I need to bring my new wife to the UK before Christmas

Hi people,

I'm a UK citizen working in Germany, and I've been married to my Kenyan wife for a week, she's living here with me but she doesn't have a residence card yet, and her Schengen visa has now expired by 6 days.

I want to take her to the UK for the Christmas and New Year holidays, to meet my family, and to do a bit of "house shopping" so we're ready to settle down sometime in the future.

Can anyone tell me what we need to apply for, if anything, to enable her to pass through immigration without problems.

Thanks

A visitor visa might be quickest:
https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa/eligibility

Others here might be able to advise if any other quick routes are available. You'll note that under the eligibility for a visitor visa she will be required to show she will leave the UK after the visit, which may be difficult if you are returning to Germany and she is unable to join you due to her immigration status there and she might be considered at risk of overstaying her visa in the UK. What were you planning for after your visit to the UK?

DJWeeble,

If I am reading this right, your wife is now an illegal immigrant / over-stayer in Germany? If so, I am 100% certain that she will not be allowed into the UK. But maybe I have just misinterpreted your point?

If she is an over-stayer, then she will best to go back to Kenya and for you to apply for her Spouse visa, but she won't be here for Xmas. I do hope I have got the point wrong.

No, she is not an illegal immigrant, from the day we were married, she is entitled to remain in Germany with me under the EU Free Movement Directives, we are currently going through her application for a residence card.

When you apply for visit visa outside of the country of your nationality, normally one of the first things you are asked is to provide proof of right to reside or be in the country. I assume this might be a problem unless you receive a German version of Certificate of Application. Maybe with that one this will be possible.

What I would also consider is how she will be returning back to Germany even if she gets UK visa and gets to uk?

djweeble wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:18 pm

No, she is not an illegal immigrant, from the day we were married, she is entitled to remain in Germany with me under the EU Free Movement Directives, we are currently going through her application for a residence card.

Better to wait for residence card first

I am a UK citizen, currently working in Germany.

I have been in a relationship with my non EU wife since December 2018, I have been living and working here for nearly 7 months, and she has been living here with me since 16th October, however we do not have a normal residential address as we are in a hotel suite paid for by my employers.
We got married in Denmark on 15th of last month (November).

I am in the process of applying for her to be allowed to accompany me for a trip to stay with my family in the UK for Christmas and New Year, HOWEVER, I have now been told by my employers that there is no work for me after Christmas, and they are terminating my employment from 31st December. All work will cease here from 20th December, and my hotel booking has been cancelled from that date.

I have nowhere else to go after 20th December, and certainly do not want to spend huge sums of money staying in hotels here over Christmas and New Year, or to send my wife home to Kenya. So, with the change in circumstances, I now want to bring her to stay with me in the UK, while I search for more employment...... I am already discussing numerous contracts with prospective employers.

I have managed to get her an interview booked for this coming Thursday (12th) for the biometrics etc for our original application, but I am seriously worried that the process may take far too long for her to be able to travel with me, I originally planned to travel around 21st or 22nd ....... by car and ferry.

I have read in the past about people just turning up at the ferry port with proof of marriage, etc, etc, and being allowed in after some discussions on their free movement rights....... Surrinder Singh..... and after studying the Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU, and the latest legal arguments and court rulings, I believe that I have all the required rights and conditions for this route.

Can anyone advise me if this is still a viable option if the process looks like taking far too long ???

seagul wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 22, 2019 8:26 pm

Better to wait for residence card first
[/quote]

That was my intention originally, but the typical German bureaucracy had us running in circles and getting nowhere, we still don't have her residency card, and now we are rapidly running short of time