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My Canadian girlfriend is being detained at the airport and I don't know what to do

51 replies

Mumtobe25 · 24/09/2017 18:22

My fiance got to gatwick at 10:33 this morning she's from Canada and we were assures she would be able to stay here short term on a visitor pass before we got our civil partnership but now they're saying because she didn't intend to return because she has no where to go back to and are saying they're going to send her back to Canada. If anyone knows anything about Canadian UK fiance visas please help us.

OP posts:
BewareOfDragons · 26/09/2017 19:11

Oh dear. If you can only scrimp and save and come up with £500 a month, I don't think you'll meet the financial rules to bring her into the UK if you only have UK Citizenship... The rules are grossly, grossly unfair, but they currently exist. :(

VimFuego101 · 26/09/2017 19:11

Who advised you that this would be OK? ask for your money back

Firefries · 26/09/2017 19:13

Yes unless she has some connection to grandparents from the UK, it costs a lot of money and time to try and bring her in - you can't just arrive at the airport anymore. I believe the days are long gone when you could just enter the country and apply to get married once there. You would need a fiancé visa and lots of money to prove you could support her and you, if and when you got married. It's a long process and causes a lot of stress for people. My suggestion is go to Canada and get married and set up a life with her there, or go somewhere else in Europe and live there (maybe she knows French which could help). I think Brexit is changing a lot of the entering from Europe ideas. Lastly move to Ireland. Although that route may have changed too. Good luck

Firefries · 26/09/2017 19:15

And I wouldn't waste £500 on any lawyer, there is no short cut to getting your fiancé in. You'd be throwing money away.

PlugUgly1980 · 26/09/2017 19:18

Definitely agree, if you do go down the route if using a lawyer, be very careful and clear where they can add value. They can only follow the guidance issued by the Home Office for entry clearance, which is all available on line, and if you follow it correctly you'll be saving yourself a substantial cost on top of the cost of the actual visa.

Firefries · 26/09/2017 19:19

And there is no cheaper way for her to get in. She can't just arrive and you live together and eventually get married. She can only (now) come in as a visitor and then go again. She wouldnt get a visa once there. It wouldn't happen ever. Honestly the rules clamped down really hard on this sone 20 years ago. It's no walk on the park. Sorry.
She could apply to study in the UK but she would have to pay fairly high overseas student fees. If she can do this I think she could marry you on the student visa and I think that can be switched to a spousal visa but again you need to prove you have the money to have her there and she would need to actually continue to study / be a student.

Out2pasture · 26/09/2017 19:20

the Canadian government is just as difficult on this side. and they too separate couples that are married have financial regulations that are not dissimilar to the uk.

BuzzKillington · 26/09/2017 19:26

Agree with others on here.

A family experience has taught me the process is lengthy, expensive and difficult and more often than not, ends in rejection.

There is no quick fix.

bambambini · 26/09/2017 19:35

I know they have to check or it could be badly abused but you see cases where folk can't get their spouse in to the country to be together. Just seems so extreme.

BuzzKillington · 26/09/2017 19:38

My cousin is married to his foreign wife and they have a child with dual citizenship, yet 2 years on - her spousal visa is still rejected.

whatkatiedidnt · 26/09/2017 19:42

Hi OP, I am an immigration lawyer, though of course anyone on the internet can say they are. I don't know all the facts of your case so I can't give you specific advice but I'll try to give you some helpful pointers.

Firstly, others on the board are quite right that you need to get yourself an immigration lawyer ASAP. Make sure it is a specialist with good reviews.

Second, from what I can see she tried to enter as a standard visitor, is that right? If she said she had come to marry you at the border then this will have triggered all this - you cannot enter the UK as a standard visitor if you intend to marry. She needs to either enter as a fiancée (if she intends to live in the UK afterwards) or as a visitor for marriage (if she doesn't) and she must have those visas in advance. The good thing is, if this is what the problem was then her honesty shouldn't be in any doubt as she honestly declared her intention and it shouldn't affect future trips if you seek proper advice on them and get help. Your representative can advise you on how she can get a copy of her Home Office file so you should be able to see what the notes of the interview say and respond to them in future applications if you need to. A good representative can help with this. If she lied or did not declare the full truth of the situation (lots of people panic and don't, please don't think I'm accusing her personally) then I would advise you even more strongly to seek specialist help - it may not be fatal to any applications but you will need advice.

Third, in order to live here permanently with her you will need an annual income of at least £18,600 per year, or savings of £62,500. The two can be combined if your savings are more than £16,000. These levels may be higher if there are any dependant non British children. If the income is from employment you must have held the job for at least six months. You need evidence of the finances. This can get complicated and you need a specialist's advice. The rules are rigid and it is generally difficult to rely on prospective income or third party support. Having said that, there was recently a case in the Supreme Court called MM (Lebanon) where the Supreme Court upheld the financial requirements but said that they did not fully reflect the UK's human rights obligations. Basically this means that there is now some discretion in the Immigration Rules and Home Office policy guidance but the change is only a couple of months old so you will need a good lawyer to help you through this if you need to rely on the discretion. There are othe requirements as well but this is generally the one people struggle with.

Fourth, she can't work on a fiancée visa, it will only be valid for six months and you must marry in that time, then she must switch to a spouse visa if she wants to remain here. This means paying a whole new visa fee and making a new application so it may be cheaper to marry in Canada or another country - I don't know where permits this or where is cheapest I'm afraid.

