Polygamy Concerns After Islamic Nikah and Spouse Visa Issues for New Marriage

[rog3983]

Hi all,

I’m a British citizen (also a Pakistani national) and have been separated from my wife for over 5 years. I married her 13 years ago in the UK, based on an Islamic Nikah. At the time of the marriage, I was on a student visa. The marriage was never registered civilly in the UK, but I provided the Nikah certificate, wedding photos, and Skype/WhatsApp communication for my previous spouse visa application. My visa was approved based on these documents.

However, we have been living separately for 5.5 years now, and I’m planning to marry a new woman in Pakistan. This new marriage will also be an Islamic Nikah (as that’s the common practice in Pakistan), but I’m concerned about the spouse visa application for my new wife and the potential issues arising from my first marriage.

The Issues I’m Facing:

Nikah Certificate Issue:
I’ve tried to obtain a copy of the Nikah certificate from the mosque where my first marriage took place, but the Imam told me they have lost the records due to construction work. This is extremely frustrating because I strongly suspect that my wife’s family, particularly her brothers, may have influenced the mosque to be uncooperative with me. Unfortunately, the witnesses to the marriage (her uncle and a neighbour) have both passed away, so I can’t rely on them either. My wife’s family, especially her brothers and father, are also unwilling to cooperate or provide any support in getting the certificate.

Spouse Visa Concerns for My New Marriage:
I am concerned that the Home Office may still consider me married based on the Islamic Nikah (even though it was never registered as a civil marriage in the UK). Since I intend to remarry in Pakistan, I am worried that the Home Office may interpret the situation as polygamy and refuse the spouse visa for my new wife.

Divorce Issue:
Although my wife and I have been separated for more than five years, we have not yet gone through the formal divorce process in the UK. I'm unsure whether I need to divorce my first wife formally under UK law, or whether the long separation is enough to show that I am no longer in a valid marriage under UK law.

My Questions:

Given that my first marriage was an Islamic Nikah and I cannot get the Nikah certificate due to uncooperative family and mosque issues, will the UK immigration authorities still consider me married, even though the marriage was never civilly registered in the UK?

If my previous marriage is not legally recognized in the UK (since it wasn’t registered civilly), will this affect my ability to apply for a spouse visa for my new wife, especially considering the polygamy issue?

Should I go ahead with the formal divorce under UK law before applying for a spouse visa for my new wife? Or is the long separation (5.5 years) enough to avoid complications with the Home Office?

Will my new marriage in Pakistan, even though it is a Nikah, be accepted by UK immigration if it is civilly registered in Pakistan?

I’m really looking for advice on how to handle the visa process considering these complications and how best to approach the divorce and marriage in terms of UK law and immigration.

Thanks in advance for any advice or insights!

[secret.simon]

I married her 13 years ago in the UK, based on an Islamic Nikah. At the time of the marriage, I was on a student visa.

So presumably you moved from a student visa to a spouse visa based on this marriage. Is that correct?

You can't now deny the marriage that was the basis of your previous immigration status, else you will be suggesting that your entire immigration journey till date was a fraud, which can be grounds even for deprivation of British citizenship. I would suggest that you tread carefully.

It is worth remembering that the UK is not one legal jurisdiction, but three. Where in the UK (England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) did your first marriage take place? While most Islamic imams/religious leaders can't officiate at legal weddings in general, Scotland does allow imams registered with the National Records of Scotland to celebrate legal weddings.

Given that my first marriage was an Islamic Nikah and I cannot get the Nikah certificate due to uncooperative family and mosque issues, will the UK immigration authorities still consider me married, even though the marriage was never civilly registered in the UK?

If you used that marriage as the basis of a spouse visa, then it would likely be on record with the Home Office.

If my previous marriage is not legally recognized in the UK (since it wasn’t registered civilly), will this affect my ability to apply for a spouse visa for my new wife, especially considering the polygamy issue?

If it was the basis of a spouse visa, it was likely recognised as a marriage, at least by the Home Office. And if it was recognised by the Home Office, yes, it would be polygamous, at least for the purpose of immigration.

