Is it a bigamy????

[Fahad55]

I appreciate any help I originally form Morocco
I got married in UK in 1999 in 2004 I went back to my home country and I got married therea second wife as well and kept living in the UK and I was going back to Morocco every 5 month and stay one month with my second wife at this time I did not have British nationality I had only indefinite leave to remain
In 2005 I become a British citizen through my British wife and I kept married to with her till we got the divorce in 2014
Since 2010 I was living out of the UK with my second wife which I had 2 girls with her
I am thinking of coming back to Live in the UK and I want apply for British passports for my 2 girls which they can get the British nationality through me
In the application they ask if I was married to their Mother when they were born
Which I did so if I answered yes will that cause me problems with the law in UK ? will they charge me with any offence ?
My second never came to UK I never claimed any money for her or for the kids
Was my second marriage in Morocco consider bigamy ?
I appreciate any help

[noajthan]

I appreciate any help I originally form Morocco
I got married in UK in 1999 in 2004 I went back to my home country and I got married therea second wife as well and kept living in the UK and I was going back to Morocco every 5 month and stay one month with my second wife at this time I did not have British nationality I had only indefinite leave to remain
In 2005 I become a British citizen through my British wife and I kept married to with her till we got the divorce in 2014
Since 2010 I was living out of the UK with my second wife which I had 2 girls with her
I am thinking of coming back to Live in the UK and I want apply for British passports for my 2 girls which they can get the British nationality through me
In the application they ask if I was married to their Mother when they were born
Which I did so if I answered yes will that cause me problems with the law in UK ? will they charge me with any offence ?
My second never came to UK I never claimed any money for her or for the kids
Was my second marriage in Morocco consider bigamy ?
I appreciate any help

My understanding is: yes it's a bigamy under UK law & cannot be recognised in UK as polygamy is not recognised for UK-domiciled residents.

So this appears to put the basis of you acquiring your privilege of British citizenship under question.
You cannot be considered (under UK law) as having married the second 'wife'.

You need to consider what you have signed off as as true and full disclosures of material facts in past applications and any other dealings with Home Office/UKVI.
Any false or misleading submissions (or suppression of material facts) will be considered as criminal offences.

As the basis of your naturalisation is questionable then, my understanding is that, on the balance of probability, your children cannot obtain British citizenship through you.

What is nationality of wife #2?
Where were daughters born? (I sense they were born abroad)?

Presumably your daughters have claim to the same nationality as their mother so if she is British they may be too.

[secret.simon]

If you were married to a British wife at the time you also "married" another person in Morocco, the British legal position is that you were not "free to marry" and so your second "marriage" does not exist in the eyes of British law.

However, I believe (I could be wrong) that your daughters could possibly claim British citizenship from you, as children from an unmarried relationship. You may need a DNA test to prove paternity.

You will have to give a full explanation of the facts in the "Additional Information" section of your form or a covering letter.

[noajthan]

If you were married to a British wife at the time you also "married" another person in Morocco, the British legal position is that you were not "free to marry" and so your second "marriage" does not exist in the eyes of British law.

However, I believe (I could be wrong) that your daughters could possibly claim British citizenship from you, as children from an unmarried relationship. You may need a DNA test to prove paternity.

You will have to give a full explanation of the facts in the "Additional Information" section of your form or a covering letter.

Simon, it's hard to see how the naturalisation application form that must have been submitted would stand up to scrutiny.

For example...
Wife #2 (non-BC) should have been reported as 'current partner'.
Wife #1 (BC) should have been recorded as a previous spouse (& date of that marriage should have been reported as 'previous marriage').
Evidence of divorce should (probably?) have been submitted.

From the line of questioning in original post, it is likely the application form was not completed & submitted in this way.

It's unclear how a full & complete application could have succeeded on the basis of being the spouse of a BC.

The timeline for the ILR grant (versus 2nd marriage) is unclear but may not stand up to scrutiny either.
A questionable grant of ILR would completely undermine the grant of citizenship.

It is hard to understand how referees could provide credible character references (whether knowingly or recklessly) in the circumstances. (That is for the consciences of the referees but is also an offence).

It is clearly an offence under 46(1) of BNA to make false statements or representations in the Personal History &/or the Declaration sections of the form.

Citizenship may be revoked if obtained fraudulently.

These factors all bring into question the citizenship of the children and whether British citizenship can be derived (legitimately) from the father in this case.
Any such registration of minors could also be subject to revocation at a later date, should the full facts emerge.

[Casa]

There is an additional issue. Under Moroccan law a man is unable to enter into a second marriage without declaring the existence of the first wife. The law also requires the first wife to give her written permission for her husband to take a second wife. Even more so since the introduction of the Moudawana (Family Law) in 2004 which strengthened the rights of women in Morocco. I wonder whether the second wife was aware that her husband was already married.
In which case, the marriage may not even be considered legal in Morocco if all the facts were not disclosed when registering the marriage.
To save you reading through the Moudawana the following in particular apply:

Article 41
The court will not authorize polygamy:
– If an exceptional and objective justification is not proven.
– If the man does not have sufficient resources to support the two families and guarantee all maintenance rights, accommodation and equality in all aspects of life.

Article 42
In the absence of a stipulation by the wife in the marriage contract precluding polygamy, the husband wishing to resort to it must petition the court for authorization.
The authorization petition should include the exceptional and objective motives that justify the request, and attach a statement on the applicant’s financial situation.

Article 46
If the polygamy authorisation petition is granted, the marriage with the future wife cannot be concluded until the judge has informed her that the applicant husband is already married and she has consented to this.

[secret.simon]

The second marriage is definitely bigamous and null and void in terms of British law and, from Casa's explanation, almost certainly void in Morocco as well.

