Spouse Visa granted - ILR advice required

[banglaboy]

Hi

Just to say very informative board, have now got a spouse visa for my wife back in Apr this year and she is now in the UK.


The next bit in the journey would of course obatain ILR in two years time. I have read the home office guidlines however have a question,

When my wife came to the UK in April I also deciede to get a civil weeding down at my local registry and duly we got married again a month later of her arrival to the UK.

The question is, surely having a UK marriage certificate is in itself evidence enough of a proper marriage.

The reason I say this is although we have a joint bank account, I live with my parents and it looks likely this will be the case for the next 2 years, i cannot demonstrate I pay council tax or utilty bills since they are in my dads name.

On another technical note, i also work in Dubai( I am a british citizen) and have obatined a residence visa for 3 year, I still pay tax in ther UK since my income is generated here.
To take my wife to Dubai I have had to also get her a residence visa for 3 years (this is pretty much automatic as she is my spouse). It seemd likely that over the next 2 years we will spend approx 6-7 months in Dubai at various times of the year- how will this affect ILR and her obatining a British passport in 3years?

[John]

When my wife came to the UK in April I also deciede to get a civil weeding down at my local registry and duly we got married again a month later of her arrival to the UK.

On what sort of visa did your wife come to the UK? A fiancée visa? A spouse visa? If she came to the UK on a spouse visa, how did you manage to get married again in the UK? I just don't see how that was possible, without committing perjury when completing the Notice of Intention to Marry.

In any case the marriage was unnecessary. The UK's Foreign Marriages Act 1892 says that the UK fully recognises as legally valid any marriage conducted overseas which is considered to be a legally valid marriage in the country where it took place. My wife had no problem getting her ILR on the basis of our Thai marriage certificate.

As regards the evidence to be produced when the application for ILR is made, using form SET(M), have you downloaded the form and studied the list of the types of acceptable evidence? If you have you will realise that the list includes a lot more than just utility bills.

[banglaboy]

My wife came to the UK on a spouse Visa.


I got married in the UK and obtained a marriage cert which stated that I had previuosly gone through marriage late last year.
This came under the condition part of the certificate. This was also specified in the noticy to Marry - I did this at Wandsworth Council London.

With regards to SET(M) I had thought because they wanted to see that the marriage was true and living together a UK marriage Certificate would suffice. My resonaing for this is if my wife was not from another country and we were married in UK that was that there is no proof required, surely?

I agree its a lot more than utility bills but how do I prove we live together etc since It looks very likely that we will be still at my parents. My wife will not be working so we cant even have an inland revenue statement.

John, plese could you advise what I can do to prepare myself for SET(M) if the only proof I have is a joint bank account and a UK marriage Certificate and that we travel together to Dubai when I work out there.

Thanks in anticipation

[jjustyy]

With regards to SET(M) I had thought because they wanted to see that the marriage was true and living together a UK marriage Certificate would suffice. My resonaing for this is if my wife was not from another country and we were married in UK that was that there is no proof required, surely?

You are missing the point here. Having a marriage certificate doesn't really prove anything. You could have married and then gone your separate ways - i.e. a marriage of conveinience. The whole point of the spousal visa is it wants to check you are living as if married and that's why you need all the evidence to prove this fact.

[John]

John, plese could you advise what I can do to prepare myself for SET(M) if the only proof I have is a joint bank account and a UK marriage Certificate and that we travel together to Dubai when I work out there.

You need to be a bit creative here. Again, look at that list! Anything from any Government Department? An insurance company? Doctors surgery? AA? RAC?

The good news is that you have picked up on this issue well before the application needs to be submitted. So lots of planning time available to you.