10 years long Residency

[Alner]

Hello CR001,

I tried finding the right topic regarding my ILR based on a 10 year long residence but could not find one so I am posting on here hoping you or anyone else would be able to give me some advice.
My case is as follows:

Arrived in UK in 2001 and applied for political asylum which was refused. During this time met an English girl and had a daughter together but never married. I separated from her in 2003 and was living illegally until 2005 when I met a polish girl (while my ex partner took my daughter and moved to Germany with her army husband). I went back home with my polish wife in 2006, got married and entered the UK under a EEA spouse visa. Timeline is below:

September 2006 - 6 mnths visa
August 2007 - 5 years residence until August 2012
Due to personal reasons I divorced my polish wife in Dec 2008.

In Aug 2012 applied for PR residence as an EEA spouse (i knew my chances were slim but what other choice did I have) and got refused as I had not been married to my wife for 3 years. At that time my ex partner had split from her husband and had returned to England from Germany and helped me apply for FLR O as the parent of a child born and residing in UK and in May 2013 was granted leave for 30 mnths, In Feb 2016 extended it for another 30 months until Aug 2018. In December 2016 applied for ILR based on 10 years continuous lawful stay under any type of visa.
Today I got the refusal letter stating that due to divorcing my EEA wife before the 5 yrs residence was over, my stay between Dec 2008 until May 2013 had been unlawful hence the refusal, also they have not given me right of appeal but are advising me to pay £500 NHS charge so they can consider my application as an extension to my FLR O even though that does not end until Aug 2018. My question is, was I illegal after my divorce from my EEA spouse and what would you advice my best course of action to be. I am begging you to please consider in replying to my post as I have been so stressed and crying all day as I am reaching 40 and still have nothing certain in life.

Thanks

[Casa]

I have split this post into its own topic from the other member's thread you had tagged your question onto. Your situation is completely different to that of the other member.

[Alner]

I have split this post into its own topic from the other member's thread you had tagged your question onto. Your situation is completely different to that of the other member.

Thank you Casa and hopefully someone will be able to shed some light & give some advice.
Based on your experience with this forum and being a moderator, what are your personal thoughts on my case?
Appreciate any kind of response.

[secret.simon]

A Residence Card issued under the EEA Regulations does not grant any right of residence. It only certifies a right of residence that exists due to EU law. If that right of residence under the law ceases, your residence in the UK is unlawful regardless of whether you have a Residence Card or not.

You acquired a right to reside in the UK by your marriage to a Polish girl in September 2006. You then divorced her in December 2008. When was the decree absolute of this marriage issued?

If the decree absolute of the marriage was issued less than three years after the date of marriage, then you would not have had a right to reside in the UK from the date of the decree absolute. Your residence in the UK from the date of the decree absolute till the date of issue of the FLR(O) would be illegal residence and hence you would not be eligible for ILR(LR).

Your best bet now would be to keep renewing your FLR(O) till you become eligible for ILR(LR), most likely in May 2023.

[Alner]

Thank you secret.simon! Can I sponsor my wife to join me here even though I only hold FLR (FP) for 30 months which I will obviously renew it again as I got the FLR (FP) under the parent route from a previous relationship. If she applies from my home country to join me here on a visa what are the chances of her application being successful?

Any answer will be greatly appreciated!

[Casa]

You are unable to sponsor a spouse until you have settled status (ILR).

[secret.simon]

Can I sponsor my wife to join me here even though I only hold FLR (FP)

No. As Casa has put it succinctly, you cannot sponsor your (presumably non-EEA) wife until after your ILR, so about 2023.

When did you marry this wife? Was it before or after the date of the decree absolute of divorce with your Polish wife?

[Alner]

You are unable to sponsor a spouse until you have settled status (ILR).

The reason why I am asking is because,Tier 2, people on student visa and some other categories can sponsor a partner. If they refuse it can I appeal under article 8 right to family life?
What other legal ways are there available to me to bring her over for the duration of my FLR (FP), I believe there should be some way for people in my position to be able to bring a partner over (I might be wrong) just saying and listening to what other people who maybe have experienced the same say.

Thanks

[Alner]

Can I sponsor my wife to join me here even though I only hold FLR (FP)

No. As Casa has put it succinctly, you cannot sponsor your (presumably non-EEA) wife until after your ILR, so about 2023.

When did you marry this wife? Was it before or after the date of the decree absolute of divorce with your Polish wife?

It was after, around 6-7 years after my divorce. Is that a relevant question though? Is there any legal way of bringing her over.

Also regarding ILR for myself, since I entered UK on June 2001, can I apply under the 20 years route even though I withdrew my application in 2006 when I went back home to get married to the EEA person or has the chaine been broken. I was away only for 6 weeks?

[CR001]

There is no '20 year ILR' route. It is FLR(FP) for 10 years before ILR.

Unless you list your full UK immigration history including visa start and end dates, appeals etc, any advice on long residence ILR and whether you qualify is only going to be guesswork.

[Alner]

There is no '20 year ILR' route. It is FLR(FP) for 10 years before ILR.

Unless you list your full UK immigration history including visa start and end dates, appeals etc, any advice on long residence ILR and whether you qualify is only going to be guesswork.

Hi CR001

My timeline is as follows:

June 01 - applied asylum (refused within 2 years) but stayed nonetheless
Aug 06 - went back home, got married with EEA national
Sept 06 - 6 months visa granted & entered UK legally
Aug 07 - granted 5 years EEA residence card
Feb 09 - divorced EEA spouse (due to personal reasons that I couldn't accept) divorce was decreed back home where the marriage took place
Aug 12 - applied for PR based on 5 years (I now know that I should have waited 7 more months before agreeing to the divorce but that's gone now)
May 13 - granted 30 months FLR (O) as a parent of a british child born and residing in UK, child with a partner that I met in 2002
Feb 16 - granted another 30 months FLR (O) for the same reasons
Dec 16 - applied for ILR based on 10 years and got refused due to divorcing from the EEA national so the link was broken and HO said that from Feb 09 - May 13 classed as illegal so no 10 years
HO though are offering me another 30 months FLR (FP) which obviously I will accept.

That is my immigration history in UK. Any opinions, help, advice will be greatly appreciated.

Also another question is, I am now married back home and I would like to bring my lady over here so I can start a proper family life, are there any ways of obtaining a visa for her to join me.
Looking forward to your response.

Thanks

[CR001]

There is no ILR route based on your immigration history. All you can do is wait the 10 years now on FLR(FP) to get ILR in 2023.

[Alner]

There is no ILR route based on your immigration history. All you can do is wait the 10 years now on FLR(FP) to get ILR in 2023.

Based on my FLR(FP) can I still sponsor my wife to come over to the UK as I know that if I try and apply for her for a tourist visa, they will definitely not give it to her as they normally tend to refuse any such visas. Or what is the best way for me to apply to bring her over here. I am sure that there must be some way as how can they expect for a person to wait 10 years before starting a family (this is me hoping on a good response ).