HELP! Complicated Situation! Any feedback is appreciated!

[e-ilya]

Hello!

I am a Russian national and have been studying in UK since 1996, unfortunately I have two gaps in my residency 6 months and 12 months, so as far as I know I do not qualify for 10 year rule.
I have made an application for an unmarried partner visa before my student visa ran out, but my partner needed her passport to travel back to Sweden, so she collected it from the home office. While the application was being considered, our relationship ended, obviously its not possible to plan for things like that.
Two days ago I recieved my application back, it was rejected. This was due to the fact that Home Office wrote a letter to me asking to resubmit my partners passport. I never recieved the letter, weather it was lost in the post or someone picked t up in my appartment block by accident and never bothered to put it back I dont know. Now I have 10 working days to appeal and an overstayed visa.
As far as I understand I dont have any grounds of appeal beacuse the descision that they made was right, also I am not in the relationship any more.

I am panicing, because I don't want ot go to Russia beacuse we still have conscription and if I go back I'll have to go to the army.

Now, I was doing a BA course, but failed to get a qualification. I mean I was attending but repeated the second year twice and didnt pass. My dad got really ill with cancer, and it was really hard for me to deal with it on a personal level. I was depressed and couldn't concentrate on my studies.

I just want to find out waht options do I have if I want to stay. Is it possible to apply for a student visa again in my situation If I enroll on the same course again? Is it better to leave and apply for it from Russia? Will the unmarried partners visa rejection give me any problems with visa/immigration in the future? I have lots of friends who really dont want to see me leave, a lot of them said they would be willing to help with marriage/civil partnership if need be. What in your view is the best option for me at this stage? My time is running out I have till 4 July to submit an appeal.

Please help, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[SYH]

It sounds like you have been here for 10 years.
When did hte 6 month and the 1 year gap occur?

[e-ilya]

Hello!
My timeline goes as follows:
1 December 1996- 30 June 2000 Boarding School
12 March 2001 - 31 December 2001 Diploma Course
24 January 2003 - 31 October 2006 BA Course

I have submitted the unmarried partners visa application in August 2006 and got the rejection 3 days ago.

While I was waiting for the outcome I was working. I got a great job in the technology sector working for Apple. So I know i'm employable and I can have a decent future in this country. If I go back to russia I wont be able to get a job at least untill i'm 28 because I have no papers to show that I have either been in the army or have a medical condition preventing me from serving in the army. To go back now will mean 3 years wasted, plus I'll have to hide somwhere.

I AM REALLY DESPERATE TO FIND A SOLUTION

[e-ilya]

Sorry I got it wrong, it was an 8 months and a 12 months break. This was due to the fact that I was late submittig the applications and the courses that I applied for were full, so I had to wait. I have come to the country when I was 13, so most of my conscious life I was here. I am now wondering weather I can get a visa on compassionate grounds. I dont really have any friends in russia...

Don't really know what to do. I'm prepared to spend good money on a good immigration specialist, but I am wondering weather anyone can guarntee a positive outcome...

Also, can anyone suggest a good immigration specialist that deal with complicated cases like mine?

[SYH]

Where were you during the gaps?

You can forget compassionate grouds

[e-ilya]

Well during the gaps I was in russia, since I did not have a visa to stay here. I'm pretty sure I dont qualify for the 10 year rule because of that.
I mean my only option from what I can see is to get a student visa again and find someone to marry.

[Wanderer]

If I go back to russia I wont be able to get a job at least untill i'm 28 because I have no papers to show that I have either been in the army or have a medical condition preventing me from serving in the army.

My russian gf's brother is 25, he's working and not in the army, it's easy to avoid in the usual Russian way..

I presume you must have rich parents to study in the UK, so can they not buy a Doctor's note for you? Also I know if u study in russia you will not have to do military service.

I can't see anyway to regularlise your stay in the UK without a degree or UK souse I'm afraid.

