who have not stepped out of Stoke their whole lives and still has done all these things. But they were automatically send their NI at the age of 18 and managed to do all the things (except study, of course) without any hassles at all.

Yeah, born and bred British people without passports have no problem opening bank accounts, studying, etc which is usually done on the strength of a birth certificate and vouching from their parents.

However foreigners, even 13 year old ones, are not given the same leeway and generally can't do anything without their passports. My point is that even if she was unaware of her status, how did she manage to stay under the radar for so long?

In any case, it's a moot point. It doesn't matter why or how she overstayed as long as she admits to it and doesn't lie about it on her spousa visa application form.

[sudhy6]

Hi there,

having been in a bit of a similar situation to your wife, I can assure you that the length of time the british high commission will depend on your wife's history. Themain thing is to be able to convince the immigration officers that your marriage is a genuine one and not done to get her back. I was a student here and my visa was refused, despite many appeals and attempts to stay or to even come on holiday was denied/refused. At one point I was even removed from the country. But my fiance who is on a work permit came back home and married me. I applied for a dependants visa and same was granted to me 2 weeks later. I suspect they will ask for you wifes file with the Home Office here. When you say she overstayed, how did she go back? Did she not try to legalise her stuation here when she found out that she had overstayed by 8 years?