Islamic Divorce

Jenna · Post by **Jenna** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 4:48 pm

Hi,

Need advice for a friend.

Friend previously married to British Citizen entered uk as spouse, granted ILR after 1 year. Marriage then broke down and had an islamic divorce only, went abroad a few years later and remarried. Friend now wants to apply for new husband to join her in uk but recently found out 2nd marriage not recognised until she legally divorces 1st husband, friend has now petitioned her 1st husband for divorce which is going through.

My question is would friend's 2nd marriage be recognised once she receives her decree absoloute even though it took place before she legally divorced her 1st husband??

Any help is greatly appreciated.

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:22 pm

If, as appears to be the case, your friend's Islamic divorce was not regarded as being valid, it seems to me that that means that her 2nd marriage wasn't valid, because she was not free to contract it.
Her subsequent "legal" divorce will, IMO, only make her free to marry again - it won't have any effect on the validity of the 2nd marriage. So I'm afraid she'll need to go through another marriage ceremony before her 2nd husband will be eligible for a settlement visa as a spouse.

Jenna · Post by **Jenna** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:30 pm

Thanks for the advice Paul.

If she does as you suggest would it be advisable to explain the situation in the visa application just to make things clear to the ECO bearing in mind they already have a baby together and the embassy is in an islamic country or shouldn't they question that??

ppron747 · Post by **ppron747** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:38 am

I think so, Janna - a brief, clear explanation can only help.

bash_h · Post by **bash_h** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 8:47 am

Jenna,

I shouldnt think there is a problem with that, just ask your friend to explain it clearly on the spouse visa application.

Post by **John** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:13 am

Jenna, it is not clear from :-

granted ILR after 1 year. Marriage then broke down and had an islamic divorce only, went abroad a few years later and remarried.

-: how long the friend has been out of the UK? Is it for more than two years? If so she can no longer use the ILR to re-enter the UK. She would need to use form VAF1 and apply to be a "returning resident". Until she does that I don't she that she is settled in the UK, and that is obviously a problem in getting her new husband a spouse visa.

Or is she back in the UK already dealing with the matter of the legal divorce?

Jenna · Post by **Jenna** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:17 pm

John,

Sorry for the delay in replying.

My friend is settled in the UK, she naturalised as a british citizen before going abroad and getting re-married. She is currently waiting for Decree Absolute.

Hope that clarifies things.

Jenna.

Post by **John** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:27 pm

OK, now that that is clear, it seems to be that at the present time, in the eyes of UK law, she is married ... to her first husband .... and not married to her second husband! Accordingly the Decree Absolute as regards the first marriage will end that but will not instantly make here married.

What to do? In the eyes of her second "husband's" country she is already married, it seems. Accordingly ... and other opinions very welcome on this .... he cannot apply for a spouse visa. Instead he should apply for a fiancé visa, enter the UK, and once here register the legal marriage at the Register Office.

I say this on the assumption that it is not possible to marry "again" in the non-UK country.

Jenna · Post by **Jenna** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:09 pm

That's really helpful advice.

Going down the fiance visa route would probably work out quicker for her as she was intending to wait for decree absolute to be given before applying for her husband to join her but just read the DSP entry clearance guidance for a fiance visa which state entry clearance should not be refused if the only reason for a couple not being free to marry is that one of them is awaiting a divorce, she has plenty of evidence that shows the divorce is going through the courts.

It also states that the fiance if granted entry clearance would initially have 6 month visa with a prohibition on employment until after marriage. once married would he then be able to work straight away or would he have to apply to the Home Office for permission to work, if so any idea how long this usually takes??

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Post by **John** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:30 pm

.... plenty of evidence that shows the divorce is going through the courts.

My understanding about this point is that if the person is the Petitioner in the divorce, rather than the Respondent, (and thus is better able to control the timing of subsequent events) and the Decree Nisi has already been granted and there is no clause in the Decree Nisi stopping the issuing of a Decree Absolute after six weeks ..... then indeed it is possible to get the fiancé(e) visa issued slightly early.

In any case I would suggest that you would not want to apply for the fiancé visa earlier that that anyway. The last thing you want is the 6-month fiancé visa getting to its end without ability to register the legal marriage.

Jenna · Post by **Jenna** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 4:41 pm

I think it would take the time for the decree absolute to be granted for my friend to get all her paperwork in order anyway.

Thanks for your advice, will pass on info to my friend and let you know if the visa application is successful.

Jenna.

Mars007 · Post by **Mars007** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:18 am

Jena, your friend can also go back and re-resgister her marriage after getting decree Absolute.

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Islamic Divorce

Islamic Divorce