Time frame for legally staying in the United Kingdom

[MARM 7]

We contacted the Pakistani consulate in the UK:-

They cannot issue my fiance a travel document because his passport is not lost or stolen and according to them, he can ask for it back anytime from the US Embassy in London. They state that if my fiance MUST leave because of UKHO laws and regulations, the US Embassy cannot hold his passport in their possession, otherwise they would be in a predicament with the UKHO.

So we are stuck in this vicious cycle of everyone redirecting us to everyone else and the circle goes round and round forever.

I guess worse comes to worst, my fiance will just have to sit there and wait for the US Embassy in London to return his passport to him before he can attempt to leave the UK. And if he is questioned about his overstay, he just has to explain himself very well and submit all proof of attempts to communicate his situation with the US Embassy in London, who are in possession of his passport.

About 1 month and 2 weeks is all the US Embassy in London has to return his passport in time for him to exit the UK in time of his UK FLR(S) expiry.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Well I know things have changed A LOT since this happened but I overstayed (before becoming a UKC) my student visa back in the 90s because I was stupid and didn't know better and it wasn't a major issue for me on subsequent returns and visa applications. I think the overstay was 3 months.

[MARM 7]

Well I know things have changed A LOT since this happened but I overstayed (before becoming a UKC) my student visa back in the 90s because I was stupid and didn't know better and it wasn't a major issue for me on subsequent returns and visa applications. I think the overstay was 3 months.

Thanks Trompe le Monde! Frankly speaking, my fiance does not ever want to go back to the UK, he was there for the sole purpose to study, and now that he is done, he doesn't see anything there for him. Also, he doesn't have any family there, no other ties there either, so there is probably a 0.0001% chance that we would even think of going there in the future. The .0001 is because as they say you never know, but we really don't have a reason to go back there. The only thing both my fiance and I fear is any trouble with the UKHO when he is exiting London once he gets his K-1, and also the fact that he doesn't want the UKHO show up at his door the day after his UK FLR(S) expires, because they aren't easy to deal with, and it is just a lot of added stress!

[JeremyR 8]

The only thing both my fiance and I fear is any trouble with the UKHO when he is exiting London once he gets his K-1, and also the fact that he doesn't want the UKHO show up at his door the day after his UK FLR(S) expires, because they aren't easy to deal with, and it is just a lot of added stress!

Remember that when you leave a country, you don't ordinarily pass through any form of immigration control. I'm sure there's a technical possibility of his name being flagged at check-in and him being asked to speak to the nice gentlemen in suits but I suspect that's very unlikely. Are there reports of such things happening at UK airports? Even if they do give him a ticking off for overstaying, (IANAL) I can see no legal or logical reason to stop him boarding the plane - it would be totally counter productive to stop somebody who's out of status from getting on a flight that will take him outside the UK's borders.

If he has no conceivable reason to want to return to the UK in the future, I wouldn't be too worried about a little bit of overstay. I suspect the chances of the UKBA turning up on the doorstep are slim too.

But as you said, there's still 6 weeks, I should hope it will never come to that

[MARM 7]

Remember that when you leave a country, you don't ordinarily pass through any form of immigration control. I'm sure there's a technical possibility of his name being flagged at check-in and him being asked to speak to the nice gentlemen in suits but I suspect that's very unlikely. Are there reports of such things happening at UK airports? Even if they do give him a ticking off for overstaying, (IANAL) I can see no legal or logical reason to stop him boarding the plane - it would be totally counter productive to stop somebody who's out of status from getting on a flight that will take him outside the UK's borders.

If he has no conceivable reason to want to return to the UK in the future, I wouldn't be too worried about a little bit of overstay. I suspect the chances of the UKBA turning up on the doorstep are slim too.

But as you said, there's still 6 weeks, I should hope it will never come to that

Thanks JeremyR, we are hoping that he gets his visa any day now. The thought of even speaking to the nice gentlemen in suits is pretty intimidating to us...to be honest, Pakistani citizens are quite scrutinized these days and the horror stories of being detained (even though there was no real reason to detain to begin with) are scary!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

they have checked passports on the way out - it is rare, but it has happened and seemed to happen quite a bit after 7/7/05 - there are immigration desks at both Heathrow and Gatwick near security but they are rarely staffed. Actually the one time I overstayed was one such time....I got a bit of a grilling but the IO was fairly cool when I admitted how stupid I had been. When I re-entered (only weeks later) with a valid visa I was grilled a bit but it was all fine.

your fiance carried documentation he would be able confirm it.

[MARM 7]

they have checked passports on the way out - it is rare, but it has happened and seemed to happen quite a bit after 7/7/05 - there are immigration desks at both Heathrow and Gatwick near security but they are rarely staffed. Actually the one time I overstayed was one such time....I got a bit of a grilling but the IO was fairly cool when I admitted how stupid I had been. When I re-entered (only weeks later) with a valid visa I was grilled a bit but it was all fine.

your fiance carried documentation he would be able confirm it.

