Taking Argentine Wife For Uk Visit

[camberiu]

For the OP here, there's a terrible account on this forum from maybe 2012 about a Briton landing at Heathrow with his Argentine wife and their 2 pre-school-aged children born in Arg. A British immigration law required a foreign spouse immigrating to prove upon entry that she had employment in the UK that paid her a minimum of 17, 000 sterling/year. She was a full-time care-giver. They were moving to England because he secured while in Arg a great job in the UK paying plenty. So he told Immigration that he'd pay 17,000/year on her behalf because they needed her at home to keep care of their kids. No go! Immigration law set the rules. The wife didn't work. He wasn't allowed to earn it for her.

If you can't bring your family with you, you are not a citizen of a country, you are a serf. Glad that they are making it crystal clear in the UK.

 

[Gringoboy]

Is that how it works in Brazil then?

 

[camberiu]

Is that how it works in Brazil then?

Never had any issues having a Brazilian embassy anywhere issuing a VISA to my Japanese wife, no questions asked, once I show the proof of marriage.

And I am pretty sure in Argentina it works the exact same way.

 

[joeschmoe1920]

While everyone is entitled to an opinion about UK immigration, we're not entitled to our own facts. Sockhopper's description of the UK spousal income requirement is simply wrong. The requirement applies to the income of the UK spouse, not the foreign spouse, and the threshold is 18,600 pounds gross per year, plus an additional sum per child. The scenario described by Sockhopper, where the UK spouse had the money to sponsor his wife but was refused because she didn't have employment could not have occurred under this law. Don't believe every sob story posted here, and read the law before ranting about it. As for initiating a "human rights review" you'll be glad to know that this requirement has been litigated for years and the UK Supreme Court is expected to hear the case on February 22. So far, the Court of Appeals sided with the government, but the Supreme Court can go either way. You're free to file an amicus curiae brief if you'd like.

 

[camberiu]

While everyone is entitled to an opinion about UK immigration, we're not entitled to our own facts. Sockhopper's description of the UK spousal income requirement is simply wrong. The requirement applies to the income of the UK spouse, not the foreign spouse, and the threshold is 18,600 pounds gross per year, plus an additional sum per child.

Thanks for the clarification. Although not as bad as in the original story, it is still pretty bad when a government bureaucrat can place financial conditions to be met for a citizen to be able to bring his wife and children into what is supposedly his country and his house.

If a bureaucrat can set rules and thresholds that define if you are allowed or not to bring your wife and children to live into your house, then, for all real intents and purposes, that is not really your house. That is the government's house.

 

[Ceviche]

joeschmoe1920

Are you representing the UK immigration deptt?

Just asking.

 

[joeschmoe1920]

Thanks for the clarification. Although not as bad as in the original story, it is still pretty bad when a government bureaucrat can place financial conditions to be met for a citizen to be able to bring his wife and children into what is supposedly his country and his house.

If a bureaucrat can set rules and thresholds that define if you are allowed or not to bring your wife and children to live into your house, then, for all real intents and purposes, that is not really your house. That is the government's house.

This makes sense in a libertarian utopia, but the UK is far from one and its government is not interested in importing more wards of the state. It may be your house, but if you don't have enough money to support your family and other taxpayers will be forced to pitch in, there's at least a colorable argument that the government should get involved. The plaintiffs aren't even disputing this, they argue that the threshold is too high and the minimum wage should be used instead. They also argue that the foreign spouse's earning capacity should be taken into account. We'll see how this plays out in court.

Ceviche: no, I have no dog in this fight. I just have a pet peeve about spreading misinformation.

 

[camberiu]

This makes sense in a libertarian utopia, but the UK is far from one and its government is not interested in importing more wards of the state. It may be your house, but if you don't have enough money to support your family and other taxpayers will be forced to pitch in, there's at least a colorable argument that the government should get involved.

Sounds very much like the Fabian argument that I expected as a justification. Once the government becomes the provider of its citizens, he also becomes the owner of its citizens.
He can then dictate if you can or cannot bring your wife and children to live with you.

The road to serfdom could not have been any more explicit. There is always a trade off between liberty and security.

 

[joeschmoe1920]

Also, to close the loop on the original question, UK border agents are required to determine if a visitor is likely to remain in the country indefinitely. Unlike their Argentinian counterparts, they take this mission seriously. And this is the question you should be prepared to provide a satisfactory answer to, no matter what form it takes. In the case mentioned above where a visitor had previously applied for a residence permit and was denied, the answer was a no-brainer and the immigration officer would/should probably have been fired if he let the visitor in. Someone who intends to reside in the UK and is not granted a visa can't be allowed to do an end-run around the denial by coming in as a visa-free tourist and overstaying.

With respect to the OP's situation, the scenario seems more nuanced, and it all depends on what your girlfriend at the time told the officer. If she said that you were going to get married and planned to live together in Britain (this last part doesn't have to be explicit), then the rejection would not be surprising. If you want some peace of mind, apply for a visitor visa. It's less costly, financially and mentally, than showing up and getting rejected again.

 

[Gringoboy]

The bottom line here is that if you marry an Argentine woman or any other person from outside the EU, it's a very difficult task for the both of you to settle in the UK together.
It can be done, but requires total dedication on the non UK citizen over about three years.