helping my boyfriend to become a legal citizen

[may101]

hi there,
my boyfriend has been living here illegally in this country for 4 years. he works as a chef in a top restaurant in london and pays his taxes. his visa expired after 6 months and now it seems to be too late to try and obtain another one, without him returning to his home country. i am a british citizen, and we will be living together soon.
Im not really sure about the immigration laws but was wondering if there was anyway he could become a legal citizen here, without us having to get married!
any information would be much appreciated!
thanks

[paulp]

Is it possible to get a work permit for him if he's got skills that other EU citizens don't?

[Decus et Tutamen]

As Paul suggests, there's nothing stopping your boyfriend's employer applying for a work permit on his behalf. However, if he were successful, he would have to leave the UK to apply for a visa to come back as a work permit holder.

The other downside is that applying for a work permit would almost certainly mean that he would have to disclose his currently unlawful status to his employer. Bearing in mind that employers will shortly be liable for £10,000.00 fines for employing people illegally, it is possible that they'd give him the boot rather than assist with a WP application.

[paulp]

With the new checks, and the radio advertisements of £10,000 fines and a couple of years in prison for the employer, life will get harder for the boyfriend. There doesn't appear to be any other avenue to stay except the usual fare or work permit, hsmp or student visa. Maybe he could also look into ancestry visas and working holiday makers if he's eligible.

[Siggi]

May101,
You don't have too many options on this one, either way your BF is at risk from being deported at the moment and of course BIA would love to fine your BF employer as a example of how tough they are on immigration.
Best option in my opinion, would be for your BF to return to his country of origin and apply for fiance visa or as Paul said a Ancestral visa if possible.
Good luck!

[may101]

Thankyou for all your responses. He is happy as he is at the moment, as long as it doesn't affect him. It is more to do with me wanting the security for him. The problem with him returning home, is the fear that he won't be able to come back. In the long term I do plan to marry him, but would this even resolve the matter anyway?
Thanks
May

[Decus et Tutamen]

Unfortunately, the only remedy in the short-term, if your boyfriend wishes to legitimise his status in the UK, is to leave and apply for a visa to come back in the relevant capacity. This applies equally should you marry.

Indeed, as your boyfriend is neither British, nor EEA, he would require a certificate of approval from the Home Office before getting married in the UK anyway, and this would of course alert them to his unlawful status.

Of course, no-one can give any guarantees that he would get a visa to return, but it would certainly be in his favour that he'd left the UK voluntarily. However, the only other option is to continue living in the UK unlawfully, continually looking over his shoulder, and life isn't going to get easier for those w/o status.

With the introduction of the new employers rules, things are going to get a lot tougher for those working without authority as no employer will want to run the risk of having to cough up £10,000.00, and they are being advised to check the entitlement of all of their staff to work in the UK (including British citizens), as to only check the "foreign lot" would be discriminatory.

[Cassie9]

Hi,

Firstly, I am sorry for the situation you are in. One point is that I believe it is possible for you to marry your boyfriend if you get married in an Anglican church. I think that is one way you can marry without needing further home office paperwork. I know you dont really want to marry at the moment but this would give him status as your husband and you could then apply for a right for him to remain.

If he is paying UK taxes, surely he must have some status here because without it, he would not have a national insurance number etc.,

Do hope this helps.

Good luck!

[olisun]

One point is that I believe it is possible for you to marry your boyfriend if you get married in an Anglican church. I think that is one way you can marry without needing further home office paperwork. I know you dont really want to marry at the moment but this would give him status as your husband and you could then apply for a right for him to remain.

He would have to go back to his home country for EC anyways.....

[Mr Rusty]

[quote="Cassie9"]Hi,

If he is paying UK taxes, surely he must have some status here because without it, he would not have a national insurance number etc.,


[quote]

You must be joking!!!! Fraudulent use of someone else's number, or simply supplying a bogus number is one of the easiest scams in the world. There seems to be no check on the relationship between a National Insurance number and contributions made against it.

[sakura]

Hi,

If he is paying UK taxes, surely he must have some status here because without it, he would not have a national insurance number etc.,

You must be joking!!!! Fraudulent use of someone else's number, or simply supplying a bogus number is one of the easiest scams in the world. There seems to be no check on the relationship between a National Insurance number and contributions made against it.

It may not be a fake NI he is using. Up until recently...like the past year or two...there were little to no checks made on people's immigration status when applying for a NI card. So, some overstayers or illegal entrants actually did/do have genuine NI cards and are paying taxes and NI contributions.

However, NI has absolutely nothing to do with immigration - having a real one doesn't prove anything and certainly doesn't help your immigration status, from what I know.

[may101]

thanks.....no idea people knew so much about this!
he has a temporary national visa which he has been using in jobs and no one has seemed to mind. if the checks are getting stricter though then i can see how this may become a problem.
thankyou for all the advice

[Siggi]

May, are you sure he has a temporary visa and not temporary National insurance number?
Whilst I have never heard of a Temporary visa, it does'nt mean it does'nt excist and would like to learn a bit more about this!

[may101]

sorry my mistake- i meant a temp national insurance number!

[paulp]

sorry my mistake- i meant a temp national insurance number!

Apparently, temporary national insurance numbers are no longer accepted by HMRC.

Use the correct National Insurance number

The HM Revenue & Customs will no longer accept 'temporary' National Insurance numbers, for example TN220157M for a male born on 22 January 1957. This applies no matter which method you use to submit your forms and returns (for example paper, online) so in all cases you should try to obtain the correct National Insurance number.

[Wanderer]

sorry my mistake- i meant a temp national insurance number!

Apparently, temporary national insurance numbers are no longer accepted by HMRC.

Use the correct National Insurance number

The HM Revenue & Customs will no longer accept 'temporary' National Insurance numbers, for example TN220157M for a male born on 22 January 1957. This applies no matter which method you use to submit your forms and returns (for example paper, online) so in all cases you should try to obtain the correct National Insurance number.

This is true in theory but in practice it's easy - it's what my gf did about two years ago. Employers accept it cos it look like a NINO and the tax folks are so stuck in their ways they prolly don't even query it.

Then u get a letter asking u to go in to get a proper NINO so they can marry up ur contributions.

[paulp]

This is true in theory but in practice it's easy - it's what my gf did about two years ago. Employers accept it cos it look like a NINO and the tax folks are so stuck in their ways they prolly don't even query it.

Then u get a letter asking u to go in to get a proper NINO so they can marry up ur contributions.

Had they started cracking down on temp NIs when your gf did it two years ago? A mate went to the bank where he had to put his NI on one of the HMRC forms. The bank manager was adamant that HMRC would just reject the form outright if he used a temp NI as that's what happened before. That's another story in itself though.

[Siggi]

May,
Your BF's temporary NI has no bearing on his immigration status- overstayer- and if cought he will be deported and then it will be nay imposible to re-enter the UK.
The choice is his, we have given you the options, so the ball is in his court!