I married an illegal immigrant - AMA

[Annie834]

I married a man who entered the UK as an illegal immigrant. After 5 years of relationship and two years of living together, we applied for his visa on grounds that he is my ‘durable life partner’ (this was while EU law was still applicable in the UK, I’m a EU citizen with settlement status). We went via an immigration lawyer and were upfront about the fact that he entered the UK illegally (not that this could have been concealed anyway). The application was successful and he was granted pre-settled status. We then got married a couple of years later and had a child.

I will answer any questions, but might not engage in wider discussions about illegal immigration, there are enough threads about that topic and this is an AMA.

These rules have changed since February 2025. British Citizenship will normally now be refused if you originally arrived in the UK illegally. I have a few friends/family married to Albanians who have been refused citizenship over the last year.

I'm generally of the view that no man is as committed to a relationship as when he needs a house, but it sounds like it's all working for you both. I'd move to another country if I felt I couldn't get work here too.

My uncle was an illegal immigrant when he married my auntie.

IMO, if you come here illegally you need to be removed no matter what the circumstances. As much as I like my uncle, he was a massive drain on society before he passed away. I sound awful and heartless but he was one of many out there.

Does he follow any particular religion and if so, do you want your child to be raised in this faith? Are his parents more traditional and have they accepted you as his wife?

As it should be.

illegal immigration should not be rewarded with citizenship just because you've avoided the authorities for long enough.

So he came to take a job from someone who was here legitimately

It was one of my worries. My husband is very much against drugs and hardly ever even drinks. He doesn’t socialise much but friends or extended family I’ve met also work in construction and have families of their own.

It doesn’t sound like the people he initially worked for employ anyone legitimately. They weren’t going to employ anyone they had to pay employer contributions for, so no job was taken from anyone here legitimately. These people profit hugely from exploiting people with no right to work.

Totally agree with this - I can’t believe that it has ever been okay for an illegal non-asylum-seeking immigrant to be latterly awarded residency.

For transparency I was an illegal here for 20 odd years. I was brought over as the child of a British subject as a baby but mother never had me registered and naturalised when that entry visa expired. I only found out that I was ‘illegal’ when I started applying for jobs after university. My mother also married the son of an Iranian Asylum seeker [legally in the UK as he was working here and sought asylum then]. I did get residency awarded and later British citizenship, so I do understand there will be ‘illegals’ who are unaware or whose employer/sponsors and mess up the paperwork.

But I can’t help but think that whilst OP feels her DH is okay - it opens the floodgates to other economic migrants, which is not right. If he was/is talented, why didn’t he apply to get a job/visa like others have to do? Why pay illegal migration importers thousands to get here? And whilst he was here, his employers broke the law - this means not only did he not have the protection of the law for himself but there were likely other illegal people on their staff - none of who would have been identity/reference/criminal checked, all checks required of British and UK Resident applicants to keep fellow staff/clients/the community safe.

Good on him! Those of us born here are fortunate in so many ways due to pure luck of birth. What makes us any more deserving than anyone else born elsewhere? I only started contributing financially to the economy as an adult and the OP’s husband did the same. I had no say in where I was born and I’m grateful in so many ways it was here. Yes, the UK isn’t perfect but there are so many positives that many of us take for granted.

Anyone arriving to this country should consider themselves a guest - until they have paid in considerably. Perhaps 20 years. But once a country becomes safe or you cannot contribute before that period of time lapses, you are no longer a guest and return from where you came.

No, he’s quite vocal about corruption problems in his home country, among other things, and doesn’t really miss it.
He still likes the UK, he now just has a more realistic view on good and bad things as we have it everywhere, but he sees himself getting old here.

Legal immigrants pay a huge amount in visa and NHS fees.
I have very mixed feelings about this, as a legal immigrant married to another legal immigrant from a way poorer country than Albania.

Yes, I agree with you. I'm married to a legal immigrant and it was a slow and expensive process.

He doesn’t have a religion.
His family are a bit more traditional but very sweet people who have welcomed me into the family. But we don’t see them very often.

I think that’s quite similar when we applied to legalise his status, it was very expensive.

I don't agree that people who come illegally should ever be allowed to stay. It's like stealing from a shop and some people being allowed to keep the goods...

No real question just my tuppence.

He seems to be keeping his head down and doing all the right things. If someone is desperate enough to leave their home and start over somewhere with the intention to contribute to the economy and be a law abiding resident, I don’t see why they can’t be allowed to stay if they succeed to get in.

If caught before they get in, that's a different issue and should be sent back.

I also agree that illegal immigrants shouldn't be rewarded with citizenship, including the children they came with. They should be given temporary residence which they have to renew every 5 years or so, as long as they remain law-abiding. Perhaps their children should be given permanent residence only seeing as they didn't make the decision. Not citizenship.

Citizenship should be given only to those who came in legally and stayed legally for the required number of years + contribution.

Permanent residence for those who came in legally but overstayed (depending on their reason), children of both overstayers and illegal immigrants after their parents have gotten their temp residence.

Those who aren't law abiding should be stripped of their status and sent back, unless they're citizens. Then same protocol as any other citizen.

Why bother with the whole ILR process for skilled workers then? Sponsorship by employers in certain professions only, an English test, a Life in the UK test, a minimum income requirement...
Just let anyone desperate enough stay.

Do you think he married and had children with you to stay in the country?

I'm with an Albanian too long term. He will definitely be sending money home regularly but small amounts. Women are very much kept out of the loop culturally. He will also be vulnerable to crime. It's not easy tbh

They would all still go through the process and either succeed or fail according to requirements. It doesn't mean to scrap the whole process or automatically be approved. Just that any successful outcome would be placed in a category according to if they were legal or not.

I've not read all of the comments on your thread but you remind me of someone I used to know who married a man from Zimbabwe who overstayed his visa. Believe it or not she used to hate immigrants and had previously voted BNP.

What I've found is that people are afraid of the unknown. And then when they meet someone and get to know them, that is no longer the unknown and it's no longer the threat they thought.

I have always worked in a very diverse industry (the food industry). To have 40+ nationalities working together (harmoniously) is not uncommon. It makes me sad that people who don't have that kind of experience sometimes react with fear.

I don’t think so, it wouldn’t match with his personality to marry for a visa. I also think he wouldn’t have had a child with me, he’d just have waited it out / delayed TTC for another year and then his pre-settled status would transfer to permanent settlement and no one would ask about him about his relationship anymore.