Information For A Chinese Citizen To Marry A UK Citizen.

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MARRIAGE: UK.

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How to sponsor your husband, wife or fiance(e) for settlement in the UK.

The information here is not legal advice.

It is a guide to immigration law and rules.

The information applies to people who live in, England and Wales.

The law and rules.

The requirements for a person to come to the UK for marriage, or to join his or her spouse, are set out in the Immigration Acts of 1971 and 1988 and the immigration rules (HC 395, in force since 1 October 1994, as amended). The law and rules are the same for all people who apply to come to the UK for marriage reasons except citizens of European Economic Area (EEA) countries. The advice and information in this leaflet applies to people of both sexes. NOTE An applicant who is abroad must obtain entry clearance before traveling to the UK.

The immigration rules state that the husband, wife, fiance or fiancee of a person who is settled here (that is, allowed to stay permanently) may be given entry clearance by an officer at a British high commission or embassy abroad to come to join his or her partner provided the officer is satisfied that:

the couple have met each other: This is a rule aimed specifically at communities where arranged marriages are common, and where a couple may not meet before the wedding ceremony. The couple do not have to have met after the marriage was discussed; a meeting as children, provided they remember it, may be sufficient. the couple intend to live together permanently as husband and wife: This rule is aimed against marriages of convenience where the couple does not plan to have a genuine marital relationship but only to go through the legal form of marriage. The 'primary purpose rule' was abolished on 5 June 1997. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has stated that intention should not be used as a substitute for primary purpose. If it appears that the couple may have competing commitments in different countries, this could be a reason for refusal. If a couple have been married for some time but have not been together much, this could also be a problem. there will be adequate accommodation for the and their dependants, in accommodation fit for cohabitation which they own or occupy exclusively, without recourse to public funds. This provision means that the couple have to show that they will be living together, in the same accommodation, which is not legally overcrowded under housing law.

This means that people aged over 10, of different sexes and not married or living in a relationship similar to marriage, must not have to share a bedroom, and in general that there must not be more than two people per room available sleeping in the accommodation. It does not mean that the couple has to own their own home. Rented accommodation, or sharing accommodation with other family members, is normally considered adequate, provided there is some space, at least a bedroom, exclusively for the use of the couple. If the husband or wife in the UK is already in accommodation provided by the local authority because he or she was homeless, but no extra accommodation is required for the spouse from abroad this will not be a reason for refusal. the couple will be able to support themselves and their dependants without recourse to public funds . 'Public funds' for the purpose of the immigration rules are: income support family tax credit council tax benefit attendance allowance invalid care allowance disability living allowance disabled persons tax credit (formally disability working allowance) severe disablement allowance housing benefit council housing child benefit (except if claimed before 7 October 1996. Where a couple is married, the British or settled spouse may claim child benefit if there is a public funds restriction on the person from abroad) income-based jobseeker's allowance a social fund payment No other benefits count as public funds. The couple must show that their joint resources are higher than income support level, and show where the money comes from. Support from a relative or friend will usually only be accepted if it will be for a short time. No recourse to public funds also means no additional public funds must be claimed by a sponsor for the support of the spouse coming to the UK. [2] How to apply Spouses and fiance(e)s have to apply themselves. The person wanting to bring them to the UK (the 'sponsor') cannot do so in the UK. They have to apply to the nearest British High Commission or Embassy, fill in the application forms IM2A and IM2B and pay the application fee in local currency (240 GBP at November 2000, but it may increase).

The forms are available if requested by letter or fax from the British High Commission or Embassy or from: Migration and Visa Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1 Palace Street London SW1H 5HE Fax: 020 7270 3735 If the sponsor in the UK fills in some details on the forms, they must still be sent to the person abroad to sign and return to the British High Commission with two recently taken passport-sized photographs, their passport and the fee. The form asks for details of the sponsor's full name, date of birth, address and occupation and when he or she settled in the UK so it is important for the couple to know these details about each other. The form, the enclosures and the fee can be handed or posted to the British High Commission or Embassy. In most countries, the applicant will be notified of a date for interview but in the Indian subcontinent there can be a wait of between six to nine months and there are delays in, for example, Jamaica, the Philippines and Thailand. [3] What is needed for the interview? When applicants go for interview, they will need a number of documents, or certified copies of documents, from the sponsor in the UK. These include: certified photocopies of the sponsor's current and old passports to show his or her immigration status in the UK. Send all the pages with personal details and all the pages with any immigration officers' stamps on them. Because passports should not be sent through the post between countries, British embassies or high commissions will accept photocopies, but they must all be genuine copies. The immigration authorities may not accept photocopies of other documents, on the grounds that a photocopy might not reveal a forged or altered document, unless the copies have been certified by a solicitor. proof of the marriage. If the original marriage certificate is in the UK, it should be sent to the spouse abroad to take to the British high commission or embassy for interview, with a certified copy being kept by the partner in the UK. If there is no such certificate in existence, the spouse abroad should explain this. In India, for example, if there is no marriage certificate there may be a declaration under the Hindu Marriage Act that the wedding has taken place. If it is a customary marriage, for example in West Africa, the British High Commission may require statutory declarations from members of both the husband's and the wife's family to confirm that the correct procedures took place. proof that the couple were or are free to marry.

