Marriage legalities, separation, divorce and finances

[anonymouse]

Hello all,

I am new to the forum so a big hello to all here

Being a UK citizen married to a Filipina, i have some questions that are bothering me somewhat.

Married last year in the Phils and arrived to the UK with my wife on a spousal visa ( new rules ) 2 1/2 year settlement visa I now realize i am not too sure on where i stand in the case of us separating.

I know, i know, we are only just married! But, due to circumstances, i am now doubtful about certain intentions and would like to understand where exactly i stand.

We are married in the Phils. How does that marriage stand in the UK?

If we were to separate and I withdrew my sponsorship, what would be the process of immigration removing her ? In the mean time would i have to support her if she left our home ? What would i be liable for in this case ?

Would divorce be viable in the UK and at what stage would she become liable to try and take me for my money/assets?

Anything else i should be aware of just in case i am... sleeping with the enemy ?

[marksroomspain]

Your marriage in the Philippines is legally recognised here in the UK the same as if a marriage had took place here.

Regarding how the UKBA would go about removing her or things of that nature each case is individual so the final decision would be taken by them as regards to the current circumstances.

I believe if you withdrew your sponsorship and obviously you had informed the UKBA then there would be no financial penalty on yourself.

As regards to if she could make a claim regarding assets I doubt whether she could claim if she has not got ILR, please dont quote me on this as I am sure there are other members on this forum who could add to this.

I feel you are having serious doubts at the moment and only hope you can both work things out I wish you all the best for the future.....

[lordna]

If you married in the Philippines then your wife and the Phil authorities consider its for life.
Presumably your wife has just got here and finding it tough to adjust......so help her some more!
Work at your relationship...surely you love the girl you met and thats why you married.

In the first year my wife was here she also found it tough to adjust and she brought her daughter with her. Try to mix with other filipinos, maybe she is missing home. Above all try and understand what its like for her to come and setup life in a foreign country....not easy. Remember you're the only one close to her that she can turn to....just show her that she can rely on you to support her come what may. Maybe get her a job somewhere that will give her a little independance....Above all dont talk about looking at ways to give up!

[sheriel]

How sad, Like another member say here, Marriage is for life,how would you feel if you were in the Philippines with your wife and she had a boyfriend,be patient and very understanding to her, after all you choose her as your wife, no one forced you to marry her, i sincerely hope given time you will see things much better, good luck work at it,

[grahamw48]

Well, so far we've only seen minimal information about the relationship, so let's not jump to conclusions folks.

[raynaputi]

Well, so far we've only seen minimal information about the relationship, so let's not jump to conclusions folks.

That's what I thought so too..

[joebloggs]

i doubt UKBA will revoke her visa before it expires, so she will probably be able to stay here until her visa expires, if she does move out and its the end of your relationship then sooner or later she will have to leave unless she can get a visa another way..

[Terpe]

anonymouse, you have raised a number of questions and also a number of issues.

My response will focus on the facts only.

Your marriage is legally valid. Both in UK and in Philippines.
You are married. Period.

No-one here can say anything about how UKBA will manage your non-support of visa sponsorship. That would entirely depend on UKBA and case given by your wife. It's not normally the case that UKBA will revoke the visa and take a deportation route unless there is a darn good reason.

UK divorce is of course allowable. Provided the marriage has lasted 12 months and the grounds for divorce are one of the 5 allowable under the law.
I have to tell you that 'suspicious intentions' is not one of them.

Anyway, you can research those grounds easily enough.
The only one that does not rely on her agreements is 5 years separation.

During any divorce procedure the outcome does depend to a large degree on the 'judges decision' and her lawyers argument.

I'm not going to give any opinion on how to best manage the relationship.

But I will tell you that I am personally involved with two couples now where the husband has taken the same platform as you.

I'm not making judgements in your case. I am not familiar with anywhere near enough information from both sides for that.

You need to have some serious and calm discussions with your wife. imho

[dunstun365]

I wonder if you can divorce if the UKBA won't allow a couple to be together in UK & they couldn't survive in the philippines so were apart all the time.
I certainly don't want to divorce my wife but with these new UKBA rules etc.

[dunstun365]

I agree If she can meet other (female) filipinos in UK then she should be OK. My wife did when she was here. We even have a filipino neighbour who said she'd offer her a job at the nursing home she runs - that's if or when the nasty UKBA let her come back.

[mickcant]

Hi anonymouse,
I married a beautiful Filipina in the Philippines in 2008.
She disappeared at the same time as I had to return to the UK after the wedding,(with the money I left for her visa and travel) it was some months later when I heard from her, she finally came to the UK 18 months after our wedding (after I paid the fees and fare again)

I did everything I could to make her feel at home and happy, but after 12 days she went home (with me paying) after 2 months or so she came back,( me paying) stayed 6 weeks this time then moved in with Filipino friends.

I divorced her mostly on desertion we had been married just over 2 years but by then I knew she had ran off with a boyfriend after our wedding and had a child with him.
She came back only to work and send money home.

She tried to delay and stop the divorce but it went through, and as far as I know the UKBA sent her back to the Philippines.
Mick.