Question: If I marry a British citizen, do I automatically get the right to legally live in the UK?

Answer: The simple answer here is NO. Marriage itself to a British citizen does not provide an automatic right for an individual to obtain legal status in the UK; rather it provides grounds upon which a person can make an application to live in the UK, due to their marriage to a British citizen settled in the UK. You would need to show that you satisfy the relevant immigration rules in order to successfully be granted a right to stay in the UK on the basis of your marriage. If you are legally living in the UK i.e. have a current, valid visa then it may be possible for you to switch immigration statuses by applying to the Home Office to request that you be granted an extension to remain in the UK as a spouse of a British citizen.

It is advisable that you obtain professional legal advice on this issue however, as only very few immigration statuses can switch to a spouse visa in-country. Generally speaking, the immigration rules require a person to obtain entry clearance to remain in the UK, by way of applying for a spouse visa from the British Embassy in the person’s home country. This process can only be overridden where there are exceptional human rights arguments for the person to remain in the UK – professional legal advice should be sought nevertheless.

By Greenfields Solicitors,
www.greenfieldssolicitors.com

Please note that the above article does not relate to nationals of the European Union. The above article is meant to be relied upon as an informative article and in no way constitutes legal advice. For legal advice regarding your case, please contact Greenfields Solicitors for a Consultation with a Solicitor on 020 8884 1l66.

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Question: I’ve been a legal resident in Italy for five years. I’d like to apply for the EC long-term residence permit (Carta di Soggiorno). I’ve heard that there is an income requirement for this. Is it true?

Answer: It is true, in order for you to apply for the EC long-term residence permit you must meet determined requirements and one of them is to have an income not lower than the social benefit allowance. 

The income requirement is much higher if one is applying for the EC long-term residence permit also for the family members. The minimum income required must be multiplied by half for each family member. In case of two or three minor children under the age of 14, the income required must not be lower than double the amount of social benefit allowance.

The general income of all family members living with the applicant are taken into consideration. Having in mind that the social benefit allowance for 2010 is 5.349,89 Euros, if you are applying for the EC long-term residence permit only for yourself, then you must have an annual income of at least 5.349,89 Euros. But if you are applying for EC long-term residence permit  for yourself and one family member, then your income must be at least 8.024,83 Euros. If you are applying for EC long-term residence permit for two family members (or two or more children under the age of 14), your income must be at least 10.699,78 Euros.

You must have an income of least 13.374,72 Euros in order to apply for the EC long-term residence permit for three family members, and 16.049 Euros for four family members.

Be reminded that the income required to be issued the EC long-term residence permit  is the same one required for family reunification.

Apart from the income requirement, for you to be issued the EC long-term residence permit, you must also have a valid Permit of Stay (or have applied for renewal of your permit). You must have been a legal resident for at least five years, be a holder of a long term Permit of Stay (excluding Permits of Stay for studies, professional training, humanitarian reasons, subsidiary social protection, for asylum and for application for asylum).

You must not have been given a criminal sentence in Italy and not be considered a threat to public order and social security.

To apply for the EC long-term residence permit, it is necessary to use appropriate forms available at the designated post offices and to send the application from those designated post offices.

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I have called the Home Office, written to them letters but still haven’t heard anything back

Question:  I submitted a case to the Home Office a few months ago but haven’t heard anything back from them and am very concerned. I have called the Home Office and written to them letters requesting information on my case but still haven’t heard anything back, what can I do?

Answer: It may be an idea for you to approach your local MP who can perhaps assist you in writing to the Home Office on your behalf in order to request an update on the progress of your matter. Often, local MPs can prove helpful for constituents in their locality in chasing up long outstanding matters pending at the Home Office. Furthermore, the Home Office generally provide a reasonably prompt reply to MPs and this could be a good avenue to follow. If you have already written a few letters to the Home Office requesting an update to the status of your immigration matter but have not heard back from them, you could also look into lodging a formal complaint which would in effect request the complaints department of the Home Office to investigate the nature of your complaint and aim to resolve or reply to your complaint as soon as possible. It should also be noted that the Home Office generally are not the most efficient of organisations and it is not unusual to wait several months before hearing from them in respect to any application lodged.

By Greenfields Solicitors,
www.greenfieldssolicitors.com

Please note that the above article does not relate to nationals of the European Union. The above article is meant to be relied upon as an informative article and in no way constitutes legal advice. For legal advice regarding your case, please contact Greenfields Solicitors for a Consultation with a Solicitor on 020 8884 1l66.

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Question: Is there an Amnesty going to be introduced to help illegal/overstayers to stay in the UK and if so when?

Answer: Though there has been talk of an Amnesty, which would effectively seek to regularise immigration statuses of illegal entrance and overstayers currently in the UK, there have been no further proposals at the time of writing to confirm that any amnesty will be introduced.

By Greenfields Solicitors,
www.greenfieldssolicitors.com

Please note that the above article does not relate to nationals of the European Union. The above article is meant to be relied upon as an informative article and in no way constitutes legal advice. For legal advice regarding your case, please contact Greenfields Solicitors for a Consultation with a Solicitor on 020 8884 1l66.

Send us your legal questions
Please send us your legal questions on any immigration-related topic. Address all your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it