One concept that is common with all cultures and ethnicities across the world is the notion of marriage. The theories of marriage may differ drastically on the basis of religion, class, community, geographical territories etc. but the idea is the same, to choose a life partner and start a life with them. It is a pretty simple concept, the conception of starting a family comes naturally to everyone. The sense of responsibility is also felt by the people involved. All it requires is for the married couple and their children to spend their lives together and they figure things out. But what happens when something that should come naturally to you, is destroyed by borders? Let’s explore the reality of such a situation in a real UK spouse Visa 2019 Case Synopsis.
As an Immigration Advisor at an Immigration Law firm based out of Mumbai, I have dealt with a lot of clients who come to us with all of their baggage to just be with their families. One such client was Mr. Sagar (name changed) with my superior.
Mr. Sagar is an Indian National who lives in Mumbai. He is married to a British National who is currently living in the UK. They also have two children; a 13 year of girl and a 5 year old baby boy who also live in the UK. The surprising part here is that the couple lived together for the initial years of their marriage and never since then. And what is more surprising here is that the client’s children have never lived with their father.
The client and his wife decided to move to the UK and settle there permanently for a better future for themselves and their children. The client’s wife and children did not have any problem in flying to the UK as they were all British Nationals (children were born in the UK), however, our client did not have an automatic right to live or travel to the UK. He was supposed to obtain a UK Spouse visa which would give him entry clearance for 2.5 years and then after subsequent extensions, Indefinite Leave to Remain. But the catch here is, the client was not eligible to apply for a UK Spouse visa. One would imagine that to become “eligible”, a person should be married to the British National and must have a genuine and subsisting relationship with their spouse right? But no, that is not enough according to the UK Immigration Rules. The applicant’s spouse in the UK (our client’s wife) is also required to meet a financial requirement of £18,600 which means that she has to earn the said income so that her spouse becomes eligible to come live with her in the UK. However, if the spouse in the UK does not earn the said income, the applicant and the sponsor can show cash savings of £62,500 which is approximately INR 55 lakh. These monies are often people’s life savings.
In the last 4 years, our client has applied for two Visit visas for the UK which were both refused. Our client’s family can come to India to visit him, but their children are accustomed to the UK lifestyle and it becomes difficult for them to stay here for longer periods due to drastic difference in lifestyle.
It is heart-breaking to hear the plight of such clients, there is not much they can do to be with their family, they can only try but all in vain.
For more UK Spouse Visa cases synopses such as above, to give you an idea of what people have been through so that nothing takes you by surprise, stay tuned with the The SmartMove2UK blog.
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