Partner to

[Babs19]

Hi,

Firstly, apologies if this topic has been covered already and I've missed it.

My partner is Togolese and lives and works in Ghana. We met 3 years ago while I was on holiday in Ghana and have maintained our relationship through my regular visits to the country.

After my most recent visit, I found out that I was pregnant and after an agonising few months, I gave birth to twins boy and girl in June 2018. We applied for a visa in May 2018 with my brother as the sponsor in order for my partner to come and at least be present for the birth, but that was refused mainly on the basis that the ECO didn't think he'd return back to Ghana and also because he didn't clarify something very minor in his bank statements.

To be honest, my partner and I have been completely oblivious to this whole immigration/visa thing. We didn't realise it would affect our decision to get married, have children, our careers and the type of work we do now and in future. In hindsight, I would have quit freelancing, put my startup on hold and just gotten a regular job, done a quick wedding in Ghana, then sent for him to come to live. Neither of us had any idea this would impact us so.

...Anyway, I'm no longer freelancing as I have my hands full with the twins, so I'm now claiming benefits. The plan is to attempt another visitor visa with my brother as sponsor again. If he's granted 6 months, I'll quickly find a job within that time and I'll use my work/earnings for a spousal visa after he returns back to Ghana so he can come and join us permanently.

I have a couple of questions:
Would I be able to sponsor his application if I'm on benefits?
Would it be possible for him to come to the UK on any other visa that would allow him to live and work?
We managed to get his name on the twins' birth certs and they now have their British passports - is there anything else we can do to strengthen his visitor visa application?

I'm the main breadwinner and would be able to command a higher salary, but equally, I'm also the one who had to carry the pregnancy, have the children and be on my own looking after them. It's an unfortunate catch 22 position. I need to be working for 6 months or more and earning a certain amount of money and yet, I can't work because I have to care for our children, but if he were here, I wouldn't be the burden on the UK taxpayer that I am now. He'd be around to look after the children while I worked or vice versa.

By the time we had realised the impact of our decision to have children, I was already heavily pregnant and even though I applied for many jobs and went for interviews, I wasn't offered a position. Isn't there any leniency? There seems to be something very unfair and biased in this whole application process.

[Londoner007]

Almost certainly any of his visit visa applications will be refused.

Easiest option for you is to get married in Ghana then on return either get a job or use savings and get all support documents together and then apply for a spouse visa.

The are only certain benefits that excludes you from the £18,600 financial requirements, such as:

DLA
PIP
Severe Disablement Allowance
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Attendance Allowance
Armed Forces Independence Payment or Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
Constant Attendance Allowance, Mobility Supplement or War Disablement Pension under the War Pensions Scheme
Bereavement benefits

You would still need to prove you will have “adequate maintenance” to financially maintain your spouse

[Babs19]

Thank you for your response.

The biggest challenge would be childcare for our twins in order for me to work, which would cost about £2,000 per month! And being as young as they are, leaving them in Africa isn't really an option.

Going back to the visitor visa - we're looking to do another application with my brother as the sponsor as he's working and can afford it. Hopefully, this will at least allow my partner to come and see his children, even if it's just for a short time.

As there's no other way I can successfully send for him, with regards to my brother sponsoring his application, is there anything we can do to help strengthen his application?

We'll be including the following in the application:
A statement from me and my brother explaining our situation and saying we'll ensure he returns at the end of his visit
Details of my brother's employment (payslips and bank statements)
Brother's passport bio data page
Partner's passport bio data page
My passport bio data page
Twins' passport bio data page and birth cert
My rent agreement (where my partner will stay during his visit)
Details of partner's employment (payslilps, bank statements and letter from employer)
Supporting letter from MP

Thanks again

[Casa]

It's not an issue of who sponsors your husband, it's whether he can submit evidence of stronger ties to his home country than he has in the UK. With a wife and children here, together with a previous visitor visa refusal, the ECO may well consider he is at risk of overstaying in the UK.

Why would your husband be staying with your brother during his visit, instead of with you and your twins.

You mention 'your partner'. Even with children together, unless you have proof of living together in a relationship 'akin to marriage' for a minimum of 2 years with the documented evidence to support this, such as joint tenancy, shared finances etc., you won't qualify for an Unmarried Partner visa. Maintaining a long distance relationship with frequent visits unfortunately won't be sufficient.

[Babs19]

Thanks for all the responses.

We'll give the visitor visa a shot and pray for the best... for now.

@Casa, I made mention of my tenancy agreement as my partner would be staying with us

Thanks