Post
by Lucapooka » Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:09 pm
Not specifically demanded for the visa to be issued, but specifically practised in the application of the rules afterwards. That want to know that the sponsor, him or herself, actually intends to enter the UK, and not simply decide to remain at home but send the family to live in the UK enjoying all the advantages (schools, health, etc) of life in a mature welfare state.
I have seen this situation first hand. For example, last year a co-worker was asked to go the UK on a T2 (ICT) and he applied at the same time as his wife and family. She left a few weeks ahead of him to sort out schooling, but on arrival at LHR was detained for further enquiries as the database showed that the migrant sponsor's visa had not yet been activated. They wanted to know the whereabouts of the migrant and whether or not he actually still intended to go to the UK. After contacting the sponsoring migrant and speaking with him, the wife was granted temporary admission, but her passport was retained and she was asked to return for interview will her partner when he eventually arrived in the UK.
This event has also been reported on other immigration forums in the case of settlement visas, where the UK citizen has been living outside the UK and is now returning with a partner. The partner has travelled to the UK before the sponsor and the whole issue of credibility with regard to the sponsor's intentions to travel also has come into question. If, for example, I were to split from my wife, there seems little to prevent me gifting her a settlement visa to go live in the first world for a few years, while I stay here and continue as normal.
