cant get back into uk!!!!

urbantiger, from what I can gather by reading your posts is that you entered on the Visa Waiver Program and got caught trying to circumvent the rules of that program. The fact of the matter is that you CAN'T stay in the U.K for longer than 6 months without a visa of some type, and that visa is issued here in the U.S. It seems immigration is somewhat sympathetic to your case because you were relying on advice from someone in the "citizens bureau" but the fact remains, you need a visa if you want to go there and stay, there's simply no other way around it. My advice (for all it's worth) is this: Straighten out your divorce then apply for a visa (Unmarried Partner, Fiancee, Spousal Settlement, etc) and go about it the way everyone else has to then you'll alleviate all these problems. Good Luck

Is she getting divorced from a UK citizen?  That's the only way I see that making sense.

And I would advise you to perhpas check out a better soliciter.

urbantiger, from what I can gather by reading your posts is that you entered on the Visa Waiver Program and got caught trying to circumvent the rules of that program. The fact of the matter is that you CAN'T stay in the U.K for longer than 6 months without a visa of some type, and that visa is issued here in the U.S. It seems immigration is somewhat sympathetic to your case because you were relying on advice from someone in the "citizens bureau" but the fact remains, you need a visa if you want to go there and stay, there's simply no other way around it. My advice (for all it's worth) is this: Straighten out your divorce then apply for a visa (Unmarried Partner, Fiancee, Spousal Settlement, etc) and go about it the way everyone else has to then you'll alleviate all these problems. Good Luck

yeah you are right..they are sympathetic towards her and yes the options you suggest are the only ones available..first she should retry the unmarried partner option...but i think for some reason that is not available to her...and what exactly is a spousal visa/spousal settlement visa..does that meanwe have to get married?..would do ones head in all this stuff..but we will get there in the end..you all have been a great help so far..hope this all has a happy ending...thanks celtictothecore 

Is she getting divorced from a UK citizen?  That's the only way I see that making sense.

And I would advise you to perhpas check out a better soliciter.

hi..no she is getting divorced from an american....and its almost final..thats why an unmarried partner visa is not an option they say as there is nothing stopping us now from getting married..

Ah.  I didn't get that bit, it sounded like they would have allowed her to stay but for her divorce.  I see now.

And yes, a spousal visa means you are married.  Honestly, unless you can get an unmarried partner visa (about which I know nothing), you either have to get married or she needs to qualify under some other visa (i.e. Student, Skilled Migrant, etc.)

The best place to start really is the IND homepage.  They list a lot of the visa programs there.

I'm pretty sure you have to live together for two years to qualify for an UP visa.  Tholian8 has gone through it...you might want to send a PM that way.

Assuming your girlfriend doesn't qualify for an UP visa (or a work permit or student visa), your only options are to:

1.  apply for a fiancee' visa (from the US) and get married within 6 months of it being issued

2.  get married (in the US since your gf can't get into the UK), apply for a spousal visa (from the US), settle in UK

3.  maintain a long-distance relationship and YOU visit HER in the US when you can...then apply for a fiancee'/spousal visa when/if marriage becomes part of the picture

Lisa and I certainly found ourseleves in a "get married or get out" situation ... it's the way the law works for many people (and the law is an ass in this respect - with our government encouraging people to think carefully before getting married to cut the divorce rate, and yet this!).   For us, getting married was the right choice by both standards 

Personal comment - I find big blocks of text hard to read, and I can't really do justice to you in answering your post because I find it hard to follow.  I'm also trying to work out which one of you is urbantiger ... or are you both posting from the same account?  I get a bit nervous when I'm not sure who I'm writing to, even when it's two halves of a couple who, I'm sure, share everything.  It's free to sign up here too 

Anyway - good luck.  Looks like you've got plenty of advise flowing in.  I'm just going to add a further comment - we found it very much smoother to stick within the system even if it meant doing some daft things (getting married in the UK then taking a holiday to New York only to sort out a wife Visa, rather than trying to do it via Croydon).  I know your situation is already complex, but from what I can read it looks like it'll sort for sure IF getting married is the right choice for you.  If not ... I'm not the best person to advise.

Sean and Lydia, you HAVE asked all the right questions. You're just not hearing the answer you want I'm afraid. You can't do an unmarried partner visa when she is still married. NOR can you do it in your current situation of living in US and NI.

Here's an example: I came here as a student on a student visa. I met a man I fell in love with here (a UK citizen). I have lived with him for 2 years this month and we are applying for our unmarried partner visa next month. We are also getting married in Oct but for us, it makes more sense to do the unmarried partner visa now as we are getting married too close to the date of my student visa expiring.

