proxy marriage

lailalaila22 wrote:I want to know if anyone here know anything about proxy marriage, and if the home office approve such marriage?

I have a friend, who is european and her husband is lebanese. They got married by proxy, they applied august 2007 for residence card, and still waiting for a reply, but they are afraid to get a refuse and if so what can they do ??

Please if anyone know post me.

Thanks alot

Marriage by proxy, by telephone or where no ceremony was required
The formal validity of a marriage should be determined exclusively according to the laws of the countries in which both parties are physically present when the marriage takes place. Therefore, a telephone marriage celebrated whilst one of the parties is in the UK will not be valid, because telephone marriages are not valid in this country. However, in cases where the UK-based sponsor was overseas when the telephone marriage took place and the laws of both countries recognise such marriages, then the marriage process should be accepted as valid. Enquiries about the marriage laws of other countries may be referred to MMSR, Home Office.

Where ECOs have doubts over the validity of the marriage, the onus is on the applicant to show that it was celebrated in a country that recognises such marriages. In cultures which regard marriage as consisting of an offer made by a man and accepted by a woman, then a (telephonic) marriage should be considered as having taken place in the country in which the proposal had been accepted i.e. where the woman is. When the woman is resident in the UK, and the offer of marriage is made from overseas, then the marriage cannot be considered as valid because the proposal was accepted in the UK. However, if the woman is resident in a country where telephonic marriages are considered as valid then the UK must also recognise this marriage. Proxy marriages should be considered as having been celebrated in the country in which the ceremony took place.

lailalaila22 wrote:They are going to waste their time for many many month? it sounds not good, but they got a solicitor and they complained themselves and home office told them that they will get a reply very soon ???

what does very soon mean???

Her husband cant just travel to lebanon, his wife just gave birth and he is now working and supporting his family, if he leaves, who will support them? The solicitor told them not to claim any benefits.

They have been waiting 6 month now, from August 2007, and they got this domocile questionere in dec and they also sent some wedding photos and some other documents.

They have now been waiting really long. cuz it also took 6month for them to get the proxy marriage completed in lebanon.


Do u think they have any chance to get approved ???

They are really worried


Hope to hear from anyone who knows anything about this as soon as possible.

give me full info, which country did they marry in, where was he, where was she when the proxy marriage took place?

lailalaila22 wrote:

give me full info, which country did they marry in, where was he, where was she when the proxy marriage took place?

Ok I will give you more informations, She is Danish, she went to lebanon and he stayed in Uk. In lebanon he gave his father power of attorney so they could complete the marriage there, and it really took a long time till they got the marriage paper(6 month), and yes lebanon accept proxy marriage.

yeah they sent the questinnaire, and yeah they actually wrote that UK is their country of future and they will live and die here.

But they now have a daughter togehter, does this not help? and she used to work full time and will go back work part time.

so is there any chance for them to get this residence card ?

Hope to hear from u again.

Thanks alot
]

The problem even if they go back its still a proxy marriage cuz they cant remarry as in Lebanon they are married ... so how should they apply from there?
she is european, and are u sure it only takes one month ???

How long do u think that this will take (ages???) I mean could it take one year ?? but they got a solicitor, he can contact them and find out why or ???


About his immigration history, he applied for asylum before she even knew him twice and got refused, then he ignored the whole thing, but he has been in uk for about 8 years.


The whole thing seems complicated, and it seems in UK they make it even more complicated.

Last week they told them in HO that they will get a reply soon, but they got nothing !!!!


SO what u think about all this ???

lailalaila22 wrote:well ofcourse it helps if they have a daughter bcoz it shows that the marriage is genuine.

however, the problem is not that his immigration history is bad, the problem is: he is only a "family member" of his EEA wife if he is legally (in the eyes of UK law) married to his Danish wife. this revolves around the law of proxy marriages.

if 1 of them was in UK, thats not good bcoz UK doesnt recognise proxy marriages. moreover, you have filled the questionnaire saying UK is ur future country which means you have chosen UK as ur country of domicile and so UK law applies to you and under UK law proxy marriages are invalid!

my sincere advice: go back, apply, come bak within a month! guaranteed!

u can continue trying here but it will take ages and i wont be surprised if they refuse it in the end saying they do not recognise the marriage as valid under english law.

i am sorry to writing in disappointing terms but i have researched this area of law inside out bcoz i was marrying myself using a proxy but then i had2cancel the plan bcoz i realised it was doomed from the beginning.

by the way, whats his immigration history? if he has bad history (asylum/overstayer etc) then this just complicate things further. but if he has valid leave to remain, then thats much better.

best of luck

The problem even if they go back its still a proxy marriage cuz they cant remarry as in Lebanon they are married ... so how should they apply from there?
she is european, and are u sure it only takes one month ???

