This is one of one of the most favourite success stories of our immigration lawyers, because its happy ending didn’t take long to wait for. Spouse visa to the UK is not a quick application and getting a timely decision is always a big win.
My clients were a lovely young couple with two small children. Hussain was an Iraqi national living in Jordan with a work permit, his wife, a British citizen, was with him as his dependent, and their two children were born in Jordan and had dual citizenship – of UK and Iraq. Hussain was working for an IT company in Jordan and was earning good money by Jordanian standards, but his income would not count toward the financial requirement of the Immigration Rules. His wife was looking after a baby and a toddler full time. There was no possibility for her to make £18600 a year in Jordan in order to sponsor her husband. The family were happy to continue their life in Jordan, but when Hussain’s contract came to an end and the work permit was about to expire, they had no basis to stay in Jordan and had to go back home. But where was their home? There were two options – Iraq or the UK.
When Hussain got in touch with us, he had already been advised by another solicitor that his wife had to return to the UK first, with the children, find a job that would pay at least £18,600 a year and six months later sponsor him to join her in the UK.
This was not the approach we take at Kadmos because our immigration lawyers based in London don’t like families split up. Wherever we can, we try and find an alternative solution to keep everyone, including the Home Office, happy. In this case, we made the application while the family was still in Jordan. We showed that Hussain’s prospects of finding employment in the UK were realistic and that his prospective income was very likely to be above the threshold. His in-laws were very supportive and offered accommodation and financial support until the young people could stand on their own feet in the UK. It was not safe for British children to go to Iraq even if they had Iraqi citizenship. It was in their best interests to be in the UK with both their parents. Separation would have caused unjustifiable hardship both for the married couple and their children.
The Home Office agreed and issued a visa! It was a partner visa based on the 10-year route. The only option available for cases where the financial requirement is not met.
And six months or so down the road, Hussein was already meeting the financial requirement for the five-year route. He found a job in the IT industry and is currently doing very well. His wife works part-time as a teacher. The children are now at school. Hussein has switched into the 5-year route and we cannot wait to make his application for settlement and British citizenship – the last chapter in his immigration saga.
No two immigration stories are identical – but if there is any similarity in your circumstances or you feel you need help to make your immigration story a success, immigration advice is a good starting point.
