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APPLYING TO JOIN YOUR PARTNER IN
THE UNITED KINGDOM
Recently we all hear what we have all known for a long time….There are so many people in the United Kingdom without a right to be here, or put it another way, many people are in the United Kingdom with proper immigration status. Sad as it may sound, some people are in the UK purely to study and some are here to visit their loved ones.
Which ever way one came into the United Kingdom, it is always very attractive for one to depart from that Airport and head for the United Kingdom. You will become the talk of your neighbourhood.. Hey! Do you know Lola is gone to the United Kingdom? Hey, we thank God oooo, one day I will be there as well.
Two weeks later, Lola bought a phone card, phone back home to tell her friends that every thing is great in the United Kingdom; she describes the Central Line and the Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the Buckingham Palace. How the streets entire streets in London are tarred and there are no open gutters, constant supply electricity and water, the end continues. Everyone is happy that Lola is seeing the things are not common in Nigeria.
Within a few weeks, Lola has acquired someone else’s National Insurance Number and the Immigration papers and got a job with it. Lola is no longer Lola, she is now “Annette” who is now a French National of African Origin in the UK, effectively an EEC National, who is now free to exercise her treaty rights in the UK without any problem.
Lola (Annette) now meets with Jide at a dance, they went to the same University in Nigeria, they were very close to each other. Jide is British Citizen having been married to a British Citizen but he is now divorced and in search of a new wife…Lola will do nicely, afterwards, he knows her background and all there is to know about her, apart from one thing, her new Nationality.
Lola (Annette) decided to tell it all to Jide who immediately said “in that wise, would you care to marry me? I Love you Lola.
Nevertheless, Lola has now been in the United Kingdom for the past 18 months, her leave to remain has since ran out, she is a classical example of an illegal entrants. She cannot go back to the Home Office for renewal of her visa; she cannot just take off and go back to Nigeria. Afterwards, she has been sending money home and she is now the first to be mentioned in prayer in her mother’s Church. Lola is the breadwinner; her younger brother is now at the University, paid for by Lola.
The Love between Lola and Jide has grown and surely it has to end in marriage. The Immigration Rules stated that anyone intending to get married and who is not a British National, which such person must first of all apply for a Certificate of Approval from the Home Office. Such certificate will only be issued where the applicant has at least 12 months leave to remain and at the time of the application, the applicant must have at least 3 months on their current visa. – Lola is now in trouble; Lola cannot apply to the Home Office hence no Certificate of Approval, which means she cannot legally marry in the United Kingdom. The only option left now is for her to return to Nigeria if she wants to marry
Jide.
At the end of the day, decision was made; Lola agreed to return to Nigeria to marry Jide. Everything went smoothly. It was a big wedding and everyone was happy. Cows where killed and there was a lot of merry! merry!
Incidentally, Jide need to return to the United Kingdom because he must be back to work within a week leaving his new wife in Nigeria to make an application to the British Embassy as a spouse of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom in accordance with Paragraph 281 HC 395 (as amended).
Lola then submits an application to the British Embassy in Nigeria via the drop box. A few weeks later she got a letter inviting her for an interview:
At this stage let us examine the contents of Paragraph 281 HC 395 (as amended) which states that:
1) That the parties to the marriage have met
2) That each of the parties intends to live permanently with the other as his or her spouse and the marriage is subsisting
3) That there will be adequate accommodation for the parties and any dependants without recourse to public funds in accommodation which they own or occupy exclusively
4) The parties will be able to maintain themselves and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds
5) The applicant holds a valid UK entry clearance for entry in this capacity.
In Lola’s case, she has no problem in satisfying all the requirements listed above apart from her previous immigration history, which incidentally is not listed but quietly enshrined in requirement No 5. Lola has been in the United Kingdom before, she has overstayed.
Her interview is most likely to revolve around her previous trip to the United Kingdom and her overstaying. How do you get around this?
She will also be asked to convince the interviewing officer of her detailed knowledge of her husband, including, what job he does, his accommodation arrangement, when he came to the United Kingdom, how he got his residency, if he has any child from previous relationship and so on and so on. In fact she could be asked any question relating to her new husband.
The aim of the Interviewing Officer is to interpret paragraph 281 HC 395 as amended. She is not racist, she is not bias, she does not know Lola before now, and surely it does not matter to her whether Lola comes back to the UK or not, all she is concerned about it to ensure fairness of the interview and to do her job as professionally as possible.
I will strongly advice you to contact an Immigration Lawyer in the United Kingdom before proceeding to your country if Lola’s situation applies to you. Immigration Lawyers are trained Lawyers who are always willing to assist you.
In most cases, people listen to advice from their friends and families, this is fine, but you must also remember that your friends and families are not necessarily trained Immigration Lawyers. No doubt they might have gone through similar situation, but individual cases are different and cases are determined on their merits, this is why it is important to contact an Immigration Lawyer in all matters relating to your stay in the United Kingdom.
Should you require further advice or information in this area or any other immigration matter, please contact African Echo Newspaper who will be very happy to point you in the right direction.
Remember, immigration problem is like a Cancer, once it starts spreading, it is very difficult to cure!!
Gook luck and look over your shoulder all the time.
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