I can't help her, can I?

Is your ex-DP British or a EU National?

I think you should advise her to get an immigration lawyer. I think she should be honest that she is married, they are currently separated and working on their relationship.

The home office will be able to see she has a new address, and he doesn't, if she has anything AT ALL in her name there.

I'd just write it.

Let's face it, she is you several years ago. Ok so it's not strictly speaking gospel truth but who the hell will know? You could give her a huge hand up by doing it and would knock her right back down if you didn't. Remember how you felt when he berayed your trust, how would you have felt to have to leave your whole life because of what he did, and the one person who could have prevented that chose not to?

It will cost you nothing and will give her what she needs.

Perfect answer

I think this is good. There is a way to do it without lying.

Immigration lawyer here - there should be no reason why she should need anything from you in relation to her application. It might be nice to have a letter from the other parent confirming that she spends time with them, but it should not have any legal relevance to her application at all. I have routinely applied for visas for spouses where the British partner has a child, and nothing is required from the other parent at all. The form does ask some stupid questions about how much custody access the applicant has, but that's not legally required if the basis of the application is on the relationship with the British partner.

The only way it could make a difference is if she is making an application under the Private Life rules e.g. stating that it would be detrimental to the child were she to have to leave the UK. In that case I think it would be fine for you to include a letter saying that her departure would have a negative effect on your child's life, if you think that is true.. but I certainly wouldn't be putting anything in the letter that you know not to be true e.g. that they are all living together as a family.

If she is trying to obtain ILR on the basis of being in a subsisting relationship with a British citizen then that is a fraudulent application, as unfair as that is to her given the situation was not of her own making.

I think this would be nice to do. Whether it helps her application or not, it might help her. It’s so sad she fell for him too :(

Xs main commitments and ties are to XH.
X has a good relationship with our daughter also.

I'd stay very non committal.

Absolutely not. You 100% must not do this. You could get into a lot of trouble, and there is no “fudge” middle ground you can take.

She doesn’t have any responsibility for your DGD any more. That’s it - you’ve said their relationship has “fizzled”.

Dont put your good name on the line for this.

If you do provide the letter it's fraud. She doesn't have a relationship with dd. Not sure your dd would appreciate being used to carry out great. I'm glad you're saying no.

You can get in serious trouble for this, tell her you're not prepared to lie

I think she has a bit of a cheek to be honest, she dropped out of your DD’s life after what, 6 years and is now asking you to lie for her own benefit? No way would I do that.

You can't write lies.

The best you can do for her is to say nothing.

The long list of evidence, when you are married, is a council tax, joint bank account, any bills, rental agreement or house ownership. If only one name is on the paperwork, then it could be a problem, but when everything is joint, then you don't need a long list of evidence

Wrong. We did ILR 6 weeks ago. True they probably don't actually need a letter from OP specifically, but they absolutely do require a long list of evidence of a cohabiting relationship.

It doesn't make sense. The Home Office is checking for potential fraud only on the first visa application, that is why they require proof of the relationship like pictures, internet conversations etc. For ILR after 6 years of marriage, you don't provide all these documents. For the citizenship, you have to pass Life in the UK test and English exam ( not for Canadians of course). You don't have to stay married by this point. The story doesn't make sense to me at all.

Of course you shouldn’t do it. It’s not your problem. Don’t make it so.

Don't get involved. This is something the Home Office will be very wise to - staying together 'officially' until the leave to remain comes through, then the entirely unexpected and very sad separation - applications will be scrutinised and you really don't want to get involved in immigration fraud.

The most you could justifiably do is a factual letter, confirming that it is your understanding that this woman remains legally married to your ex-partner. Honestly, though, I'd steer well clear.

As someone who has sadly had experience of the Visa system, 100% do not do this. If the 2 of them are claiming they haven't separated, they're just straight-up breaking the law and it's extremely unfair to even ask you to be embroiled in it. It's also extremely likely they'll be found out if she's moved out - the home office will want a raft of evidence that the relationship still exists (photos, social media, text messages, multiple letters of confirmation) and she'd have to have kept her address listed as your ex's place at work and on any admin (bank, doctor, etc) for it not to come up, for starters. It's a shit situation, but not yours to fix!

As difficult as it is, I couldn't lie especially to immigration services in these circumstances. I do g know what the process is, but what if they asked for evidence or wanted to interview you. This is a legal process and lying is fraud/deceit.

No, I don't count filling paperwork about long dead granny and giving fingerprints , proof of address in the UK etc etc . It's nothing to do with OP's daughter. Legally, the child has no connection to step mother. Surely, the new wife hasn't got her visa as a baby sitter or carer. ,

I absolutely wouldn’t lie to the immigration service-it’s just not worth it.

I have some experience of immigration and I wouldn't put myself on the line in this situation. It isn't worth the ramifications that could potentially come back and bite you in the arse. You'd be lying and supporting their claim that they're still married.

I wouldn’t. What happens if you do and they do a spot check on the application (because that does happen) and you and DD get dragged further into it?

They’re also fooling themselves if they think the HO don’t look at divorces post application for settlement have been granted