IRL after 2 years ?????????

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johnsienk wrote:I just saw (on BBC) a report that claimed a spouse of a EU citizen can apply for ILR just 2 years after the marriage. I just veryfied this with yet another source, but found it still difficult to believe. Does anybody know, IS THIS TRUE ??????????

Cheers,

John S.

Yes the spouse of a UK citizen can apply for ILR after two years. I'd imagine it would be the same for most EU states' own immgration routes.

Wanderer wrote: Yes the spouse of a UK citizen can apply for ILR after two years.

As can the spouse of an Irish citizen, settled EEA citizen, or Maltese/Cypriot ROA holder.

But only if he or she entered the United Kingdom under the Immigration Rules in the first place.

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johnsienk wrote:OK. This is what I found on the SET(M) form:

"if your partner is a non-British citizen without a passport, a Home Office letter or other document showing that he/she has been
granted indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK, accompanied by at least one other formal document as evidence of ordinary
residence in the UK for the last three years."

It seems that the BBC documentary misled the viewers by claiming that the spouse of an A8 national living in the UK can apply for ILR under the 2 year rule:

a) the program talked SPECIFICALLY about Poles who arrived after the accection on 01.05.04, and how some of them marry NON-EU nationals in sham marriages in exchange for money

b) BBC claimed the NON-EU spouse can apply for ILR two years after the marriage and then apply for divorce. This is clearly not true, as none of these Poles would have an IRL (or PR) that would make the spuse eligible to apply for IRL under the 2 year rule in the first place. The earliest date the Poles would qualify for settlement (provided they arrived on 1.5.04!) would be 1.5.09.

John S.

This is exactly what I was wondering! They had it on the 10 O'clock news and also apparently a special newsnight report, though I missed that one because it was on too late.

Now, they specifically talked about Polish A8 nationals, coming to the UK to enter bogus marriages with people who paid, and, according to the news report, getting these people ILR after 2 years of marriage (to a Pole). They even said "after 3 years they can apply for British Citizenship" (or something like that), which is factually incorrect.

So, to point out, they didn't even mention the EEA family permit and the CoA rules on getting married here, nor did they point out that they have to live together for the 5 years before they qualify for PR [ILR] (or 3 years to retain the permit after separating, but they still need to do 5 years anyway).

I was disappointed with the BBC's 'research' into this. There is, no doubt, bogus marriages between EEA nationals and non-EEA nationals in the UK (as elsewhere, I'm sure), just as there is between BCs and non-EEA nationals. And there might well be more with A8 nationals nowadays, but the HO/BIA really has tried (IMHO) to close the loopholes on this matter and it does them a disservice to hear incorrect reporting from news reporters who really should dig deeper if they want to shame the HO.

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