Pregnant Fiancee, URGENT! Visit for marriage or what?

[Farce]

Hi, I wonder if I can get some help for my case.
My fiancee is in the third trimester of pregnancy, with our first child.
She is originally from Peru, but has a schengen european pass to live and work in Spain from a previous marriage. She is now divorced from that man.
I am a British Citizen and live in London.

She has been in the UK on a 6 month tourist visitors visa previously.
It has run out, and 2 months ago (March 08) she returned to Spain.

Now, the baby is due in 2 months (July 08). And I want her with me here in London, and want the child born in the UK.

What is our best option? Apply for a:

1. Visit for marriage visa? - could she apply after the 6 months to stay longer in the country? or change her status? What qualifies as evidence that we are going to marry? my local anglican vicar refused to marry us unless she has right to settlement!

2. Fiancee visa - processing times are too long.. or since circumstances are urgent with the baby due.. would they speed up the process considerably if I state things clearly in the sponsors letter?

3. Bring her here on another tourist visa and have the baby born here, she stays for 6 months, and then worry about what to do next.. could we apply within the UK for her to stay, or extend her stay once the child is born?

Any advice would be most appreciated!
We need to be together. For three months now, she has been without me and she is having a hard time coping with the pregnancy without physical and emotional support.

Ben

[Wanderer]

I don't think they'll let her fly will they? Certinaly not by the time u've sorted a visa.

Check her residence card too - she might have lost her entitlement to it on the breakdown of her previous marriage.

[Farce]

I don't think they'll let her fly will they? Certinaly not by the time u've sorted a visa.

Check her residence card too - she might have lost her entitlement to it on the breakdown of her previous marriage.

Even if they wont allow her on a plane, we may have to take a coach from Spain to the UK.

In reply to the second point, she hasnt officially announced that she is divorced.
What we were planning on saying is that the divorce is being finalised and that we're still waiting for the papers to come through from Peru.

[Frontier Mole]

What country did she get married in?
What country did she get divorced in?
Year of marriage & year of divorce please.

The schengen pass / ID card visa is more than likely to be invalid, the divorce date is final - regardless of what you say about papers in Peru. If the Spanish authorities have cancelled the ID it will show up as such if used.

Be sensible, a chicken & bull story is just that. Legal documents are stamped / dated etc. You can not state on one hand that you are waiting for papers and then present them with a date that predates your statement. If you start off saying one thing that is not true you are engaging in deception and her UK entry will be illegal. Worse still could result in removal and a 10 year ban on returning to the UK.

She can apply for a visit visa but you can not change to a fiancé or spouse visa later on. There is also a rule of no more than six months out of the last 12 using a visitor’s visa - that might impact.

Turning up in the UK heavily pregnant is not going to go unnoticed. As she is not a UK or EEA national then she might be asked to provide health cover for the birth. No health cover - no entry. Even with health cover she can be refused at the port as the tourist visa does not include coming to the UK to give birth. Medical visitors’ visa does cover this but there are extensive rules to be met.

You can't apply for a marriage visa because you are not married.

You can apply for a fiancé visa. This is the best route but it may take longer than you have got before the birth.

No matter that way you try to get her here you are not going to readily achieve your aim by the birth date.

[Farce]

What country did she get married in?
What country did she get divorced in?
Year of marriage & year of divorce please.
achieve your aim by the birth date.

Thanks for the response Frontier Mole.

She was Married in Peru on feb/06, and divorced in Peru, and the divorce papers were issued in late March 08. So she had been married for almost 2 years.

So she has a few months left I believe before she becomes illegal in Spain.

Its sounding like fiancee visa or getting married, and applying for the marriage visa may be the best option..

Although.. takling the visitors visa route.
She wouldnt then present the fact that she is divorced to the embassy.
She would apply for a visit visa, and I, as her sponsor would cover all expenses.
Thats all.

[quote="There is also a rule of no more than six months out of the last 12 using a visitor’s visa - that might impact.[/quote]

She was in the UK for 6 months from Oct/7 to March/08.
Are you saying that she will not be able to enter the UK again on a visit/tourist visa until another 6 months has passed from March?

