British citizen with an illegal entrant partner

I'm writing this on behalf of my friend and need the correct advice. My friend who is a British Citizen (by birth) has an illegal boyfriend who is from India. She wishes to marry him.

About my friend: my friend had a daughter at a very young age (16/17) and has been a single parent since then. She lives in a council home, has never had a job (if she has had a job, she didn't inform HM Revenue), she has no qualifications (because she dropped out of school at a very young age), shes been living on benefits all her life. Her family don't support her because of a few family problems. my friend has never paid tax!

About my friend's boyfriend: He came to England 2 years ago - illegally. His previous student visa was refused (he applied for this before he came to England illegally), has never paid any kind of tax here, has nothing back in India for him to fall back on (any kind of asset - property or bank balance) - so he cant really support my friend or her daughter.

So, now the questions:
1. Will he be able to get ILR here - if so, what are the procedures?
2. How long will it take him before he can apply for a British Passport?
3. Are there any chances that if my friend apply's for her Boyfriend to come and live in England with her, the visa can be refused?

Thank you (in advance)

What a gorgeous pair Why dont they both go to India?..It's quick and easy process.

Kaur12345 wrote: So, now the questions:
1. Will he be able to get ILR here - if so, what are the procedures?

ILR is a long, long way off, if it's even possible. Is your friend really sure she wants to marry this guy? People often imagine that "love conquers all" but there is a really long road ahead. How are they going to manage financially during all that time?

The first step is for them to marry. Your friend's boyfriend will need permission to marry in the UK (known as a "Certificate of Approval"). Applying for this will alert the UKBA to his presence im the UK.
He may be removed from the UK at this stage.

The CoA sceme is due to be discontinued soon. So let's say they manage to get married without the boyfriend being removed from the UK.

He needs to regularise his position in the UK. As an illegal immigrant he cannot apply to stay in the country under the Immigration Rules: he must rely on the discretion of the Home Office. An application of this kind may take years to process. He is not allowed to work in the UK during that time: in fact he is still an "illegal immigrant". In any event I don't see much in the way of compassionate grounds to allow him to stay. Even if discretion is granted in his favour, he will have to wait another 6 years to be eligible to apply for ILR (during which time the law may change to his disadvantage).

The correct way to regularise his position would be to leave the country and apply for a spouse visa (well, the more correct thing to do would be for him to leave now: if they want to marry they can do it in India, but anyway...). He is likely to be refused on maintenance and accommodation grounds. He is also likely to be refused under 320(11): he is an illegal entrant. The genuineness of his marriage may be questioned; if he has worked in the UK or claimed benefits, or used false documents, this will also count against him.

2. How long will it take him before he can apply for a British Passport?

This is even further in the (speculative) future that ILR.

3. Are there any chances that if my friend apply's for her Boyfriend to come and live in England with her, the visa can be refused?

YES.

Your friend and her boyfriend should think very seriously about their situation.

Hello kitty. firstly, I would like to thank you for taking time and replying to my post.

Well, as far as I am aware, he has used a 'fake' passport in this country along with a 'fake' NI number.... ( that covers the fake documentation question!)

Do you know when the CoA scheme is going to be discontinued? - will it take a few years or months?

I think they both have their problems - the fact that my friends boyfriend is an illegal immigrant thinks that marriage is the only way he can get British Citizenship and for my friend - she has already been reject by society, friends and family. She got pregnant when she was a teenager and thinks nobody from the UK is going to want to marry her because she has a daughter. I have tried to explain to the pair but they just don't want to listen.

I can say that they aren't 'madly' in love with each other, at one point, he was 2 timing her with another girl! - he just thinks that marriage is the only way to gain citizenship.

Also, I don't think that my friends boyfriend is ready to go back to India at any cost! - he will only go once he has married her as he fears that she might leave him.

What do you think I should do, is there anyway I can help the couple?

Thank you again

sorry, just another point that i missed out from my last reply...

I wont be surprised if my friends boyfriend leaves her after he does get citizenship because i know that is his only aim.

I have tried to explain to my friend but she just isn't ready to listen to me and thinks that she can't find a better partner than him...

thanks!

If the boyfriend only wants to marry your friend in order to gain an advantage under immigration law then his would be a marriage of convenience.

I think you'll find it difficult to get more assistance here if that's the case.

But what if it wasn't a marriage of convenience.

what are the remaining options? (if any)

Sorry to interject here Kaur12345, but if you think that this guy is no good for your friend and he is just marrying her to get a UK passport and will leave her once he gets that, what do you think that will do to your friends self-esteem. Its obvious here that she suffers from low self-esteem and people like this tend to go off the rails as life (and people close to them) leave them in the lurch/take advantage of them.

I would be seriously concerned (and fear even) for her safety and the safety of her child having gone through things like this in the past and what is clearly going to happen in the near future.

If you know he is an illegal, why do you not call UKBA and report him. It would save a lot of pain to your friend and her child in the long run, rather than going through this and ending up dejected and depressed.

Just my opinion.

Kaur12345 wrote:sorry, just another point that i missed out from my last reply...

I wont be surprised if my friends boyfriend leaves her after he does get citizenship because i know that is his only aim.

I have tried to explain to my friend but she just isn't ready to listen to me and thinks that she can't find a better partner than him...

thanks!

If you know your friend is going to be used and dumped, why are you seeking help to her marry him on this forum?

@ krazydude - my friend is already suffering from low esteem as no one from here wants to marry her. She was rejected by her husband even though she went against everyone from him.

I have tried to explain to her that this guy isn't the right one for her but she doesn't listen. I guess she thinks that he is the best guy she will now get. There are other factors to take into consideration: she's a lonely woman and likes his company etc etc

I can't report him to UKBA because i don't know where he lives or where he works. I don't even know him that much apart from the odd occasions where we've met at my friends house. My friend has told me everything about him.

> Even if i did know where he lives and works, i'd come across as 'interfering' in their lives. At the end of the day, everyone has a brain (even my friend) and they should use it! I've done my job - explained to her and given her the best advice. It's up to her if she wants to take it on board. She has been through a lot from a very young age - It's said that people learn from their mistakes, if she chooses not to then theres nothing i can do as i have tried my hardest.

@ lanr3e - i'm not seeking help to get them together!

when i said: what are the remaining options? (if any)

what i meant by this is: i was actually hoping that someone would've said its going to be hard for them to get married in this country which kitty more or less said. So that i could've turned around to my friend and told her the facts that people would've given me on this.

Thank you for you help. If there's anything that you feel i should know then please post a reply

Kaur12345 wrote:sorry, just another point that i missed out from my last reply...

I wont be surprised if my friends boyfriend leaves her after he does get citizenship because i know that is his only aim.

I have tried to explain to my friend but she just isn't ready to listen to me and thinks that she can't find a better partner than him...

thanks!

The best you can do is encourage your friend to tell her boyfriend to go back to India and apply from there - although going there to marry may not be a very good idea but you could tell her if he goes back and gets himself settled she would come later and may be the time apart may let her see some sense
At the end of the day she is going to do what she wants sounds very sad to think she feels there is no one in the UK for her

hey. thanks for the advice. i'll try best to save my friend. if you people think i need to know anything else then keep me updated

> i will also keep you updated

just a question - does anyone know when the CoA is going to be scrapped? is it going to be replaced by any other scheme? does that mean it will be easier for my friend and her boyfriend to marry in this counrty or will they still need permission?

thank you