Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

Hi,
I am new to this site and am looking for some advice or help from anyone in Dubai.
I'm english and my partner is Afghan, he has to leave the country in the next few months as he can no longer stay here and I want leave with him. The government say it is safe for me to go to Afghanistan with him (which is not true if you check the foreign office website ) We need a country we can live safely in together, me and my partner have been together for 2 1/2 years and dont wish to be separated.
How can I get him a sponser for Dubai, we will have about £15,000 to support ourselves when we get out there as I am re-mortgaging my house to help us financially.
I have worked in the hosptality and catering trade for nearly 7 years and have excellent communications skills with the public. I'm sure I will get a job, but I need help and advice on my partner.
We would like to stop in Dubai for nearly a year and apply for him to come back to England, as you can no longer apply in this country you have to leave.

How can I get him a sponser ? I can certainly send our cv's to anybody who would like to look at it. and my partner speaks better english than me !!!!

I can't explain how much I love my partner, we are both 27 and have a bright future together, but it is too dangerous for me to go to Afghanistan.

any help and advice ??????

Thanks Sarah

I can`t help you, sorry...

But I wish you both all the best!!!!

Good luck

Take care

no worries, we will be together no matter what. It just makes us stronger

Erm, so if you're English and you love him why not get married???

Can't see many other solutions and it seems the easiest by far. You can't sponsor a visa for someone if you're not married and you legally can't live together here.

If your Marry him then he should be able to stay in UK.

Scot is right, you should get married in the UK, although that doesn't guarantee him a visa 100%, if you have a strong relationship for 2 and a half years, it will be easy to prove your case (in case of any problems).

It is of course your decision, and I supposed we are not the firts "gemiuses" to suggest it. You may have some reasons not to do it but if you are going to argue that marriage is a big commitment, so is remortgaging your house! It seems a lot easier and probably won't need as many lawyers!

If you come here and you are not married, you can't sponsor him either. By the way, what does he do? Could he get a job? I am under the impression that is always easier here for the man to sponsor his wife than the other way around. Although as a rule of thumb,you would probably have a better chance being British than him being Afghan (unfortunately, the UAE is a very racist place and having the right or wrong passport makes all the difference) in finding a job here.

Anyway, think about it and good luck.

hi everyone,
thanks for your help, I don't know if any of you are in England at the moment but things have changed !!!! I could marry him , but you can no longer apply for your partner to stay in this country from this country, you have to go to their country to get entry clearance back to the UK. You also need a permission to marry certificate from the home office or you cannot marry.
My partners country does not deal with entry clearance back to the UK (afghanistan) so he has to travel to another country to submit his documents to the british embassy there.If he can get a visa for the other country !!!!!!!

Thats why I thought we could do this in Dubai, as it is safe for both of us. Immigration in this country has become very complcated. If I could marry him I would. I will send back for him but it looks like we will have to travel to Iran and send for him as my fiance.

If not I will travel to Dubai myself,try and get a job and send for him. I only want to in a safe country together till I can get him home.

It is no longer easy to be with someone you love if they are not an EU citizen.

all advice is still welcome x

Thanks for all the advice
Sarah

Hope

Sorry to hear that the law has changed, I was certainly not up-to-date with these changes. It was so much easier before, I know lots of people who just got married while living in the UK and got their visas approved the same day! (this was like 7-8 years ago) Shame it's become so complicated now. I guess that unfortunately a lot of people abused the immigration law and they had to toughen up, but now innocent and genuine couples like you are paying the price. Very sad.

You didn't mention what your partner does for a living, hopefully he could get a job here. Hard to say, as there are industries with bigger demands than others, so it will depend.

Good luck

hope wrote:hi everyone,
thanks for your help, I don't know if any of you are in England at the moment but things have changed !!!! I could marry him , but you can no longer apply for your partner to stay in this country from this country, you have to go to their country to get entry clearance back to the UK. You also need a permission to marry certificate from the home office or you cannot marry.
My partners country does not deal with entry clearance back to the UK (afghanistan) so he has to travel to another country to submit his documents to the british embassy there.If he can get a visa for the other country !!!!!!!