Fifth, others are right in bringing up the UK Ancestry visa - if she has a grandparent born in the UK (or Ireland if pre 31/3/1922) then she may be able to get this type of visa. It is cheaper and relatively easy. How old is she? If she is under 31 she may be able to get a Youth Mobility Scheme visa which would be valid for two years and allow her to live and work in the UK. She could then switch in country to being your unmarried partner or spouse when you met the requirements. If she is eligible for either of these routes then Ancestry would normally be preferable as she could settle permanently here quicker.

The fees calculator is here: www.gov.uk/visa-fees. A fiancée visa comes under 'settlement'.

Good luck.

lizzieoak · 26/09/2017 19:45

Outtopasture - theoretically it's difficult on this side, but I've known quite a few young people who come in on temporary work visas, and I worked in a job where I could see people's occupations and place of birth and was quite surprised at the number of people legally in Canada working as cabbies, janitors, bar staff, chambermaids etc - not exactly professions with a shortage of local applicants.

We have a point system so if the op wanted to live here and spoke both our official languages and worked in a profession where we have a shortage (in BC apparently we're short on trades people) he/she might have a shot. If they want to live here.

The rules in the U.K. are mad regarding spouses. I brought my spouse here (I flew home & applied from here & we had an interview about our marriage at the Canadian consulate in London). He spoke a bit of French & was in a job with a fair number of points.

I'm hoping the op comes back and tells us his gf has UK parents or grandparents.

GrockleBocs · 26/09/2017 19:47

In addition to UK ancestry, do check if she has any eligibility for any EU country's citizenship

expatinscotland · 26/09/2017 19:47

The visas are all super expensive and you need to have a minimum income to bring her here even after you are married.

Out2pasture · 26/09/2017 20:34

What, with more people meeting online or on travels than decades ago do you ever see immigration rules for couples changing. odd that between commonwealth countries the process is so difficult.

expatinscotland · 26/09/2017 21:42

'What, with more people meeting online or on travels than decades ago do you ever see immigration rules for couples changing'

Yes, they'll get even stricter. They already have, much stricter and more expensive.

Out2pasture · 26/09/2017 21:45

i know there is an agreement between governments that war vets and government pensions are transferable you would think countries with pensions and medical plans could transfer from one to another?

expatinscotland · 26/09/2017 21:50

Why should they be transferable, no one forces a person to emigrate/immigrate. It's a personal choice, so you pay for it.

Herefornow1 · 26/09/2017 21:58

Get on to Facebook groups or immigration forums.
If you do your own research there won't be any need for an immigration lawyer or assistance.
I've just done this (different circumstances for me but the info I gathered through these groups online was invaluable).
Info that might be of use to you is that an American passport holder friend of mine was also detained at Heathrow after entering on a visitor visa to join her British son & husband. Her plan was to settle her child into school before returning to the states to apply for a spouse visa. She was deported back to America and from there applied and her visa was granted.
If you are able to pay the "priority " visa fees, do so. Waiting times are very long doing the standard application.

Out2pasture · 26/09/2017 22:07

just envisioning in this case a person's past contributions to Canadian medical or pension plans transferring over to the new country. surely part of the issue that countries don't take people in easily is the value of contributions.

Mumtobe25 · 29/09/2017 18:26

Hi thank you everyone for your continued support & I'm very sorry this is the first time I could respond I've had no data or internet for the last few days and so I've had to find any hotspot I could. (currently in a subway next to a petrol station)

income requirement
I receive DLA, the lawyer said that this nulls the requirement of income.

different type of visa?
There is another type of visa called higher tier 5 youth mobility visa. though I could send her the money saved over 3 months I feel like we would be going back to square 1 in a years time with this.

Legal Advice
The next conversation with the lawyer is in 7 days when my teaching bursary should be in my account is it worth asking whether we should go down different routes? We've stated we're happy to postpone or speed up our engagement and all that really matters to us is that we're together..

I love her more than I can describe with words.

OP posts:
Mumtobe25 · 29/09/2017 19:35

brief update
Sorry quick message. We think her grandmother was born in the UK!

OP posts:
lizzieoak · 29/09/2017 19:39

If her gran was born in the U.K. then (based on what I did, this may not be current) you'd need to get a copy of her gran's birth certificate, her gran's marriage certificate, her relevant parent's birth certificate, probably their marriage certificate (if married) & then your fiancée's birth certificate. It sounds a bit of a hassle but a lot less hassle than the non-grandma route!

Linzilou1985 · 29/09/2017 21:55

Sorry I've no advice, just wanted to wish you luck! I hope you can be together soon xx

lazydog · 29/09/2017 22:52

I receive DLA, the lawyer said that this nulls the requirement of income.

Kind of... I wouldn't say nulls, as that implies it means there's no financial requirement to be met if you're in receipt of DLA. You don't have to meet the 18.6k salary level, sure, but you do need to still be able to afford to support the applicant by proving you don't have housing costs that exceed your level of income. This doc gives you the relevant calculations and explanations:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/452967/IDI_Adequate_Maintenance_and_Accommodation_Appendix_FM_Annex_1_7A.pdf

Obviously if her gran was born in the UK, that'd be the first route to try. I hope it works out for you both!! Smile