Regarding private medical care expenses if she could visit on a tourist visa.
Couldnt I as the sponsor present my bank statements and state that I would be covering all expenses for her to come in the UK and give birth?
I do have sufficient funds to do that.

There is also the factor that she doesnt work in Spain, because she is pregnant, so I as the sponsor will have to show that I have supported her and will cover all expenses during her trip to the UK.
Family and friends have also contributed in supporting her.
her accounts will reflect that.

We could say that it will only be a brief visit, for a couple of days.
She did that on her previous visit to the UK and went onto stay the entire 6 months.

A third and final option would be for her to get a part time job. Working and pay tax in Spain and eventually after 1 or 2 years get her EU Nationality.

Ofcourse the pain of being away from my child and woman would be great...

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[yankeegirl]

Although.. takling the visitors visa route.
She wouldnt then present the fact that she is divorced to the embassy.

I'd be very wary of this as an option. I think this could be construed as deception, and if you have a read through this forum, you'll see the UK has brought in mandatory bans for thing such as overstaying and being deceptive during the application process. It may take a bit longer to do things above board, but totally worth it when the alternative is to risk your partner not being allowed in the UK for up to 10 years.

On a non-immigration topic, has she been receiving ante-natal care in Spain? For purely health reasons, it may not be the best idea to turn up ready to give birth somewhere where the medical history isn't known. I say this solely as someone who has had a couple kids, and whose first pregnancy started off very normal but changed in the blink of an eye and became a very traumatic thing.

[Wanderer]

My thoughts;

1. The six months in every twelve 'rule is correct - visit visas are for visits, not living full time.

2. For how long was she married and how long did she life in Spain with her then husband? If less than three years in the first or less than one in the second she'll have lost her entitlement to the RP - I think.

3. ISTR someone here or on another baord getting stiffed 15k after a complicated birth, NHS is not cheap! I know I work on thier systems!

[Farce]

My thoughts;

2. For how long was she married and how long did she life in Spain with her then husband? If less than three years in the first or less than one in the second she'll have lost her entitlement to the RP - I think.

3. ISTR someone here or on another baord getting stiffed 15k after a complicated birth, NHS is not cheap! I know I work on thier systems!

2. She was Married in Peru on feb/06, and divorced in Peru, and the divorce papers were issued in late March 08. So she had been married for almost 2 years.
Sorry, what does RP stand for?

[Wanderer]

My thoughts;

2. For how long was she married and how long did she life in Spain with her then husband? If less than three years in the first or less than one in the second she'll have lost her entitlement to the RP - I think.

3. ISTR someone here or on another baord getting stiffed 15k after a complicated birth, NHS is not cheap! I know I work on thier systems!

2. She was Married in Peru on feb/06, and divorced in Peru, and the divorce papers were issued in late March 08. So she had been married for almost 2 years.
Sorry, what does RP stand for?

Residence Permit. So i'd say her RP isn't valid anymore. Suppose the consequences of that depend on the Spanish.

[Frontier Mole]

Do not take the risk of a visitor’s visa. If it is refused in Spain you will damage your credibility and it will become more difficult to get your girlfriend / fiancé / wife to the UK. She could also end up with a mandatory ban from the UK.

Even if she is issued with a VV the very fact she is / will be near the end of her pregnancy term is enough reason for the immigration officer at the port of entry to say no. The issue of a VV does not confer automatic right of entry to the UK. No matter what you say or how much you have in the bank if there is no documentation to prove you are booked into a private clinic / hospital etc, with named Dr. / midwife then you can forget it. There is a presumption that you will attempt or actually use the NHS. NHS medical treatment tourists are a common event. They are treated with contempt, with that in mind she will be going back to whence she came on the next ferry! Worse still they could hit out with the VV was obtained using false information and she will not see the UK for ten years on a mandatory ban for deception. This is an extreme scenario but has happened.

You have to really think about the consequences of the action you are considering.

As for 6 months in 12 – It is a rolling 12 month period. So in the last 12 months count how many months already spent in the UK? Say arriving June 08 – count July 07 to June 08 - already six months in her case. To be honest you would be unlucky in the normal course of events to get picked up on that point alone, add in all the other bits above and the risk factor is in my mind unacceptable.