red7

Hi all,

First, I would ask everyone not to be judgemental if you reply to this post. I need some genuine advice please.

I am a UK citizen, half way through my working holiday visa in Australia. Today, I received an offer from a University to start a Degree course in Music - a lifelong dream of mine - in September.

However, I have met an 'Aussie Bloke' since being here and we are renting a house, settling down together. I'm not one of those people that has declared my undying love for every boyfriend I've had but I do really love this guy and he feels the same about me.

Problem is, he's gone off the rails a few times and has around 5 or 6 criminal convictions from 2007 to 2014. All 'minor offences' in the eyes of the law - common assault (fighting), drunk and disorderly etc. and has been issued 'good behaviour bonds' in the past. He's never done any jail time.

Do I stand any hope whatsoever of getting this guy over the UK border in September?? Would it make any difference if we were married? (Sounds drastic but choosing between the career I've waited my whole life for and the love of my life is not a decision I want to be facing).

Any help on this will be much appreciated.

Thank you!

ncoomber

Being married will help, yes. But I dont think its required. This wiki will summarize the spouse visa process.
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spouse_Immigration-UK_
However you will need a job making over 18.6K GBP or a load of money in the bank.

Other options:
Has he any EU or UK family ties? Can he get a EU or UK passport? Check into it. Any EU passport will work as he can live anywhere in the EU incl UK.
Student visa:
Ancestral visa:

I don't know about the convictions - but you should not hide them on the visa forms.

Good luck
Cheers
Nigel

red7

Thanks Nigel!

The job/money in the bank option is not viable, as I'm returning to the UK as a full-time University student.

I have looked at the Ancestry Visa on the UK Gov website:

https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa/eligibility

Reading the last section of the page, I'm unsure as whether he would need BOTH circumstances - i.e. of the Grandparent and Parent, of if just the Grandparent bit would suffice. I believe he does have an English Grandparent but his parent was born in Australia.

How do you interpret the requirement?

SanDiegogirl

You have to qualify under either Grandparent qualification OR parent -not both.

WEBlue

The criminal convictions could possibly be an impediment to any visa he applies for. I believe it all depends on how seriously the UK views his Aussie offenses.

englishguygoinghome

Regarding the convictions (others have covered the other bits already), it will depend ont he length of any sentence he was given. That includes suspended sentences etc, so even where he did no actual jail time. The general reason for refusal for any visa is (immigration rules - chapter 9, para 320):

BritInParis

The ancestry visa only requires you to have a British-born grandparent. If you have a parent born in the UK the chances are very high that you are already a British citizen or eligible to register as one. An ancestry visa would be by far the best visa option if your partner is eligible.

red7

Thank you all for your help. We have since discovered that it's his GREAT Grandparents that were UK residents, not his Grandparents.

Regarding the convictions, they are all minor in the eyes of the law, I'm more worried about him being labelled a 'repeat offender'. We will just have to keep our fingers crossed.

Also, it seems that marriage is no more likely to get a partner visa than a De facto relationship, so we can go down that route after 12 months if all else fails.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed!

spouse of scouse

Red, I really think that it would help you and your boyfriend to talk with a registered migration agent who has experience in this area, ie advising UK visa applicants who have a criminal history.

I've read the relevant legislation and, aside from the proscribed reasons for refusal, it seems to provide some discretion for immigration officers as to what constitutes a pattern of 'persisting offending', and whether any identified pattern is sufficient grounds for visa refusal. I think that an experienced migration agent would assist in presenting your boyfriend's history in the best way, for example perhaps by helping him to identify if there were any mitigating factors to the offences.

I realise that agents cost money, but there seems to be a lot riding on your application (it's hard to let a good Aussie boy go ) and you'll want the best possible chance of success and avoiding a refusal. I wish you best of luck

formula

Are you the person who is posting on another site and saying that your OH was caught committing another crime last month? If you are, someone has posted the relevant rules on there for repeat offenders wanting to get a visa to the UK.