unmarried

[adrianahr]

Hola,
Thank in advance all of you for your time in reading and answering me.

I have been in England for 8 years. I have a discretionary leave to remain until 2012. I applied in January 2007 for the IGS as I hava finished a master degree. In JUne the IGS was changed for the Post Study work visa. However the Home Office didn't give me any of them and took 2 years in answer me and gave me a discretionary leave to remain on December 2009. Why? no reasons.

On February 2010 I applied for the unmarried partner visa as I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for 5 years. Leaving toghether since January 2007. the Home Office denied my unmarried visa on the ground that I was in a discretionary leave to remain and for this reason I can't switch to unmarried visa. However they made a mistake as they considered my application as a spouse visa application. I appealed to this decision and the judgment was in my favor as the home O. made a mistake in law.

Even with this the HO didn't want to reconsider his decision and sostein to don't give me the unmarried visa. I would lilke to go for judicial review now.

Myu question is: 1- the fact that I still have visa to stay and work. is the HO braking the article 8 in not recognizing my truly relationship? I feel that I can settled properly as we can make future and long terms plans if we dont know what is going to happen in a year time!.

Any suggestion?

Thanks,

Adriana

[Greenie]

When you were granted Discretionary Leave in 2009 was this until 2012 or were you granted an extension of your Discretionary Leave after you won your unmarried partner appeal?

It is not possible to switch in country from Discretionary Leave to unmarried partner visa as you don't satisfy paragraph 295D (i)

295D. The requirements to be met by a person seeking leave to remain as the unmarried or same-sex partner of a person present and settled in the United Kingdom are that:

(i) the applicant has limited leave to remain in the United Kingdom which was given in accordance with any of the provisions of these Rules;

The reason you don't satisfy the above paragraph is because you have discretionary leave, which is leave given outside the immigration rules.

For what reason did the judge find that the Home Office made a mistake in law?

[adrianahr]

Hola thank you for answer me.
1- I was granted discretionary leave in 2009 until 2012.
2- I understand that to switch I must be in a limited leave to reamin within the rules.
however I am in a discretionary leave to remain because Home Office took 2 years to answer my initial IGS applicatio. Just with the support of the MP of my borough I obtained that the Home Office provided me with a visa but unfortunately was the discretionary leave.

So I am under this liitation to switch because teh Home Office inneficiency, no because I have done anything wrong. That's is what I would like to argue in a Judicial review. If they provided me with the right visa on the right time I wouldn't be in this position now.

The Judge held the appeal on the fact that the Home Office considered my application as a spouse of a person settled in the uk and not as an unmarried parnter application of a person settled in the Uk. (english).

I wrote to them and they said that they granted me my indefinite leave to remain under compassionate circunstances as I have a long relationship with a UK citizen. Even do I haven't done anything wrong before with my application. Now when I would like the Home Office to recognize this realtionship as unmarried partner they do not accpeted because I have been granted with a discretionary leave to remain.!!!

It is just a circle.


Thanks,
Adriana

[Kitty]

Your problem is that you have Discretionary Leave.

Even if the outcome of your appeal was that the HO had applied the wrong criteria to your application, and they were ordered to reconsider it against the unmarried partner rules, you would not have succeeeded. The unmarried partner rules for leave to remain are the same as the spouse rules in that you must be in the UK in accordance with the Immigration Rules.

It's not that the HO doesn't recognise your unmarried partner status (in fact, it sounds like your DL is based on your relationship). It's that the Immigration Rules don't allow you to apply for leave to remain on that basis.

Your complaint is really that you should really have been granted some kind of leave within the Rules back in 2009, rather than discretionary leave. I agree that the Home Office should be required to answer for their failures, but the problem is not the refusal to grant you leave to remain as an unmarried partner, IMO.

[Greenie]

I wrote to them and they said that they granted me my indefinite leave to remain under compassionate circunstances as I have a long relationship with a UK citizen.

I am confused. Do you have ILR or DL?

Why did the UKBA fail to make a decision on your IGS application?

[adrianahr]

HI Kitty and Greenie ,

Thanks for the time.

I have discretionary leave to remain until 2012. I have not idea why they didn't give the IGS or post study work permit. HO never give me any reason or whatsoever at the begining. One month ago when I asked to reconsidered the decision about the unmarried partner they mentioned in aletter that I have applied a year after a obtained my degree. This is completely false.

Know as they fail on giving me leave to remain within the rules, as Kitty mentioned, I would like to submit a judicial review in their decission and mistakes during all these years since 2007.

Do you think are there enough ground to succed on it? any advice in what to do?

Adriana