getting married to a student asylum seeker

hello all,

my daughter and her boyfriend are considering bringing forward their marriage in the hope that it assists with my daugthers study plans.

scenario:

i am a british citizen, my daughter came here in 2001 without entry clearance(at the time i was a work permit holder) (we were misnfirmed that this could be sorted out here in the uk) fast forward to 2007 we still have an appeal going with the home office.my daughter is now 21. she was offered a place to study medicine tuition being £13 300/yr as an international student.

her boyfriend is an asylum seeker who was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2003. he is a university student.

if they get married and my daughter re-enters the uk on a student visa..is this possible. instead of applying for a spouse visa. will she be considered as a home student for fee purposes because she is married to someone who holds indefinite leave to remain?


thank-you.

Camille1 wrote:if they get married and my daughter re-enters the uk on a student visa..is this possible. instead of applying for a spouse visa. will she be considered as a home student for fee purposes because she is married to someone who holds indefinite leave to remain?


thank-you.

No, she herself would need to have been 'present and settled' in the UK for three years.

So uni's are reputedly more flexible on this, but don't bank on it, I've not seen one yet!

Seems too her current status is unclear, from what you say she has to be an overstayer currently, and if she'd entered the UK in 2001 as your dependant she would now be entitled to home fees.

Hindsight!

yes she is an overstayer.

the idea was for her to enter uk as my dependent but with the entry clearance issue i would think she is not entitled to home fees as my dependent?

Camille1 wrote:yes she is an overstayer.

the idea was for her to enter uk as my dependent but with the entry clearance issue i would think she is not entitled to home fees as my dependent?

There is another post about this here: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=16912

As you can see, it is very very complex.

Your daughter will not be given home fees just by virtue of being married to someone who is "settled", nor even by virtue of being the daughter of a British Citizen. Fees are based on the individual's immigration situation, not based on familial relations or relations to other settled people.

Due to her position, she would need to have ILR (indefinite leave to remain)...and maybe one year "settled" once given ILR to qualify for Home fees. Why is this? In order to qualify for Home fees, she needs to have been present in the UK for three years (legally) AND have "settled" status (i.e. no time limit = ILR/PR) before the course commences.

As you can see from the link I provided above, it would be near impossible for her to start a course and, once obtaining ILR/3 years, switch to the cheaper Home fees.

Whether she entered on a student or spouse visa...it would make no difference to her fees status right now. A spouse visa would allow her to obtain ILR after 2 years married to someone present and "settled" in the UK. But, if she wants to study now, it makes no difference.

By the way - what is the appeal about? What are you trying to obtain for her? Are any of your other kids (if you have any) in a similar position? This is quite important stuff.

the appeal was allowed on recommendation by the immigration judge that entry clearance was not sought after solicitor had advised status could be changed from visitor to dependent once my daughter got here.

my other daughter was recenlty granted a scholarship to study in america and is in the process of preparing to leave. would she be able to obtain her usa study visa from the american embassy in london?

thank-you.

her boyfriend is an asylum seeker who was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2003

In which case he is not an asylum seeker, is he! He has been granted refugee status. The Home Office has accepted that he was a genuine asylum seeker.

Your daughter should return to your country and apply for a fiancée visa, and given that her fiancé is a student, you might like to help as an additional sponsor, to ensure that the financial test is passed.

Camille1 wrote:the appeal was allowed on recommendation by the immigration judge that entry clearance was not sought after solicitor had advised status could be changed from visitor to dependent once my daughter got here.

my other daughter was recenlty granted a scholarship to study in america and is in the process of preparing to leave. would she be able to obtain her usa study visa from the american embassy in london?

thank-you.

So your daughter came in 2001, and you still have an appeal based on trying to get a dependent visa for her? And exactly what stage is the whole process at now? I take it you were initially refused a switch in 2001 or there abouts, and decided to appeal? How old was your daughter then?

Anyhow - John's right - your daughter's partner is not an 'asylum seeker' - he isn't seeking anymore! He's officially "settled" - if she wishes to stay here, she might need to return (well...I can't say exactly what she should do - it depends on this appeal and its subsequent outcome) in order to apply for a fiancee visa, return to the UK, get married and apply for a spouse visa (again, all this will still not allow her Home tuition fees).

As for your other daughter - congrats! To apply for a US student visa from here - what is her current immigration status? And...where are you all from (is it Zimbabwe?)?

she was 16 in 2001.
yes, we are from zimbabwe.
my other daugher is in the same situation as well - pending appeal.

Camille1 wrote:she was 16 in 2001.
yes, we are from zimbabwe.
my other daugher is in the same situation as well - pending appeal.

Sorry for the hijacking but I remember when it was Rhodesia and Ian Smith who was regarded as a bit of bad-boy here I remember, I know little of Zim's situation now, I know it's bad, but have things got so awful?

I know we Brits were a bad lot with our Imperialism but it does seem a shame a lot of these countries seem to get worse after independance. Maybe Colonisation was the root cause? Sounds like another trip to to library!