How long do u think that this will take (ages???) I mean could it take one year ?? but they got a solicitor, he can contact them and find out why or ???

About his immigration history, he applied for asylum before she even knew him twice and got refused, then he ignored the whole thing, but he has been in uk for about 8 years.

The whole thing seems complicated, and it seems in UK they make it even more complicated.

Last week they told them in HO that they will get a reply soon, but they got nothing !!!!

SO what u think about all this ???

Liberal Immigrant wrote:

The problem even if they go back its still a proxy marriage cuz they cant remarry as in Lebanon they are married ... so how should they apply from there?
she is european, and are u sure it only takes one month ???

How long do u think that this will take (ages???) I mean could it take one year ?? but they got a solicitor, he can contact them and find out why or ???

About his immigration history, he applied for asylum before she even knew him twice and got refused, then he ignored the whole thing, but he has been in uk for about 8 years.

The whole thing seems complicated, and it seems in UK they make it even more complicated.

Last week they told them in HO that they will get a reply soon, but they got nothing !!!!

SO what u think about all this ???

when he goes back, he would marry her again i.e. islamic marriage or court marriage. She should be present there with him. then he applies for visa and explains to the british embassy that he has re-married bcoz they wldnt accept his proxy marriage!

any EEA application has to be processed swiftly, free of charge and in any case, it should NEVER take longer than 6 months (EC LAW)!
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/servlet/Front ... 068382#Q10

my cousin who was a refused asylum seeker tried the same thing i.e. proxy marriage when he married a German girl who was here in uk with him but the nikah was contracted over the telephone in pakistan. after 7/8 months and questionnaires and letters, the home office has still not decided!

the home office treats asylum-seeker cases with contempt, especially the old 1s which are 5-10 yrs old! they are more interested in the recent arrival cases where they can deport people so that they can hit their govt targets and please the newspapers. this is the reason why i bet the HO doesnt reply to his and his solicitors letters. am I rite? they always say we ll soon reply but they never do if u r an asylum seeker!

Also, i am surprised he has not received a LEGACY questionnaire yet. Tell him to get his solicitor and MP to write to the HO informing them about his marriage and child so that the Home Office sends him a legacy questionnaire! nowadays, 1000s of asylum seekers are being given ILR on the basis of the legacy scheme. http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/asylum ... ldercases/

also, another thing he can try is to apply for a CoA (certificate of approval) but ONLY if the home office doesnt recognise his proxy marriage! Again, CoA's take upto 6 months and they are usually refused to asylum seekers but i guess if he wants to avoid going back to lebanon, it may be worth considering. http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/visiti ... fapproval/


as for the EEA permit, my advice stays the same i.e. he should return and apply from lebanon, the longest it may take is 6 months and no more!

What is ILR ???

lailalaila22 wrote:I want to know if anyone here know anything about proxy marriage, and if the home office approve such marriage?

I have a friend, who is european and her husband is lebanese. They got married by proxy, they applied august 2007 for residence card, and still waiting for a reply, but they are afraid to get a refuse and if so what can they do ??

Please if anyone know post me.

Thanks alot

Though illegal in Britain and open to abuse, 'marriage by proxy' is perfectly above board under Brazilian law. Now a landmark legal judgment has ruled that the union must be recognised as legitimate here on human rights grounds.

As a result Carlos, now the husband of a European citizen, has been granted a visa to live and work in the UK permanently.

He has become the first person in the country to gain residency through bypassing English law in this way.

The proxy marriage loophole was exposed last month when Carlos - whose surname is unknown - appealed against a Home Office decision to deny him UK residency.

The Brazilian, who is in his early 20s, was unable to marry Miss Kowalczyk here as he had only a temporary visitor's visa. So he arranged for a proxy marriage in his home country.