Spouse visa breakdown - Responsibility to inform UKBA

[Stargazer]

I am a British Citizen, who married a Pakistani national in June of last year. He was granted with a UK Spouse Visa shortly afterwards.

Sadly the relationship has broken down irretrievably, with no chance of reconciliation - it would now appear he had little intention of working to support us and considered me a 'meal ticket' to support his stay in the UK. His actions since the split have only confirmed this further and he has now moved out to stay with friends.

Despite this, I hate the thought of him being deported, as he has been in the UK since 2007 (previously on an extended study visa) and considers this his home. I offered to pay for a flight home for him to return to Pakistan, however he refused, stating he wants to remain in the UK until such a time he is asked to leave. I am therefore reluctant to notify the UKBA unless this is absolutely necessary.

Please can you advise me as to whether it is my responsibility to inform the UKBA as to the change in circumstances? Can I be prosecuted for not disclosing this information? Or is it ultimately his responsibility to inform them?

Any help you can give would be very much appreciated as I don't know what to do for the best

[harv]

Hi Stargazer

Since you are the sponsor it is your responsibility to update UKBA with your change in circumstances. However it will be in there hands to decide whether they would ask your partner to leave or to extend the stay.

As far as I know, it is legally your responsibility however I am not sure if you can be prosecuted if you do not tell this tot he UKBA. Say if your partner does not extend his stay after 2 years of the spouse visa and remains in the UK illegally etc...

Since your partner is on a Spouse VISA and the next stage would be either ILR or FLR, applying for these require further evidence from the sponsor and the applicant for subsisting relationship. So the truth will come out anyways at the end of the VISA or when your partner goes to extend the VISA.

[Stargazer]

Harv - thank you for your quick response. What I suspected but didn't want to hear! Just confused as to the legalities - the form I signed made no reference to this and the wording on the UKBA website quite vague ('you should inform by writing to...') - doesn't state whether this is a legal requirement though. Guess I'll have to double check with an immigration lawyer as don't want to get myself into any more trouble! Thanks again.