Basically, the only way you can do unmarried partner is if you already have legal reason to be in the country for 2 years. In my case, it was as a student. It could also be one of the work permit type visas (which are quite hard to get I believe).

I don'ty suppose there's any chance Lydia works in healthcare? I think that may be one of the easier jobs to get a visa on over here.

Anyway, assuming you don't want to, or can't, do the student visa or work visa route then you are stuck with either a long distance relationship or fiance visa (as Lola suggests). There are no other options after that.

BTW, I think whatever the airport woman told you was either misinformation or misheard. There's no sense dwelling on that because the consulate is now telling you what your only option is. And many of us here on UKY have been in your shoes - or still are.

Do keep us posted with your plans or come here for support! Like I said, many of us have been where you are.

Oh, and I do agree with GrahamE, please try to break your posts up a bit like I have done - makes it much easier to read!!  Good luck!

It also sounds to me that this "lawyer" who told you to go to Paris for a day and then re-enter and everything would be OK should put a rubber band around her head and snap out of it, it's no wonder that immigration would confiscate that letter and probably no doubt have a word with her in regards to it

It also sounds to me that this "lawyer" . . . should put a rubber band around her head and snap out of it . . .

ROFL

A few points...

1)  Leaving the country is leaving the country, although I understand there is some kind of special condition on the back-and-forth between Northern Ireland and Eire.  I'm no expert on NI issues so will leave that there.  But I still do not understand why the woman at Belfast airport insisted that going to France and/or Holland did not count as "leaving the UK."  Again, this is counter to the advice I received from my solicitor when I was here on student visas for two years.  He actually warned me against too many Europe hops even though, techincally, the student visa allowed me to travel as much as I wanted...for the very reason that I should not leave the country a vast number of times or Immigration would begin to think I was not really going to class!

However, if you had a 6 month visitor's stamp and you go to the Continent two weeks before it runs out and you come back, let's say, two days before it runs out, you are technically "still on" that initial stamp and Immigration are within their rights to refuse you a new one and make you leave the UK straight away--although, as you've seen, a frequent practice is to allow the person a few days or weeks "compassionate" leave so that they can make arrangements for their travel.  Then again, some IO's just give a new stamp as they did to my friend, without even blinking.  (They are probably not supposed to do that, now that I think about it.)

Anyway, that is all less important than what you can do now.

2)  There does not have to be an obstacle to marriage, in order for heterosexual couples to be able to get an Unmarried Partner visa.  This used to be true, but the law was changed in April 2003 after pressure from straight couples who, like you, did not want to be forced into a marriage solely because of visa issues.  Technically they can issue a UP visa when someone is waiting for a divorce to be final, but in practice they will not do this in other than extraordinary circumstances.

HOWEVER, what has not changed for UP visas is the requirement that you must prove two continuous years of cohabitation.  You cannot be separated for more than 180 TOTAL DAYS during the two-year period on which you are basing your claim to the visa.  (Yes, they will very likely take your partner's passport and literally count the days she was out of the UK without you, and this time they will count France and Holland trips as being out of the country.)  There are only two exceptions that I know of:  Traveling together outside the UK does not count towards this limit as long as you can prove, by means of airline tickets and hotel receipts, that you traveled as a couple.  It's also fine if the British partner travels abroad, on business for example, if their UK home is their "tax home" and they do not claim even temporary resident status in the other countries.  (My partner is an opera singer who does a lot of work on the Continent, that's how we found out about this stuff.  It's also why we hired a solicitor, just in case the Home Office got sticky about her frequent traveling.)

Immigration does not care where you do your living together.  You can live together anywhere in the world, you can even move together to several places, as long as you can prove your two years' cohabitation.  People have built up their two years by splitting their time between countries (she visits you for 6 months, you visit her for 3 months, lather, rinse, repeat).  It is legal, but it is risky and you certainly will require the services of an informed solicitor if you go this route.  Also be aware that if you choose this strategy, you will be opening yourself to possible problems with US immigration authorities, who may not believe you intend to leave the country if they find out you are planning to visit your gf for 90 days.

3)  In November 2003 the immigration rules pertaining to students and visitors were revised, and there is now something called a "residence permit" for people who wish to have visitor status in the UK for more than 6 months.  This is probably what the woman in Belfast was recommending.  However, the IND web site is not clear on whether your partner would be eligible to apply for such a permit.  I would suspect not, as the temporary residence permit is a non-settlement visa, which requires the intent to leave at the completion of the visa period, and your situation naturally attracts the suspicion of "intent to settle."  My thinking is that if the Consulate is not telling her about this option then it is probably not open to her.

