Immigration -- divorce -- future

[ztech]

Hello.

I realize that this is not a divorce forum. I would like some advice from an immigration point of view.

I have stayed in the UK for 20 years. I got married in Pakistan in 2013 - did registry and a mullah came as well. We had a proper wedding ceremony and party. When I rcvd my ILR in 2017, I applied for a spouse visa for my Pakistani wife and she came over in the same year on a spouse visa. Her first spouse visa was for 2.5 years. I then extended it for another 2.5 years. So, the 2nd spouse visa was to expire this year.

My wife gave birth in Dec 2020 and then in May 2021, she caused a bit of a ruckus out of nowhere and left with my child. She went to the GP and said God knows what. Police came and then arrested me at my house for being 'controlling and coercive' and for 'safeguarding' reasons. I was let go at the station as there was no previous domestic violence or controlling and coercive cases or complaints against me.

A month later, I emailed HO to curtail her visa. Three months later, social services called me to verify some more bs my wife had told them , which I denied.

And, it has gone quiet since. It has been months and I cannot contact my wife and my in-laws in Pakistan mysteriously also stopped taking our calls since my wife left. I have been suffering depression since she left and was unable to continue work and left.

At the time of my child's birth, I had an ILR. I rcvd my citizenship in June 2021.

My questions are :
1- What will my wife do now that her visa has been curtailed?
2- Is my child eligible for a British passport?
3- If yes, will HO or HMPO need my consent ?
4- If my wife decides to take my child abroad, will she be stopped at the airport?

Since it has been so many months, I have good reason to assume that she is not coming back. In this scenario, divorce is the only option left. Divorce in UK is extremely expensive and now that I am unemployed and my savings are almost depleted, I would be bankrupt.

5- Can I divorce in Pakistan as the marriage happened there?
6 -When my in-laws learn of my divorce, can my wife start an English divorce against me here?

I need to move on with my life and get married again as I am not getting any younger and my wife has wasted 8 years of my life. I cannot get married here in the UK without doing an English divorce. And, I understand that if I get married in Pakistan again, I cannot bring my new wife and she will remain in Pakistan. I will visit her quarterly.

[ztech]

Forgot to add this bit :
My wife also made false allegations to the police.

[secret.simon]

I'll answer the questions in a slightly different order.

2- Is my child eligible for a British passport?

Assuming that the child was born in the UK, yes, the child would automatically be a British citizen because one of the parents had ILR at the time of the child's birth.

3- If yes, will HO or HMPO need my consent ?

No, because (assuming birth in the UK) the child is already a British citizen.

You can get a court order blocking HMPO from issuing the child a passport (see link in next response).

Keep in mind that that does not stop the child from being issued a Pakistani passport and travelling abroad based on that.

4- If my wife decides to take my child abroad, will she be stopped at the airport?

Not automatically. But see the Gov.UK page on international parental child abduction and other resources that can be found online by searching for terms such as "child abduction" etc, such as this one .

1- What will my wife do now that her visa has been curtailed?

It is possible that your wife's visa is not curtailed. It is up to the HO to have a look at the circumstances and decide whether to curtail the visa or not.

As the mother of a British citizen child, it is possible that the Home Office will allow her to acquire a visa and remain in/return to the UK on that basis.

5- Can I divorce in Pakistan as the marriage happened there?
6 -When my in-laws learn of my divorce, can my wife start an English divorce against me here?

I need to move on with my life and get married again as I am not getting any younger and my wife has wasted 8 years of my life. I cannot get married here in the UK without doing an English divorce. And, I understand that if I get married in Pakistan again, I cannot bring my new wife and she will remain in Pakistan. I will visit her quarterly.

The conjunction of Divorce and immigration can be a tricky subject. Much better to think things through calmly than act in haste.

Only one divorce is needed, in either Pakistan or in the UK. A divorce in Pakistan should be recognised in the UK as well, assuming it is issued before any proceedings in the UK courts end.

I would strongly advise that any second marriage should occur only after a decree absolute issued by a court in either country.

[ztech]

Thank you secret.simon.
I feel like I have been a visa mule and my wife and her in-laws have just used me to get a British child and then solidify her foot in the UK. Looking around in the forum, this seems to have happened to quite a number of people. Has Priti and HO not got wind of this visa mule scam yet? What are they doing to discourage such behaviour?

I have some further questions based on what you have said , stated below in bold.

3- If yes, will HO or HMPO need my consent ?

No, because (assuming birth in the UK) the child is already a British citizen.

You can get a court order blocking HMPO from issuing the child a passport (see link in next response).

Keep in mind that that does not stop the child from being issued a Pakistani passport and travelling abroad based on that.

Since my wife was a dependant of me and my son is also in a way a dependant of me, I am surprised that HMPO will not ask for my consent or my documents. Bear in mind that my wife is not aware that I am now a British citizen. In fact, I rcvd HO letter the very next day after she left that I had become one.

1- What will my wife do now that her visa has been curtailed?

It is possible that your wife's visa is not curtailed. It is up to the HO to have a look at the circumstances and decide whether to curtail the visa or not.

As the mother of a British citizen child, it is possible that the Home Office will allow her to acquire a visa and remain in/return to the UK on that basis.

I have been informed by a family friend who lives in Croydon that she spotted my wife at Croydon station couple of months ago ( presumably to go to Lunar House ).

[secret.simon]

I feel like I have been a visa mule and my wife and her in-laws have just used me to get a British child and then solidify her foot in the UK. Looking around in the forum, this seems to have happened to quite a number of people. Has Priti and HO not got wind of this visa mule scam yet? What are they doing to discourage such behaviour?

You must keep in mind that the "best interests of the child" can come into play here, which can restrict the field of operation for the SSHD and the Home Office.

Since my wife was a dependant of me and my son is also in a way a dependant of me, I am surprised that HMPO will not ask for my consent or my documents. Bear in mind that my wife is not aware that I am now a British citizen. In fact, I rcvd HO letter the very next day after she left that I had become one.

If the child was born in the UK, while you were on ILR, the child would automatically be a British citizen and thus would not be your dependent. You do not need to have held British citizenship for this to have occured.

You mentioned that you had ILR when you had sponsored your wife. That likely means that she already has the proof of you having ILR at the time of the child's birth. And she would of course, as the mother, have a copy of the child's birth certificate. That should be sufficient for the child to apply for and get a British passport.

You can try to get the court order, as mentioned in my previous post, to block the HMPO from issuing the child a British passport.

But the child is a British citizen and not your dependent.

If it makes you feel any better, to the best of my knowledge (but I am not certain), your wife won't be able to sponsor another spouse to the UK after divorce, if she has a visa based on being the parent of a British child. She will only be able to sponsor the other spouse afer she gets ILR and will need to meet all the requirements (minimum income, etc) at that time.

[ztech]

Thank you.
Will HMPO tell me if a passport has already been issued for my child? No point in trying to get a court order if passport has already been issued.

[secret.simon]

Thank you.
Will HMPO tell me if a passport has already been issued for my child? No point in trying to get a court order if passport has already been issued.

I am not sure. There are Data Protection implications.

Then again, if you can prove that you have Parental Responsibility for the child, you should be able to get the information.

But if you do have Parental responsibility, the HMPO may well inquire why you can't just ask the other parent.

[ztech]

Thank you very much.