# Refused UK Spouse visa



## habib112 (Apr 1, 2013)

I am raising this question on friend’s behalf who was refused a settlement visa. My friend applied for a spouse visa to join her sponsor in the UK. The following are the reason for refusing to grant an entry clearance:

1st - “You have applied for entry clearance to join your husband in the UK. On your application form you stated that you UK sponsor has previously been married from March 2005 until September 2007. However, no divorce certificate has been submitted. I am therefore not satisfied that your marriage is valid. I therefore refuse you application under paragraph EC-P.1.1(d) of Appendix FM of the immigration Rules. (E-ECP.2.7)”

Please be informed that my friend was married to her sponsor and had two children. The children live with her and have been granted British citizenship in her native country simply because their father, sponsor, is a British citizen. To my understanding the UK have have previously acknowledged the validity of their marriage. 

Her sponsor was previously married but ther marriage was not registered. It was religious marriage. When they divorced in 2007 her sponsor assumed there was no need to file for divorce.

2nd – “Your sponsor has stated that he has been a self-employed taxi driver for the last 10 years. As evidence of this he has xxxx Carriage drivers licence, his bank statement, a private accountant’s report and his HMRC self-assessment. He has not submitted 12 months bank statements as specified in the required evidence. Moreover, his bank statements merely show ad-hoc deposits of £500 linked to different addresses. He has not submitted corresponding invoices to show that these are money from his taxi driving. These documents are specified in immigration Rules in Appendix FM-SE and must be provided. I therefore refuse your application under paragraph EC-P.1.1(d) of Appendix FM of the immigration Rules. (E-ECP.2.1))”

What do you suggest her sponsor should do to rectify this issue; is it better to re-apply or appeal against these decisions if so on what grounds? 
Thanks in advance.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

1) The Sponsor needs to ensure that his 2007 divorce is finalised and legally recognised as final and submit proof that the divorce is final and that he was free to marry your friend when they got married.

2) The Sponsor needs to send in 12 months worth of pay slips, bank statements and other documents as referenced to in both the the application (Appendix FM-SE) and in the refusal letter.

Your friend should make sure that those two deficiencies have been rectified and then re-apply once she and her Husband have all of the required documentation in place.

Your friend _should *not*_ attempt to come to the UK any time soon or else she will be refused entry and returned to her home country on the next available flight. Her passport has been tagged with this refusal and it will flag up on the IO's screen when her passport is scanned at the arrivals hall. A refused entry will also cause problems, as she will have to declare and explain it on any new application.

Your friend is welcome to go to a third country (like say France) to meet up with her husband and her husband is more than welcome to come to visit her in her home country. However, she should stay out of the UK for the time being.


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## straightline (Oct 29, 2013)

First of all, If the first marraige was not registered and not recognised, then he should have said I was not married before and no registration or divource marriage exists. Hoevever if the first marriage is recognised as is in your contry, then the divorce shoud be valid as well, if not, then he is still married to the first wife and the UK will not recognise the second marriage. 

As for the salary documents, you should have submitted either payslips and bank statements that shows the salary been paid regularly, if the salary came from a different address you should have explained that and provide evidence it came from your taxi driving work...... this is not difficult unless the information were not correct.

If you can prove you, the divorce is valid and recognised in your contry. and you were divorced at the time you married the second wife, then you can appeal. get an official papers from the ministry of interior or marriage registry as evidence...... if that is not possible then your have very slim chance to win an appeal. 

you need also to explain to the embassy why salary payments came from different address on the bank account... 

if you can prove both points. you should appeal... 

Also you should explain the place of abode. if it is the UK, then the English law apply to you and your marriage. if your contry is the place of abode, the UK will recognise your marriage and divorce providing it is valid in your country.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

You have no grounds for appeal - your friend did not provide proof of divorce or proof that the sponsor's self employment qualified for the financial requirements.

She needs to re-apply when she has the correct documentation and proof that the sponsor meets the financial requirements


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## habib112 (Apr 1, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> 1) The Sponsor needs to ensure that his 2007 divorce is finalised and legally recognised as final and submit proof that the divorce is final and that he was free to marry your friend when they got married.
> 
> 2) The Sponsor needs to send in 12 months worth of pay slips, bank statements and other documents as referenced to in both the the application (Appendix FM-SE) and in the refusal letter.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the quick reply. My friend's sponsor is self employed, taxi driver. He gets paid by cash and deposits this money on weekly bases into his account. The only way he could prove it was via his accountant's annual statement and his weekly deposits. What other alternative can he show to support her appication? 

Is it possible in the UK to register a divorce that took place in 2007 and can her sponsor obtain a divorce certificate?


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## JFC (Jul 3, 2014)

Is the marriage recognized in the UK? It sounds like there is no marriage certificate for the first marriage: would it be possible to get a new copy of this document from an office in the country where this marriage took place that is equivalent to Death, Birth, Marriage Register in the UK?

How did your friend got even married a second time without divorcing? You said something in your first post about the marriage was not recognized, so he shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place.
If it turns out there is need for a divorce, here is the link about divorces in the UK:
https://www.gov.uk/divorce/grounds-for-divorce

It does say you would need to include:
You must include your:

full name and address
husband or wife’s full name and address
marriage certificate - the original certificate or a copy from a register office
Include the names and dates of birth of any children (no matter how old they are).

Maybe, they are lucky and the first marriage is not recognized and he can claim that he made a mistake on the form.
I am certain you wouldn't be able to backdate a divorce, and this would imply that the current marriage is not valid.
So your best chance might be to explain that the marriage was not valid and that he made a mistake on the form.
Wish you and your friend all the best, hope this helps.


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## straightline (Oct 29, 2013)

Selfemployed with cash payment, if he declared his income to inland revenue he can submit the IR documents to support his argument. along with a letter from the accountant to show explain this. 

If your freind in a country where it is permitted for him to marry more than one wife, let him get a FATWA about the first divorce and have it signed and validated by local authority. in this case this document is not valid in the UK unless your friends place of abode is not the UK. all explained in the validity of marriage on the homeoffice website.


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

IT would help if you said in which country your friend got married.

In Mexico for example religious marriages have no legal basis and one isn't legally married until one goes to a civil registry and obtains a marriage certificate.

You really need a lawyer now to advice you if you have grounds to appeal, since common sense needs to be presented in a way the authorities understand.

If you want more help you should be more forthcoming about the whole situation of your friend, the first marriage of her husband and so on.


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