If either party has been married before, the British embassy or high commission will need to see evidence that the previous marriage(s) have ended, by death, divorce or annulment. The evidence could be original divorce certificates or statutory declarations to prove a customary divorce, or the original death certificate of a previous spouse who has died. proof that the couple are aged 16 or over. evidence of financial support available in the UK. This could be recent pay slips or bank statements from the sponsor, or a letter from his or her employer confirming the salary, together with a letter confirming the sponsor's willingness to support the applicant. If the sponsor is not working but a relative or friend will provide the initial support, the same evidence from this person would be needed. If the applicant has a specific job to come to, evidence of this should be shown. evidence of accommodation available in the UK. If the accommodation is rented, a letter from the landlord or local authority to confirm the size of it, and that there is no objection to another person living there, could be sent. If the accommodation is being bought on mortgage, the building society or other lender could write such a letter. If the accommodation is owned outright, a copy of the deeds of the house will show its size, or the environmental health department of the local council may provide a letter. If the applicant is asked for an 'accommodation certificate' this means a letter as explained, not a special certificate. Letters/faxes/emails exchanged between the couple to show that there is a relationship between them. Where the couple have been married for some time, the older the letters the better, as they show that the relationship has existed. Otherwise, recent letters that show there is a relationship may be helpful. If the envelopes have been kept, they should be made available too, as the post office stamps confirm the date of the letter. proof that the couple have met which could include: photos of them together, old family photos, a letter from the sponsor stating when and where they have met.

NOTE If the couple is together at the time of interview, they should go together to the British High Commission or Embassy. the sponsor's birth certificate if he or she was born in the UK. the applicant's passport together with any previous passports held. two passport-size photos of the applicant. NOTE People going for interview should not use paid agents - such services are seldom necessary and agents frequently give dangerously incorrect advice. Never present false documents or certificates, as these will almost certainly do more harm than good. If genuine documents are not available, simply explain this as entry clearance officers can check whether documents are genuine. [4] At the interview In countries where there is a queue, the spouse or fiance(e) abroad should receive up to three months' notice of an interview date. It may be helpful for the sponsor from the UK to go to the interview, as this can avoid delay, but it is not necessary. The interviewing officer may ask a lot of questions, with different lines of questioning for different applicants. When the couple have been married for many years but have been living apart, and there is no marriage certificate from the time of the wedding, many questions about family relationships may be asked. This is most common for wives in Pakistan and Bangladesh whose husbands have been working in the UK. When there are children involved, the use of DNA blood testing, to establish that children are the children of both parents, has made this it less common to go into such detail in the questioning. When the couple are engaged, or married very recently, the officer will ask more about the reasons for the marriage, to be satisfied that the couple intends to live together permanently as husband and wife. It is quite clear that the procedures and practice vary enormously in different countries. Young men in the Indian subcontinent may be asked several questions around this requirement, the questions being repeated again and again in slightly different forms. Generally, questions will be framed around the applicant's circumstances and prospects in their own country; whether they have previously tried to live overseas; if they have any relatives in the UK; why they want to come to the UK; where the couple intend to live; where and how they met; and much more. It is therefore very important that couples should understand the reasons behind the questioning and be prepared in advance for the kind of questions they may be asked. Often people feel that they have been tricked or browbeaten into giving answers that do not actually reflect their true feelings or intentions.

What happens next? Further enquiries

After the interview, the officer may want to make local enquiries, sometimes visiting the applicant's home to get further information, and may ask the Home Office in the UK to make inquiries or to interview the sponsor. This may add many months' delay to the application.

