Dl2u16

Dear
I am Korean. I have just completed my master’s degree in UK last month and my Tier4 visa will expire on January 30, 2018.

I and my boyfriend who have permanent residence in Britain and applied for the British citizenship this July are planning to get marry. (We have been together a year and just moved in together this June)

But he is still waiting for the result of citizenship which means that he does not possess the British passport. (He does not have a Korean passport; it is expired).

So, my question is that if there would be enough time to get marry in UK and apply Spouse visa within the UK before my T4 visa is expired?
And when until am I able to switch my T4 to spouse Visa as my visa will be expired soon? (I would like to switch in the UK using premium service.)

Could you kindly give me any advices on this issue?

Thank you for your time and support.

Best,
Dana Lee

BritInParis

Hi Dana,

Providing you meet the financial requirements you can marry and apply for your spouse visa as soon as you like. There's no need to wait for your fiancé to acquire British citizenship. He can sponsor you providing he as a settled person, e.g. holds Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Be mindful that once he becomes a British citizen your fiancé will automatically lose his Korean citizenship.

Dl2u16

Thank you for your reply, BritInParis.

We went to registry office in Oxford today, but they said he will need to bring his either Korean or UK passport which he does not possess at the moment. (Korea one is expired and UK one is on the way of processing; British citizenship)

We are not sure how we have to solve this issue.

I appreciate for your time.

Best,
Dana

Pulaski

Did they actually reject his expired Korean passport, or have you just assumed that they will?

BritInParis

주 영국 대한민국 대사관

az2014

<<<Snip>>>in the parahraph above you stated the 2 ways to solve the issue...<<<snip>>>

Inselaffen

why doesnt he go to his embassy and renew his Korean passport?

Pulaski

Presumably because it will be voided immediately that his British Citizenship is confirmed.

BritInParis

Only if he tells the Korean government.

Pulaski

I have always wondered about that, given that a number of Asian, and other, countries "prohibit" dual citizenship - how do the governments know? .... Are governments identifying trsvel to countries where a visa would be required, and not finding a visa in the passport?

pabonline

There is no 'big brother' style government investigation.

It will be the duty of the immigration offer at the port of entry to question anything suspicious based on the amount of time that person has been outside the country and the stamps in the passport.

BritInParis

Simply put they don't. How vigilant/interested the authorities will vary hugely based on the country in question and also depend on the person's travel habits and country of residence but in practice it can be fairly simple to fly under the radar as a dual national.

Pulaski

I have long suspected that that is the case, and I also suspect that it is in that fact that the pragmatic approach of the US and the UK is rooted - you can't really stop dual citizenship, so why bother fighting it.

I am surprised how many people seem to 'fess up immediately and give up their birth citizenship on aquiring British or America citizenship, merely because dual citizenship is "against the rules".

BritInParis

Depends on the penalties involved. Former Indian citizens who don't surrender their passports can end up with a prison sentence.