bringing two wives to uk on different visas, is it criminal offense, bigamy

Hi,

asking on behalf of a friend who married two women from abroad. both wives are okay with it and accepted the arrangement on legal papers, both marriages were registered in a country where polygamy is allowed. first non-EU wife is on depended visa of British husband and is currently waiting for ILR in the UK.

husband has a residency in an EU country as well and has brought the second wife there and has got her issued a Family Member of EU dependent card.
now he want to bring the second wife from EU to the UK (which is possible under EU directive before June 21, can travel visa free if dependent is accompanied by the EU family member)

question is that would he be committing bigamy under UK law? plz note husband is domiciled in the UK.

if husband travel from EU to UK with second wife, and presents marriage certificate as proof of relationship, what chances are there that border force do run a search about his first wife already in the UK. If they are not satisfied in any way, what are the consequences for husband other than refusing entry to wife?

does it anyway become a criminal offense for husband?

if UK law do not accept the second marriage valid because polygamy is not allowed in the UK. Should he claim to be 'unmarried partners' on entering the UK? as second marriage is not valid as per UK law.. is there any consequence for this..?

Thanks

question is that would he be committing bigamy under UK law?

Yes.

does it anyway become a criminal offense for husband?

Yes.

if UK law do not accept the second marriage valid because polygamy is not allowed in the UK. Should he claim to be 'unmarried partners' on entering the UK? as second marriage is not valid as per UK law.. is there any consequence for this..?

Lying to ukvi is never a good idea. They know everything they need to know about him and his first wife and will know immediately that he has already sponsored a wife to the UK. Without evidence of divorce before marrying the second wife, he will create a lot of problems for himself and both wives.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:23 am

question is that would he be committing bigamy under UK law?

Yes.

does it anyway become a criminal offense for husband?

Yes.

if UK law do not accept the second marriage valid because polygamy is not allowed in the UK. Should he claim to be 'unmarried partners' on entering the UK? as second marriage is not valid as per UK law.. is there any consequence for this..?

Lying to ukvi is never a good idea. They know everything they need to know about him and his first wife and will know immediately that he has already sponsored a wife to the UK. Without evidence of divorce before marrying the second wife, he will create a lot of problems for himself and both wives.

Thank you very much CR001 for your response.

if this thing is explained to UKVI, that second marriage that is valid in foreign country but according to UK Law is not valid, hence technically they are Unmarried Couple. can this work?

actually the guy really want to bring her here and would be taking risks, I'm looking forward to guiding him about less risky ways. at least should not be reckless.

best regards

"Being married to more than one person at a time is recognised in England and Wales if it took place in a country that allows marriages of this kind (not in the UK) and both parties were legally free to marry in this way. Therefore, if someone legally enters the UK and already has three wives under a foreign law, then they will not be considered to be committing an offence in the UK (provided they do not enter into another marriage ceremony within the UK)".
"The Immigration Rules state that a person should not be granted a UK spousal visa if their marriage to the UK sponsor is polygamous and there is another person living with the sponsor in the UK who is also their husband or wife. Therefore, a man married in the UK cannot obtain a spouse visa to bring a second wife into Britain".

See the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ages-set14

though still a grey area, hence why I will let more senior members to help you on this but I think your friend needs one heck of a Solicitor to pull this one out lol

Many countries in the world allow a man to be married with up to 4 wives. As long as these marriage(s) have been contracted abroad, the UK have no say about them. So you are not committing a criminal offence by having 2 wives.

However, a criminal offence will start if you mess with immigration and try to circumvent the limits in place. I believe you can sponsor 1 wife but not more.