4)  At this point her options are as stated by others on this thread.  Work permit of some kind; student visa (which is what I would recommend if you can raise enough money for it); or marriage/fiancee visa.  Or you can be creative and find some way to live together somewhere so you can get your 2 years in.  I think that would be the hardest way to go, actually.

Best of luck with all this, I know it sucks.

student visa (which is what I would recommend if you can raise enough money for it);

Just as a point of interest, you can do various Masters Degrees at most UK universities on a part time basis that takes 2 years. However, the American student would be subject to international student tuition fees which can be very high. The American federal student loan program DOES work at many UK universities.

Just to sort of reiterate what I did and also what a residence permit is, I will give details on my situation as a way of maybe helping. I also got a residency permit in my passport from the HO today and the irony of that and this post is strange in itself.

Ok, I am a New Yorker and my bf is a born and bred Irish man and UK citizen (because he has lived in Northern Ireland his whole life) We decided as hard as it was going to be to have me move over here to NI with him. So....I moved over here in March of last year. I came into the Republic of Ireland and got my 3 month stamp with no hitches in Dublin. Knowing how immigration works, I didn't leave because I know what "hopping" can show to immigration. After my 3 months, I wanted to extend my stay in the UK. Since NI doesn't have man borders (with the exception of Belfast airport) I knew I had to deal with the HO. Since the visitor visa was free to apply for at the time, I went ahead with the forms and sent them off. In about 3 weeks, I got my passport back with a 6 month stamp. I sent off my forms with evidence of funds and accomodation and a letter from my bf's parents. No problems there. Again, I didn't leave knowing what problems it could cause.

At the end of my 6 months, my bf and I went back to NY for the 90 day allowance. I knew once this was up, I was at a point that I could enter the Republic again LEGALLY and start the process again. Without a hitch, my bf got into the US (had his flight information, a letter from his employer and funds in tow). We stayed in the US at my folks from Nov 2003- Feb 2004. I got back in again to the Republic with no hitches in February.

I made a few calls to the HO about how I can go about getting my passport stamped. They told me to either fill out a form and send it in with £155 or go to Belfast Airport and have my passport stamped. I made sure I asked them and the people at IAS if that was going to be the way I needed to get this stamp. They replied yes. It was important I did everything legally since we are applying for the UP visa early next year.

Anyway, my bf and I went to Belfast airport on May 9th and I spoke to an immigration officer (a very nice man btw) and he told me (even though I had tickets back to NY 6 months from that day) that he couldn't stamp my passport but that I would have to file the FLR form as a visitor and pay the money. I explained that the HO told me to come there, but he told me that I would have to do it this way since I am in the common travel area and I am only technically allowed 3 more months on the original 3 months to make a total of 6 (UK limit in a 12 month period) So. I was left in a bind that I HAD to pay the fee.

The next day, I sent off the forms with, again, bank statements a letter and travel documents. Just today I got my passport back with this residence permit everyone is talking about. I was wondering what it was myself. To clarify what it says, it says this.

                 

Residence Permit

Next to that it has a code number UK and then a 7 digit number (i.e. UK1234567)

It looks like a big pretty colored sticker with a raised seal from the HO on the right and a silver seal on the left above my picture which seems lasered from the passport photos I sent in. Then the below is on it centered

Name -

Valid until -

Place, Date of Issue

Type of Permit - Limited Leave to Remain

Remarks which were:

Limited leave to remain in the UK
No recourse to public funds
No work or engaging in business

On the right next to that is my DOB, sex - F and USA

At the bottom is a big long code like in US passports.

Basically, this is the permit. It seems no different in what a stamp is, just bigger and prettier. If it means more and someone knows, please ellaborate.


So, Urbantiger, I know it sounds difficult, but it may be that you may need to wait and gain the UP time, or get married. There is nothing harder than having to be pushed into decisions that you wouldn't have made if a normal relationship was the case. I wish I could say you could reverse things and do it the way that I did, but unfortunately it won't work that way...but there is always hope and if you persevere you'll make it all happen. Just be patient. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing all this HM because I don't think the lot of us knew anything about it!

Thanks for sharing all this HM because I don't think the lot of us knew anything about it!

Probably because there's nothing to explain it on any of the "official" sites - like the IND/Home Office/UKVisa sites!