Is anyone able to ‘thought shower’any loopholes in immigration law?

[LaurieFairyCake]

Are there any?

UK law (England)
Elderly (terminal cancer) man - English
married long term to wife from Thailand (in her 60’s)

She has no domicility or right to remain. He spends £1500 every 3 years (not sure on what - to extend her visa I suppose?)

He needs her to care for him. He can’t go back to die in Thailand as he has no possibility of health care (he’s also still receiving treatment).

Is there ANYTHING that can be done to get him something. He is obviously very worried about it.

NB - I am NOT an immigration lawyer. Do have a look at the gov.uk site, which is where I found the info below.

If they are legally married, they should be able to apply for a UK family/spousal visa for her. This visa is for 2.5 years and then they can apply for further visas and eventually Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). It takes at least 5 years to arrive at eligibility for ILR.

To apply for most types of visa, she will need to prove she can speak English to a certain standard and pass the Life in the UK test. They will need to prove that between themselves they have sufficient income to support her (min approx. £18,600). It may be that one of these is a stumbling block.

She must already have some type of visa - this may affect what she can apply for. Also, I don't know what rules Thailand has - some countries don't allow their citizens to hold status in other countries - so it may be that she does not want to have semi-permanent or permanent status in the UK because that might cause problems for her longer term.

Do go and look at the gov.uk site and encourage them to look at it too.

If you want any advice from a bunch of strangers on the internet a lot more info is needed: what is her current immigration status? Is there a reason why she was/is not able to apply for ILR? Why do you refer to "loopholes" as opposed to follow a path to ILR?

I second checking the gov.uk site.

They will need to prove that between themselves they have sufficient income to support her (min approx. £18,600).

Nope that has to be the income for 6 months previously for the UK resident ONLY. Not joint

Hire an immigration lawyer and follow their advice.

www.google.co.jp/amp/s/visadreams.com/2017/08/11/changes-to-minimum-income-rule-for-spouse-visa-now-in-force/amp/

They need an immigration lawyer (will cost them loads though)

Thank you all so much for your thoughts

You are quite right, she fails on the English/life in the UK test. She had no schooling in Thailand at all growing up and struggles with anxiety around learning - she has failed the test before and does not feel she can do it again. She says she is too old and undereducated to manage it.

She spends all her time looking after her terminally ill husband and they’re trying to spend their remaining time together with as little anxiety as possible.

That’s why I asked for ‘loopholes’ - they have failed to get it any other way.

I know less than nothing about this. I was wondering about a direct appeal to a judge, an MP - was hoping someone would come on and say ‘you can directly appeal’ if all else fails, some sort of compassionate appeal.

They now only have his state pension and a very small private pension - I would not think their income is greater than £18k

He had a free 20 minutes with an immigration lawyer and couldn’t afford the fees.

What will happen is she will get sent home and it will cost thousands to look after him by the state using taxpayers money, when they could just let her stay and take care of him

It is totally fucked up - sorry your friends are in this situation

Yes, that’s exactly what’s going to happen

Or he’s going to die with the worry of her having to return to a country she hasn’t lived in for decades.

Also she won’t get all of his house. As she doesn’t have full residency it is immediately taxed at 40% apparently even though they’ve been married decades. I didn’t understand that part - think that bit is probably very complicated.

Has the lady lived here decades and failed to grasp English?

Just wondering if she has some from of learning disability and therefore could get help with the tests?

Can you help her learn what she needs to pass the test? There are a lot of test materials around to practice - is it just the reading she struggles with? Or the English itself? Or the actual content? If it's the reading, for example, she might be eligible for a reader. If it's the content, then you can go over the books/apps etc with her and practise the possible questions. She only needs 75% to pass, so it might be worth trying to get her to continue trying, even if she has to take it several times - still cheaper than extending her visa indefinitely.

If her visa has been extended each time thus far, is there a reason why that won't continue to happen while he is still alive? Obvoiusly it doesn't solve the problem of what will happen when she goes back. How will she manage here without him, if she doesn't speak English? Does he have other relatives that will help her?