Thats why I thought we could do this in Dubai, as it is safe for both of us. Immigration in this country has become very complcated. If I could marry him I would. I will send back for him but it looks like we will have to travel to Iran and send for him as my fiance.

If not I will travel to Dubai myself,try and get a job and send for him. I only want to in a safe country together till I can get him home.

It is no longer easy to be with someone you love if they are not an EU citizen.

all advice is still welcome x

Thanks for all the advice
Sarah

In any case you should marry before coming here if you intend to co-habit, I am presuming your partner is a Muslim. Alson be aware that you cannot get married here unless you are residents, I believe.

Also for getting married you need NOC's from your parents, then you need to register with the embassy, post an add in the local newspaper and the paper back home....The entire process may take over 2 months..

Another thing is here I dont think a muslim can marry a non muslim unless he/she converts

devilsdiciple wrote:Also for getting married you need NOC's from your parents, then you need to register with the embassy, post an add in the local newspaper and the paper back home....The entire process may take over 2 months..

Another thing is here I dont think a muslim can marry a non muslim unless he/she converts

A Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman, but a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man.

hopefully I can get him home safely, it's the journey out of Afghanistan that scares me, but we are not the only ones in this situation !!, The permission to marry certificate is slightly against the human rights act and I beleive it is being tackled in the high courts.
We have all the evidence, ie bank statements at the same address, tax forms, mobile phone bills for over 2 years nearly. I just makes me mad that it's going to cost around £5,000 to get him home, when the documents could be looked at here. I have been to see my MP and I am going back again this week.

my partner has not been able to work for nearly a year. So I don't know if he would get a job out there,

thanks sarah

Good luck Sarah

hope wrote:The permission to marry certificate is slightly against the human rights act and I beleive it is being tackled in the high courts.
We have all the evidence, ie bank statements at the same address, tax forms, mobile phone bills for over 2 years nearly.
my partner has not been able to work for nearly a year. So I don't know if he would get a job out there

In the UAE all the expats are visitors..So to marry you require a no objection certificate from your respective families...Dont see what human rights gotta do with it...

As for your partner not being able to work..Any particular reason??

Another thing is that a woman can only sponsor a man if she has a job that is included in an approved list of professions. I'm not absolutely sure about that..I'll try to check for you.
Sorry to be so negative, but it's not easy here either.

Sarah,

What kind of work does your partner do? Also many expats coming to work in the UAE have to hold diplomas for certain industries and get them attested etc. The same would apply for you, and hospitality, unless you're in management does not pay well here, as sadly the majority of people working in that sector come from Asian countries and accept very little money for it.

You cannot sponsor your partner here, only women in certain professions can sponsor their husbands, and your partner would only be able to sponsor you if you're married.

The human rights act (article eight) states that everybody should be entitled to a private life, without fear and persecution.
The human rights act also states that people should have the right to marry, regardless of race and religion. You should not need permission to get married !!!!
But the government are making people apply for certificates of permission to marry !

My partner has been unable to work as the government would not give him permission whilst his asylum case was being reviewed. They gave him leave to remain for one year in which he could work. When the year ran out he was unable to work. He has been to a tribunal to argue his case, the government feel it is safe for him to return to Afghanistan, so his tribunal failed. It has taken a year and a half for us to be given a date for the tribunal, and him not working.

The fact is, the government but create many obstacles for you not to be together.

Again I will say, I just want to be with him in a safe country. I will get him home as I do not give up easily. I have a place at uni for this year, but will defer for till next year. I will get the money together so we can live financially any where we are.

It may only take me a few weeks to get him home,it may not, all depends on the entry clearance officer.

