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ENTRY CLEARANCE TO THE UK WITH CRIMINAL RECORD IN THE UK.

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mrsmagoos

Hello All,
Please can anyone give me some advice.
Its a long story but the basis of it is this:

I am a British Citizen living in London, UK. I met my Albanian partner here in October 2012 and soon after he moved in with me.
He was an illegal entrant to the UK, a clandestine entrant and had not attempted to legalise his staus.
In December 2014 he was arrested for possession of a bad quality ID card. He had attempted to obtain an NI Number at a job centre appointment in August 2014 and the document was removed from him. 4 months after he was arrested at our home and remanded in custody. In January 2015 he was sentenced to 8 months in prison of which he served 4 before being moved to a detention centre.
During this time we made an application to remain under human rights article 8. This was refused as they HOME OFFICE said there wasn't enough proof of our relationship. (No joint bills etc)
He was released on bail from immigration detention and we made an application to marry in the UK.
Unfortunately after about 3 weeks of release he was detained again during signing and taken back to an immigration centre. After 3 weeks we paid for his ticket back home to Albania.
In September I went to Albania and married him. I returned to the UK , then went back to Albania last week and we made an application for a spouse visa in Albania a few days ago.
We have declared everything on the application and included all details of his conviction and actual immigration history. Our application was just submitted a few days ago.

What I would like to know is:
Does he have any chance of getting his spouse visa despite having a criminal record?
How long it is likely to take for a decision?
If refused what are the chances of success on appeal?

We are both very traumatised, stressed and depressed about being away from each other.

We know he did wrong but we feel it was exceptional circumstances, he wanted to work in the UK to support his family back home. He was naïve, not a career criminal and prison caused him great distress. He has paid his price.

Please can anyone give an indication of what the likely outcome will be.
Thanks

See also

The UK Student visa Work visas in the United KingdomIndefinite Leave to RemainProfessional visas for the United KingdomSettlement in the UK
riazcdki

Hello Mrs. Magoos,

A complicated story. For Immigration authorities, it is difficult to ascertain what your real objectives are. You have not mentioned how old you are and if you had been married before?

I am afraid the home office looks and acts on some rules which might be considered rather cruel and unfair to some standards. If the objective of a marriage is to help some one come into UK who has already been deported from here and who was convicted on charges in connection with attempting to illegally stay in the UK, his chances of now entering in the UK as a spouse are very slim and this marriage will be looked at nothing but convenience.

I suggest while you are seeking advise of an immigration legal adviser, you could consider the options of moving to Albania or both of you moving to another place eg Malta or UAE and  get on with your carriers and professional lives. :)

Fred

Illegal entry and false documents to get an NI number - Dodgy.
Was he trying to claim UK benefits with the NI number, and arrested when "signing" what?
The UK government have been clamping down on benefits theft for several years so, if that's part of the problem, he might well have a very hard time getting in legally.

SimCityAT

I doubt very much he will be accepted into the UK, since the migrant crisis the UK is getting tough on immigration. It won't matter that you are married as you wed after the crimes took place, in the eyes of the law it will look like you got married for him to stay in the UK. What more he was arrested twice, fraud, fake ID. He should have applied for UK citizenship as soon as he entered the country.

mrsmagoos

He tried to obtain a national insurance number using a false Italian ID card. In order to get work only, not to claim anything.
I am 40, he is 25. Looks dodgy I know but its very much genuine. I am known to home office from the time of his arrest. I have corresponded with them. They are aware of me and of our relationship prior to his removal back to Albania.
I have never been married before, neither has he.
He was bailed to my address before being refused his application to remain under HR Article 8. He was detained after the refusal whilst signing weekly at immigration as part of his bail conditions .

Fred

Fraud would be taken very seriously, and easy targets would be highly likely to be refused.
With a criminal record, he's an easy target for refusal.

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