There are (or were) ways to apply for special exemption from the home office. I expect they have seriously cracked down on those now though. It was called 'exceptional leave to remain'.

I've just looked it up - it's no longer called that - it's now either "Discretionary Leave to Remain" or "Leave outside the rules", and can be granted in exceptional circumstances. Sounds quite rare, but sometimes compassionate cases are included, so worth looking into perhaps.

I don't see 'loopholes' but I do see ideas:

1. there are English language courses she can take which include a proficiency qualification for the purposes of visa applications and prepare candidates for the test at the same time.

1. there are visa paths other than the standard spousal visa. they require longer waiting/residency periods.

He needs to contact his local MP's office and ask for their help. Every MP's office has a staff member who deals with immigration issues. It seems to me that given his terminal illness and need for health care, there are strong grounds for letting her stay.

That said, he needs a proper immigration solicitor too.

I'm sorry they are facing this crisis. The UK's official policy of creating a 'hostile environment' for immigrants has wrecked a lot of people's lives (including the lives of UK citizens with non-British spouses).

They need to contact their local MP asap and (sadly) while he is still alive :(

Immigration law is complex and ultimately the decision in on the hands of the home office. If she cannot apply the standard way they she needs to engage a lawyer for her non standard situation.

The rules are there for a reason, sorry and people abusing loopholes damages the system for everyone.
Get a lawyer is the best advice but it will be expensive.

She says she is "too old" - sometimes people can be exempt from the English language requirement because of their age.

www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions
You don’t need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re:

aged 65 or over
unable to, because of a long-term physical or mental condition
You must provide a completed exemption form or letter from a doctor confirming your physical or mental condition.

www.gov.uk/life-in-the-uk-test:
You do not need to take the test if you:

are under 18
are 65 or over
have passed it before - for example, if you’re applying to become a citizen and already passed it as part of your settlement application
have a long-term physical or mental condition - you must provide either a form or letter from a doctor confirming your physical or mental condition

www.gov.uk/english-language/exemptions
You don’t need to prove your knowledge of English if you’re applying as:

a victim of domestic violence as the partner or spouse of a British citizen or someone settled in the UK
the partner or spouse of a person who has died who was either a British citizen or someone settled in the UK
an adult dependent relative between 18 and 64 of someone who is present and settled in the UK, is a refugee or has humanitarian protection
a refugee living in the UK
someone living in the UK with discretionary leave
someone living in the UK for with humanitarian protection
someone who has permission to stay in the UK as a retired person of independent means
a Commonwealth citizen on discharge from HM Forces, including Gurkhas
a highly skilled migrant applying under the terms of the highly skilled migrant program (HSMP) judicial review and your dependants
someone in exceptional circumstances, eg as an orphan, widow or over-age dependant

Hi so sorry about their situation 💐
I'm not sure where you are based? All I can offer is a number of a immigration lawyer that my friend works for, they are based in North East England , also they have just been awarded a legal aid contract too so your friend may get help towards cost (not 100% sure) 01642 230337
Edwards immigration, I really hope this helps 💐

I involved my MP when my dh was denied a UK visa. He was quite helpful.

There are absolutely loads of completely ordinary people in situations that they don't want to be in because of the immigration laws. You just have to keep chipping away at it.

There's a reason why immigration advisers need to be qualified. Please don't take advice from anyone on here. Your local Citizens Advice should be able to make you an appointment with someone who will not potentially jeopardise the dw's claim to remain in this country.

The rules are there for a reason, sorry and people abusing loopholes damages the system for everyone.

This statement shows a lot of ignorance about how the Home Office operates. Their official policy is 'deport first, ask questions later' and they often don't follow their own rules, which is why people have to appeal and find so-called 'loopholes' in order for wrongs to be rectified. The recent Windrush scandal is a case in point.

Good luck OP.