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.

The poster didn’t say he was Muslim, and in fact confirmed a few pages ago he is not. Strange thing to post though

Well, obviously?

Also what happens if there is an accident on the building site he's not insured.So that is defintely not good.

Don’t be silly. They’re just NPCs who haven’t updated their software yet, and move in circles where it’s still ten years ago and the orthodoxy is that Britain is uniquely terrible. There are loads of these people around, still.

Things are better now than they were when OPs husband was in the “black economy” but construction has always been murky. Always. None of this should be a surprise to anyone

This thread is so depressing. I knew the UK was being taken for a ride with immigration but bloody hell. Sounds like there's been an amnesty - on a massive scale. I think there are something like 1.3 million illegals still here yet no-one is doing anything about it. The net migration figure coming down is a misnomer - the highly skilled are leaving, the low-skilled are arriving and not being removed.

So you don’t know exactly how he came to the uk except that it was by an illegal channel. Same for his friends. He has a relative that you think came here legally but the details are sketchy. You don’t know the exact details of his motivation to come here except no prospects there more prospects here. His prior life in Albania is thin on detail and you don’t know much about Albania. He works in construction under a false name and earns a lot of money. All his friends work in construction and earn a lot of money.

Theres a lot you don’t know about your DH and you’ve had years to find it out. A lot of the details are sketchy. I hope he is genuine and that it works out for you.

Again, so what? Why on earth is that even being raised? What does his have faith have to do with this thread?

And guess what - I’m a Muslim and I go to a pub. I even drink alcohol 😱.

There any many Muslims who practice in different ways and going to the pub isn’t a sign of whether or not someone is a Muslim.

So who's identity is he using day to day?

Presumably he was pretending to be his relative for many years working for this construction company?

It sounds like a very precarious existence being abused by your employer who at best encourages fraud and at worst uses him as virtual slave labour.

I hope you're happy and he treats you well.

So he now runs his own legit construction business? How does he recruit staff and does he check they have a right to work here?

How was your child eligible for a British passport?

Sadly, it seems that if somebody can turn a profit, the laws of the land and everyone's safety can go out the window.

If a child is born in the UK and at least one parent has settled status (that’s me), they are eligible for a British passport.

This mass immigration crisis is the only conspiracy theory I have ever believed in but each passing day makes me believe there is something going on. All across the West - not just here.

What is the conspiracy theory about mass immigration?

It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s going on quite openly – it’s just that somehow you get called a racist if you look too closely.

Yup, the privilege of coming from a refugee family who came legally with papers.

They are just papers though. Admin. The reasoning is the same. Not sure why it’s so superior to come with papers, tbh

Quite ironic that he wasn't happy about the criminal act of corruption in his home country, but happy to break the law himself for personal gain.

Yes, he used someone else’s ID. Now of course his own.
His business is mostly him working and he brings other people in as needed. He works with established contractors, but probably would give someone who is in a similar situation as he was a couple of days work as a labourer for cash in hand. Which disadvantages him because he provides invoices to his clients and it will increase his income tax.

No, the reasoning was escaping hostile occupation. Quite different from fancying a better paid job and engaging with criminals at every step of the way.

Yes your family are so superior in every way.

Legally they are.

Going back a bit, I think a few people said or implied that white immigrants don't get grief but my white Australian friend has, over the last few years, been getting a lot of grief from taxi drivers, people in shops, other randoms without boundaries, as soon as they hear her accent. What is she doing here, how long has she been here, why did she come here, why doesn't she just fuck off back home. She has now "fucked off back home" permanently after decades here partly because she's sick of people confronting her.

Thanks for that valuable contribution. I also think it’s very sophisticated to make every decision about your personal values based on the legal framework of the day and country. Saves me from thinking too hard about life.

Nope, just not criminals. If ignoring, and actually championing, criminality, exploitation, tax evasion and fraud is your thing, you crack on. Some of us don't agree, for a myriad of reasons. I'm sure you and your morals are far superior to mine.