However, in this case, I believe that the status of the children is divorced from that of the second wife, their mother.

Since 2006, illegitimate children born to British citizen fathers get British citizenship through the father. It appears that if they were born before 2006, they can be registered under Section 3(1) as well (see 9.1.8-9.1.10).

As regards the OP's specific questions,

In the application they ask if I was married to their Mother when they were born
Which I did so if I answered yes will that cause me problems with the law in UK ? will they charge me with any offence ?

No, you were not married to the children's mother at the time of their birth as you were not capable of contracting a second marriage because you were not "free to marry".

When were the children born? Only if they were born to you after 2006 would they get British citizenship automatically and can apply for a British passport. Else, you would need to register them as British on Form MN1. Registration is at discretion, meaning it can be refused.

[Casa]

Also as an unmarried parent, I believe a DNA test to prove paternity is now required.

[noajthan]

The grant of citizenship appears to have been gained fraudulently, possibly after gaining ILR fraudulently (ie by misrepresentation in 1 or both cases).

So the basis for subsequently having 'British' children, whether by automatic entitlement 1(3) or by registration at discretion 3(1), appears to me to be on very shaky ground.
A case of a thorn between two roses perhaps.

[Casa]

+1 I agree. Since the 2004 introduction of the Moudawana (family law) I believe there may be even greater repercussions in Morocco if the fraudulent declarations are uncovered, with the possibility of substantial financial penalities or even a prison sentence especially if the second 'wife' wasn't aware of the first marriage.

[Casa]

The grant of citizenship appears to have been gained fraudulently, possibly after gaining ILR fraudulently (ie by misrepresentation in 1 or both cases).

So the basis for subsequently having 'British' children, whether by automatic entitlement 1(3) or by registration at discretion 3(1), appears to me to be on very shaky ground.
A case of a thorn between two roses perhaps.

Note no response from the OP since the original request for advice. Probably not what they were expecting (or hoping) to read.

[Fahad55]

I was not ignoring your input in but I was reading in other thread like
http://www.immigrationboards.com/immigr ... 65624.html

and I can see Adnan was in the same situation as me
I got my indefinite leave to remain 2 years before I contracted the second marriage abroad which it was approved from my first wife no fraudulent here my first wife could not have children and she give me her permission to get a second wife as long as I don't bring her to UK which I did not
after I had my first daughter my first wife did not cope will and we started to drift a part till we had a verbal Islamic divorce and i lived a broad with my second wife for the last 5 years
now i want to apply for passport for my daughters and i want to know will my second marriage date can cause me trouble as it was contracted while i am still married in the UK but it is done in a country allow polygamy
i have a approval from my first wife
now i have divorced absolute decree from my first wife
in the passport application asked if i was married to their mother i want to know will that cause me trouble as the date of the second marriage show that i was still married to my first wife
i am not trying to bring my second wife in to the UK we will continue living a broad

[Casa]

Have you read my points from the 2004 Moudawana where strict conditions are now imposed regarding the law on polygamy in Morocco? In particular Article 46.
Setting aside for the moment whether British law recognises your second marriage (I firmly believe it doesn't), can you answer the following questions?
1. Did you declare to the Moroccan court that you had a wife in the UK?
2. Did your first wife give her written permission for you to take a second wife and was that submitted to the court in Morocco?
3. Was your second wife aware of the existence of your wife in the UK?

Your case isn't the same as Adnan's as his divorce was already being processed when he re-married, although he was still awaiting the divorce decree absolute. Also the re-marriage took place in Pakistan where the laws on Polygamy are less strict than in Morocco.

[Fahad55]

Have you read my points from the 2004 Moudawana where strict conditions are now imposed regarding the law on polygamy in Morocco? In particular Article 46.
Setting aside for the moment whether British law recognises your second marriage (I firmly believe it doesn't), can you answer the following questions?
1. Did you declare to the Moroccan court that you had a wife in the UK?
2. Did your first wife give her written permission for you to take a second wife and was that submitted to the court in Morocco?
3. Was your second wife aware of the existence of your wife in the UK?

Your case isn't the same as Adnan's as his divorce was already being processed when he re-married, although he was still awaiting the divorce decree absolute. Also the re-marriage took place in Pakistan where the laws on Polygamy are less strict than in Morocco.

quote]

The answer of your 3 questions is yes
my question here not if UK recognizes my second marriage the question here will I get into any trouble when I state the marriage date in the passport application for my daughters ?

[Casa]

Quite likely, yes. As your marriage in Morocco won't be recognised under British law you would have to apply for your children as an unmarried parent.
This will require a DNA test to prove paternity.

[noajthan]

Have you read my points from the 2004 Moudawana where strict conditions are now imposed regarding the law on polygamy in Morocco? In particular Article 46.
Setting aside for the moment whether British law recognises your second marriage (I firmly believe it doesn't), can you answer the following questions?
1. Did you declare to the Moroccan court that you had a wife in the UK?
2. Did your first wife give her written permission for you to take a second wife and was that submitted to the court in Morocco?
3. Was your second wife aware of the existence of your wife in the UK?

Your case isn't the same as Adnan's as his divorce was already being processed when he re-married, although he was still awaiting the divorce decree absolute. Also the re-marriage took place in Pakistan where the laws on Polygamy are less strict than in Morocco.

the answer for the three question is yes

The second marriage would still not be recognised in UK because you were domiciled in UK at the time & polygamy is not permitted for UK-domiciled persons.

So the question remains about how all these family relationships were represented & vouched for (by referees) & signed off (by you) in the naturalisation application that you made.

If false or misleading information was supplied your whole citizenship is at question and at risk.
It quite likely puts any citizenship your children may get at risk too.
That is all quite separate from recognising the marriage (and whether that even matters).

[Fahad55]

Thank you all for your input I appreciated