Or is the long separation (5.5 years) enough to avoid complications with the Home Office?

No. if the marriage is recognised, you are married and "not free to marry" somebody else until either a decree absolute for a divorce is issued by a competent court or the death of one of the spouses. Separation, even legal separation through a court order, is irrelevant.

[bold]Casa[/bold] is more knowledgeable in such topics than me, so I hope they look at this topic to advise further.

[intrusive]

I guess based on logical thing you got married to her and got registered with nadra. Am I right in assuming that your marraige was registered with Nadra if yes then you will be able to get nadra marraige certficate from nadra. I reckon now a days home office will not accept those paper ones imam's have to get it registered it to nadra and they will give you that certificate.
I dont think that you will be able to divorce her under uk law divorce because it was not registered here, but one thing you must do is to give her official divorce now via legal channels, here in UK i am sure you can divorce her with the help of lawyers because we have a big community and there must be ways to end the nikah officialy that will be recognised in UK and home office. Second thing it will officialy end your marriage and it will also serve as termination of that relationship in UK law. It cant be challenged that marraige still exists...
Then on your nikah the second one you can mention as there is a question whether groom was virgin/married at the time of nikah you can put as divorcee
I dont think that you need the previous nikah as your marriage is ended so you would need divorce documents.

[secret.simon]

To quickly add a detail that I missed in my response above, your second marriage needs to be dated after the first marriage has been officially ended.

If ending the first marriage requires legal proceedings, the end of the marriage occurs after a decree absolute is issued by the relevant court/authority.

The second marriage must only occur after that date.

If you were married at the time the second marriage took place, even a subsequent divorce will not legalise that second marriage as you were not "free to marry" at the time of your second marriage and hence, from a UK point of view, that marriage never took place.

[Casa]

I'm sorry for the delay in commenting, due to issues accessing the Board.

The marriage in Pakistan doesn't need to be registered in the UK for it to be considered as legal.

The Home Office accepted your Nikah certificate as evidence of a legal marriage when they accepted this for your spouse visa application.

As you have already been advised, you will need to divorce from your first wife before a new marriage will be recognised under British law (and the Home Office). The new marriage must take place after the divorce is finalised.

The divorce would be issued in Pakistan, assuming this is where your first wife is living. Does your first wife mutually agree to a divorce? (Talaq-e-Mubarat)

See below:
"Divorce in Pakistan, governed by the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, requires a written, registered notice to the Union Council, followed by a mandatory 90-day reconciliation period before a Nadra-verified certificate is issued. Key methods include Talaq (husband's right), Khula (wife's court-ordered divorce), and Talaq-e-Mubarat (mutual divorce), all involving legal documentation and notification to the authorities."

[rog3983]

Yes I was on a Student visa in UK initially and then got married Islamically in UK (England) by an Imam and given marriage certificate (Nikah Nama). Then I had to leave UK as my student visa was expiring and also I had to apply for a spouse visa from Pakistan. So When I applied for the spouse visa I used that marriage certificate (Nikah Nama) along with wedding photos, whatsapp chat other communications etc as proof of our marriage. It was not a fraud marriage at all just that things has been good between us and families too for the past few years. Also I am not sure what my wife is planning refusing to resolve the issue and not willing to divorce either. Note, this marriage certificate (Nikah Nama) never registered with registrar office neither with Nadra Pakistan (National Database & Registration Authority).

My question is if my spouse visa grant was a proof that my Islamic marriage was accepted as a legit marriage even thought that was done inside of UK (England) then I can confirm it was implicitly registered, and then can I request decree absolute through court even if I don't have that marriage certificate?

[rog3983]

Just to highlight that Nikah happened in UK (England) by an Imam of the local mosque. Then I went back to Pakistan to apply for my spouse visa.

Also my wife is British Born and living in England since birth.

I'm sorry for the delay in commenting, due to issues accessing the Board.

Now I need to proceed with talaq and I don't have the Nikah certificate and even the mosque said they have lost a lot documents during a renovation stage which I don't believe but not sure what to do.

Can I still apply in a UK court for divorce (Talaq) given my marriage certificate was accepted as a legal marriage even it was done in England?