I don't have to be married to get him home, all I have to do is take all the evidence to the British embassy for them to check the documents, this all has to be done outside of England in my partners own country. In Afghanistan the embassy does not deal with entry clearence, so he has to travel to another country to do this. I want to be with him so I have been trying to find a country in which we can both be safe whilst this is being dealt with, as it can take 4-12 weeks to complete.

The best place for us is going to have to be Iran, If the enrty clearance officer refuses us, which he should not ! I thought I would get some advice about Dubai for us both to live until we can get him home.

But as most of you have pointed out it is not easy in Dubai for us to be together. But at least you have all given me something to think about.

Raul my partner would fall into the unskilled trade Im afraid as Afghanistan is not the best place to get a degree ! so it would be unskilled labour, which also makes it hard for us !

sarah

Sarah,

I hate to say it, but Iran is hardly the safest place for you right now either, with the US threats there and everything. Plus as a British citizen you have to apply for a visa to enter Iran, which could take a while as well, also visas are only valid for 7 days.

I should hopefully get a visa for 3 months, I know americans can only go for 7 days on accompanied tours. But I will check this with the iranian embassy again in London.

I m ready for pulling my hair out !!!

I will succeed !!!!!

Thanks

Hi just thought I would let you know that once you are married, the British Embassy in Dubai does not accept Settlement applications for Afghani Non-residents. The only place that will accept the application is Islamabad. So once you are married, if you want to apply for a husband's visa for him (valid for 2 years) you will have to do it from Islamabad

And so the Saga continues....



P.S - Sorry couldnt help myself..

Hope,

Sorry to say that no matter how many obstacles you’re facing in the UK, it will still be easier to proceed with as many avenues as you can there as you are a citizen of the country and there are more options open to you. The legal system on gaining residency in the UK may not seem fair to you, but at least there are possibilities to succeed. The odds of succeeding in establishing a new life in Dubai (or elsewhere in the Middle East) are much smaller, it sounds as if there’s very little chance your partner would ever be allowed to settle here whether he becomes your husband or not.

I don’t know where the idea to come to Dubai came from (I suspect, harshly, more a romantic notion of a new life rather than based on detailed research) but pursuing a UK marriage is the only real shot you have at this, turning up in a completely new country where you have absolutely no rights and they have no hesitation in throwing people out (no staying in the country whilst you appeal here) isn’t the way to do it. At least getting a UK residency would then open up other parts of Europe and the Commonwealth to you and your partner for a new life, I’m afraid it looks to me that Dubai and much of the Middle East are likely to remain closed for you for the foreseeable future.

The idea of coming to Dubai was not a romantic notion !!! there is no romance in leaving your home, your dog and the family you love and have supported you for over two years.
The idea of Dubai was given to me from a solicitor who told me the ins and outs of how we could be together.
Dubai is not my idea of settling down for a quiet life in a rich city, especially when I wish to study at aberystwyth university this year ( of which I am trying to defer for a year)

Politics is my main issue, and although you may assume I feel the system is not fair. IT IS NOT FAIR.

I have seen woman from africa,called a liar in court for claiming asylum in engalnd because she was raped by military fractions in the village she was from. I have seen Kurdish people returned to Iraq because the government says there is no problem in their country or the area where they live, and now I see returns to Afghanistan because the govrnment states it is safe to return when there are military operations carrying on because the taliban are making a big come back.

There is no romantic notion in leaving your life, if it not by choice.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pag ... 3618385513
check this out and tell me if your government said you could have a good life here. what would you think ?


Me and Raul will travel to either Pakistan or Iran to try and get his entry clearance back home. If not we will stay together no matter what.
The reason I joined this site was to see If anybody knew of how I could get a job, if things fail for us in another country, and any advice on getting a sponser.
I know the immigration system inside out.
sponser advice is all I wanted.

and yes being part of the EU does help


sarah


I thank everyone for their advice

I didn't say not stay together, I was just saying that if you're going to fight your case in the UK or the UAE you've got a slim chance of success in the UK against a practically zero chance of success here.