[e-ilya]

It would cost a lot of money to get the papers to be expempt from the russian army. Plus there are instances when people have paid and still got taken away.
To be honest i'd rather spend this kind of money on trying to stay in this country.
Do you think there is any way I can get a student visa if I enroll on the same course that i have failed?
Suppose I have a potential spouse, what could be a plan of action in my particular case?
Does it matter weather it is a UK spouse or EU?

[sakura]

It would cost a lot of money to get the papers to be expempt from the russian army. Plus there are instances when people have paid and still got taken away.
To be honest i'd rather spend this kind of money on trying to stay in this country.
Do you think there is any way I can get a student visa if I enroll on the same course that i have failed?
Suppose I have a potential spouse, what could be a plan of action in my particular case?
Does it matter weather it is a UK spouse or EU?

As for other (legal) options, there doesn't seem like much you can do. If you do want to study for a degree or something, then now would be the best time to apply for the course. I suppose there is no harm in re-doing a course as long as you have sufficient money and evidence that you're serious this time. You will need approval from the school before you can submit your application for a student visa. And you most certainly cannot switch into anything as an overstayer, so you should do things now while your visa is still valid, else you'll have to go home and apply for EC.

You don't have any other grounds to remain in the UK, even though you've been here since 13, you went back home for far too long to qualify for LR category.

As for the marriage action....well, seems to me that it would be a marriage of convenience, no? Which the BIA does not take lightly, and, if they review your immigration history and figure it out, you'll definately be chucked out the country. So don't try this unless you really do have a serious 'real' partner.

Just do the legal stuff. Apply as a student, or try getting a company to sponsor you for a WP. There's nothing else you can do. A decent lawyer would tell you the same thing.

[Wanderer]

It would cost a lot of money to get the papers to be expempt from the russian army. Plus there are instances when people have paid and still got taken away.
To be honest i'd rather spend this kind of money on trying to stay in this country.
Do you think there is any way I can get a student visa if I enroll on the same course that i have failed?
Suppose I have a potential spouse, what could be a plan of action in my particular case?
Does it matter weather it is a UK spouse or EU?

No it doesn't, plus you haven't answered why you can't study in Russia where you will be exempt. These are the questions the HO will ask, although possibly not the one about bribing the doctor...

Re; the the student visa here, it's possible, with a good excuse, but given you are now an overstayer and illegal (if I've read you right) you'd have to apply for that from Russia.

The rejected UPV or even ur overstay shouldn't be an issue to a new student visa but u'd need to present your case very strongly.

Re: bogus marriage, don't do it, it's fraud and the HO will drop on you and your cohort like a ton of bricks. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that would be a criminal offence with a jail sentence followed by deportation and no chance of ever returning legally.

[e-ilya]

Thanks for your reply!
What do you mean by a strong presentation of the case?
Also, if my visa ran out while my application was being considered, does that mean i'm an illegal?
Will I have any problems leaving the country on an overstayed visa, even if it was unintentional?

[avjones]

I am sorry to hear you are in difficult position

" Is it possible to apply for a student visa again in my situation If I enroll on the same course again? Is it better to leave and apply for it from Russia?"

As I understand it, you applied for the EEA permit before your student visa ran out, but the visa has now expired? That means you can't apply for a student visa in-country, you don't have leave to remain.

You would have to apply from Russia. WOuld you be OK with the funding? You may find that the previous unsatisfactory progress counts against you, so you'd have to set out clearly the reasons why.

"Will the unmarried partners visa rejection give me any problems with visa/immigration in the future?"

Why was it rejected?


"I have lots of friends who really dont want to see me leave, a lot of them said they would be willing to help with marriage/civil partnership if need be. "

SOunds a tiny bit illegal to me.

[SYH]

Although you had two gaps, I think you could argue that your ties with the UK were consistent of a resident for 10 years and you'd like to be considered.
If during the gap period you can show sufficient ties, like you still rented a place or something, you might just have enough to convince them