Entry is granted
If the authorities are satisfied, the spouse will be granted entry or visa. Provided they travel to the UK within that time, fiance(e)s will be granted permission to enter the country for six months with no right to work. Spouses will be granted permission to enter the country for a year, without any restrictions on working, but with the condition that they do not have recourse to public funds.

Applying to stay permanently
When the year is nearly over, the husband or wife should apply to the Home Office for permission to stay permanently, using the official Home Office application form, SET(M). The Home Office will need:

the couple's passports their marriage certificate recent bank statements or other evidence of financial support several separate pieces of evidence, such as official letters and bills addressed to them both at the same address, to show they have been living at the same address and a declaration, signed by them both, confirming that they are still living together and intend to stay together permanently Fiance(e)s will be given permission to enter for six months, with a prohibition on working. When the marriage takes place, the fiance(e) applies to the Home Office for permission to stay for a year as a husband or wife on form FLR(M), and then for permanent stay (settlement), as explained above.

Marriage applications made within the rules otherwise than on an official Home Office form, either FLR(M) or SET(M), will be returned by the Home Office and deemed to be an invalid application. Applications should be sent to: Immigration and Nationality Directorate Block C, Whitgift Centre Wellesley Road Croydon CR9 1AT

Letters and documents should be sent by recorded delivery post and the couple should keep copies.

Applications must be made, on the correct form , before the permission to stay in the UK has run out. People are then legally in the UK while the application is pending, however long the Home Office takes, and if the Home Office refuses the application, they have a right of appeal against the refusal. A person who applies late, after the permission to remain has run out, is illegally in the country and has no right of appeal if the Home Office refuses.

Couples already in the UK

When a couple get married in the UK and one is settled, but the other does not have permission to stay permanently but is here for example as a visitor or a student, he or she may apply to the Home Office to stay as a spouse, on the correct application form.

The person does not need to go abroad to apply for entry clearance but can remain in the UK and apply to the Home Office. The rest of the rules are similar to those for people abroad, except that the spouses have to show that they have not remained in the UK in breach of the immigration laws, that no decision to deport them or recommendation by a court to deport them has been made and that the marriage has not been terminated.

If the non-settled spouse entered the UK on another basis shortly before the marriage, he or she may need to explain to the Home Office the reasons for the change of plan.

When people who have overstayed their leave to remain get married to people settled here, the Home Office may make a decision outside the immigration rules to allow them to remain. They do not need to go abroad to apply for entry clearance but may remain in the UK and apply to the Home Office. The Home Office must be satisfied that there are strong enough reasons to make an exception to the rules to allow the couple to remain together, for example when the couple have been married for a long time, or there are children involved or strong reasons why the British or settled spouse cannot leave to go to live in the partner's country. The Home Office internal instructions (DP3/96) to its officials suggest that if a couple have been married for at least two years and it is unreasonable to expect the settled spouse to return with the overstayer, or if there are children aged 10 or over involved, the partner may have more chance of remaining.

NOTEAdvice should be obtained prior to submitting this type of application to the Home Office. Marriage applications made outside of the immigration rules, that is within Home Office policy or at the discretion of the Home Office, may be made on form FLR(O). Where the marriage has broken down within the initial years' leave, a discretionary application for settlement would be made on form SET(O). Application forms are obtained from: The Home Office Application Forms Unit Block C, Whitgift Centre Wellesley Road Croydon CR9 1AT

Forms may be collected from the above address or sent to you by telephoning the Home Office Application Forms Unit on 0870 241 0645. They are also available on the internet: Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/hpg.php

Exceptions

spouses of other EEA citizens who are working, studying, doing business or are self-employed, or providing or receiving services here do not have to meet the above rules but only have to prove that the marriage is legally valid. They will be permitted to remain for the same length of time as their spouse.

The countries of the EEA are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Community legislation also covers British citizens who have lived and worked in another EEA country, together with their non-EEA citizen spouses; if the couple want to return to the UK the spouse should be given entry clearance immediately and not be charged an application fee.

wives who have the right of abode are therefore not subject to immigration control. A Commonwealth citizen woman who, before 1983, married either a British citizen man or a Commonwealth citizen man who had a parent born in the UK, automatically gained the right of abode through marriage. She should apply to the British high commission or embassy for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode, by proving her husband's citizenship or right of abode and the date of their marriage. This provision does not apply to husbands.

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