Page 1 of 1
Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:00 am
by Jochy2021
Hi,
I am currently on a spousal visa that was granted in 2017 and expired in 2022. I was a refugee and had been granted 5 years and completed the 5 years, I sent in my application for ILR after the 5 years, however while it was still being processed I had to travel to another country (not my home country) for my wedding ceremony. I sent several pleas to the Home office to consider expiditing my application and even applied for a Travel Document and both were rejected and I was told to just wait. I then applied for a new passport from my home country and travelled to my wedding. As soon as the wedding was over, I withdrew my ILR application after approx 10 days and reapplied for a spousal visa at the same time and was granted 5 years. I returned back to the UK. As I had not broken legal stay, last year February I applied for ILR under the 10 year rule, it took them 11 months to then send me an email stating;
1. I am currently on a refugee status and they are considering ceasing it - I am not, I am on a spousal visa.
2. During the time I had refugee status I never travelled back to my home country.
3. That I lived in my home country for 6 months sometime in 2018 (after I was already off a refugee status, that is also untrue and I have payslips to prove I have never lived anywhere outside of the UK during that time or any other), I did travel to my home country for 11 days to conduct research for my Masters in that year but nothing else.
4. There is proof that the wedding ceremony did go on as claimed.
My question is, can the Home Office cease a refugee status from someone who is no longer a refugee? if so will this affect my current visa? I have attached proof that I made many attempts before applying for my own country's passport, however these were fruitless and as soon as I did this I withdrew my application for protection.
- I have no criminal record or anything outside of this situation that can be grounds for ceasation of any status.
Re: Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:48 pm
by CULLINAN
You were on a refugee visa when you breached the conditions and applied for your home country’s passport. Also, travelled on it to your home country for 11 days. You should not have done that. HO may curtail your leave anytime if any previous breach is detected.
Re: Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:56 pm
by zimba
Long residence requires that your whole immigration history be taken into account. You never travelled to your home country while you were a refugee but time spent under the refugee status as an asylum must be spent lawfully. Your actions, however, may suggest that your asylum claim was not genuine.
Asylum status is largely granted in very exceptional reasons where someone cannot return to their home country (life in danger, political issues, etc) and mostly can't have contact any with the authorities in their home country. You applied for a passport from your home country while being a refugee and you also travelled back home after switching your status to spouse visa. This begs the question: what changed that you can so easily get a passport or go back home without any issues, regardless of your visa ??
This is not as simple as 'I did not visit my home country' when I was under refugee status. You need to justify that your original asylum claim was genuine. If you cannot, then you got refugee status via deception which means time spent as a refugee was unlawful and you cannot get ILR.
Re: Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:16 pm
by AmazonianX
Jochy2021 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:00 am
Hi,
I am currently on a spousal visa that was granted in 2017 and expired in 2022. I was a refugee and had been granted 5 years and completed the 5 years, I sent in my application for ILR after the 5 years, however while it was still being processed I had to travel to another country (not my home country) for my wedding ceremony. I sent several pleas to the Home office to consider expiditing my application and even applied for a Travel Document and both were rejected and I was told to just wait. I then applied for a new passport from my home country and travelled to my wedding. As soon as the wedding was over, I withdrew my ILR application after approx 10 days and reapplied for a spousal visa at the same time and was granted 5 years. I returned back to the UK. As I had not broken legal stay, last year February I applied for ILR under the 10 year rule, it took them 11 months to then send me an email stating;
1. I am currently on a refugee status and they are considering ceasing it - I am not, I am on a spousal visa.
2. During the time I had refugee status I never travelled back to my home country.
3. That I lived in my home country for 6 months sometime in 2018 (after I was already off a refugee status, that is also untrue and I have payslips to prove I have never lived anywhere outside of the UK during that time or any other), I did travel to my home country for 11 days to conduct research for my Masters in that year but nothing else.
4. There is proof that the wedding ceremony did go on as claimed.
My question is, can the Home Office cease a refugee status from someone who is no longer a refugee? if so will this affect my current visa? I have attached proof that I made many attempts before applying for my own country's passport, however these were fruitless and as soon as I did this I withdrew my application for protection.
- I have no criminal record or anything outside of this situation that can be grounds for ceasation of any status.
You shot yourself in the foot by that singular act.
What ever your present status in UK at the moment was based or built on the premise of your initial asylum or refugee claims.
Re: Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:45 pm
by Jochy2021
Thank you for your responses. I have several emails that have been presented to the home office by my lawyer that indicate that I not only begged them to conclude my case for me to travel to my wedding but also that I initially applied for a Travel Document and when all options were explored, I had no choice but to apply for a new passport from my home country. It's unfortunate we did not know the full concequences of that action, however I was in South Africa (an hour's flight) away from my home country for over a month while i waited for them to make a decision on my spousal visa. My application for a spousal visa was very clear and we were forth coming with the fact that I applied for home my country passport due to the Home office refusing to provide me with a Travel Document and the intention was for nothing esle other than to travel to my wedding. They still decided to grant me the visa even with all this information.
After I was a British Military Wife I did not feel my life to be in danger, hence why I felt I could make brief trips with my husband who is in the military and also a British citizen and I would be safe as I was under his protection. My circumstances changed after I got married and at no point have we lied or hidden anything from the Home office. I suppose it will be up to the case worker to review all the information provided and make a decision on wether to pursue the ceasation or not.
Re: Urgent Help for Asylum Ceasation
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 2:37 pm
by zimba
Jochy2021 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:45 pm
Thank you for your responses. I have several emails that have been presented to the home office by my lawyer that indicate that I not only begged them to conclude my case for me to travel to my wedding but also that I initially applied for a Travel Document and when all options were explored, I had no choice but to apply for a new passport from my home country. It's unfortunate we did not know the full concequences of that action, however I was in South Africa (an hour's flight) away from my home country for over a month while i waited for them to make a decision on my spousal visa. My application for a spousal visa was very clear and we were forth coming with the fact that I applied for home my country passport due to the Home office refusing to provide me with a Travel Document and the intention was for nothing esle other than to travel to my wedding. They still decided to grant me the visa even with all this information.
After I was a British Military Wife I did not feel my life to be in danger, hence why I felt I could make brief trips with my husband who is in the military and also a British citizen and I would be safe as I was under his protection. My circumstances changed after I got married and at no point have we lied or hidden anything from the Home office. I suppose it will be up to the case worker to review all the information provided and make a decision on wether to pursue the ceasation or not.
This has nothing to do with the travel document. You easily applied for a passport from your home country and then gone back home without any issues. Remember that you made specific claims on your asylum application (I do not know what were those claims) and those claims were considered to be genuine and legitimate in order for you to be granted asylum status in the UK. Your later actions
may suggest to the UKVI that your previous claims on your asylum application may have NOT been genuine and you lied on your asylum application to secure residence in the UK. That is where they are coming from