Husband brought second wife to uk without my knowledge

Hey I hope someone can help me

I am a British born citizen in the UK. Me and my husband married 11 years ago nearly. We are not divorced. My husband recently went back home to Pakistan and married a second wife without my knowledge. As I have a Pakistani POC through marriage as I had a English civil marriage and Pakistani nikah. Our marriage is legal in both countries. He has just returned to UK with his second wife without my knowlege and they have only been married for a few months. As of 5 months ago we were happily married as far as i was aware and his behaviour showed it. he did try to divorce me previously in 2020 but only submitted application but never went through with it or revoked it as he done it out of anger. I never received a degree absolute either. but we have been happily married living together regardless. I do not know what visa he brought her on as he won’t disclose. They only have nikah but also not legally registered in Pakistan as I checked with Nadra through secret marriage database. Either way I did not agree to it by written permission to Nadra. They are both in the UK the last few days but he’s refusing to come home to even see kids. He is a dual national with both British and Pakistani passport. He also seems to think that if we divorce now that she will have full legal rights in the UK. What can I do to legally fight this in both countries? What are my rights in regards to this? Will I also be in trouble if home office finds out? Me and children are heart broken and I do not want to divorce him regardless of the situation.

Thank you

I'm sorry about the situation you find yourself in. I'll leave others better placed to advise on the legality of the marriage in Pakistan. However:
Firstly, you won't be in trouble with the Home Office.

Your husband's second marriage won't be recognised under British law and even if it is deemed to be legal in Pakistan, it still won't be legal in the UK.

Divorce won't change the above, as you were legally married when he took another wife.

To protect your rights and the rights of your children, your local Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) will be able to advise you, and this is free.

Is your husband a British citizen? If yes, how did he acquire British citizenship? If he immigrated to the UK, was he ever on a spousal visa himself or did he immigrate on a different pathway? If he was naturalised as a British citizen, did he do so as the spouse of a British citizen?

On a separate note, were you married in the UK or in another country?

The reason I ask the questions above is that the Home Office had a policy on polygamous marriages and discouraging them.

If your husband interacted with the Home Office in the past for either immigration or naturalisation purposes, they would have it on record that he was married and that his spouse was already resident in the UK and therefore should not have issued a spousal visa to the second wife.

It is however possible that the second wife has come to the UK under a different visa, such as a student or visit visa.

He is a British citizen now but had a spousal visa through me. We married the civil service way in sense of registry office but also had our nikah done in Pakistan and our marriage is legal in both countries. When we first met he was originally on psw. He’s been a British citizen for the last 6 years

He is a British citizen now but had a spousal visa through me. We married the civil service way in sense of registry office but also had our nikah done in Pakistan and our marriage is legal in both countries. When we first met he was originally on psw. He’s been a British citizen for the last 6 years

Unlikely he has sponsored rhe second wife for a spouse visa as he would have to submit evidence of rhe divorce in order to do so. Are you sure he did not process a divorce in Pakistan without your knowledge?

Possible she has come into the uk on a visitor visa, which means she has to leave and can't switch visa categories within the uk.

CR001 wrote: ↑

Tue May 09, 2023 12:54 pm

Unlikely he has sponsored rhe second wife for a spouse visa as he would have to submit evidence of rhe divorce in order to do so. Are you sure he did not process a divorce in Pakistan without your knowledge?

Possible she has come into the uk on a visitor visa, which means she has to leave and can't switch visa categories within the uk.

He has not processed the divorce in Pakistan because I just renewed my POC. Also we are not divorced here either as I still have my civil marriage regardless