We will be ready with piles of documents if that is what they need!

[MARM 7]

Update: (although it is confusing to us )

DOS told me today (I confirmed this by calling twice) that London put a note in the system today about receiving my fiance's passport. I don't know what this means because my fiance sent his passport to the US Embassy in London back in June, and the embassy received his passport (via SMS) on June 15, 2009. So the fact that London recorded his passport in the system on June 15, 09 and also today is weird. Does this make sense?

[SSS8380 0]

Update: (although it is confusing to us )

DOS told me today (I confirmed this by calling twice) that London put a note in the system today about receiving my fiance's passport. I don't know what this means because my fiance sent his passport to the US Embassy in London back in June, and the embassy received his passport (via SMS) on June 15, 2009. So the fact that London recorded his passport in the system on June 15, 09 and also today is weird. Does this make sense?

maybe they sent to washington for the AP/AR after june and they just got it back from there now?

[MARM 7]

Update: (although it is confusing to us )

DOS told me today (I confirmed this by calling twice) that London put a note in the system today about receiving my fiance's passport. I don't know what this means because my fiance sent his passport to the US Embassy in London back in June, and the embassy received his passport (via SMS) on June 15, 2009. So the fact that London recorded his passport in the system on June 15, 09 and also today is weird. Does this make sense?

maybe they sent to washington for the AP/AR after june and they just got it back from there now?

Maybe, but I thought the passport was kept at the embassy the whole time and AP information to Washington is submitted electronically...oh well, whatever it is, I just hope it is a GOOD thing and that it means that my fiance will get his visa soon! (SSS8380: just sent you a PM by the way )

[broma25 2]

Well I know things have changed A LOT since this happened but I overstayed (before becoming a UKC) my student visa back in the 90s because I was stupid and didn't know better and it wasn't a major issue for me on subsequent returns and visa applications. I think the overstay was 3 months.

Thanks Trompe le Monde! Frankly speaking, my fiance does not ever want to go back to the UK, he was there for the sole purpose to study, and now that he is done, he doesn't see anything there for him. Also, he doesn't have any family there, no other ties there either, so there is probably a 0.0001% chance that we would even think of going there in the future. The .0001 is because as they say you never know, but we really don't have a reason to go back there. The only thing both my fiance and I fear is any trouble with the UKHO when he is exiting London once he gets his K-1, and also the fact that he doesn't want the UKHO show up at his door the day after his UK FLR(S) expires, because they aren't easy to deal with, and it is just a lot of added stress!

Lets hope he gets out safe and sound.....and god forbid he should ever want to return to a country that gave him his education!

[MARM 7]

Lets hope he gets out safe and sound.....and god forbid he should ever want to return to a country that gave him his education!

The UK did not just "give" my fiance his education. My fiance had to work for it, he had to endure much discrimination being a Pakistani citizen in the UK, not to mention the fact that the UKHO is responsible for a large chunk of the delay in our process because my fiance was following the rules by re-applying for his student visa extension, and the UKHO admitted it was their fault in letting his application sit there for so long when it was approved long ago. I do not appreciate your comments and this is my thread, so if you don't have anything helpful to add, please refrain from posting here. Your sarcastic comments show that you know nothing of our visa journey so far, but rather you are too quick to judge. The UK did not just give my fiance his education, I don't need to explain that any further. And even if by some miracle the UK granted my fiance the favor of an education there, that does NOT mean that his loyalties should lie there. And this especially does not mean that I have to read your sarcastic comments in MY thread.

Edited October 18, 2009 by MARM

[MonkeyJuice 3]

Comments like that don't help Marm & her fiance in an extremely stressful situation. Her fiance is in limbo & is uncertain about how to resolve their situation in the UK without even a passport to travel.

A little compassion please.

[MARM 7]

Comments like that don't help Marm & her fiance in an extremely stressful situation. Her fiance is in limbo & is uncertain about how to resolve their situation in the UK without even a passport to travel.

A little compassion please.

Thanks MonkeyJuice for your support! BTW, congrats on your EAD :dance:

Compassion is a blessing, my purpose of this thread is just to get all the information and ideas we possibly could for solving the issue at hand.

[broma25 2]

Comments like that don't help Marm & her fiance in an extremely stressful situation. Her fiance is in limbo & is uncertain about how to resolve their situation in the UK without even a passport to travel.

A little compassion please.

OK a little compassion may be needed, but I dont like to read that people used my country for the purpose of getting an education. Some of us who are in the US actually miss our home country... So perhaps a better choice of words is needed on both parts.

I hope u get your situation resolved swiftly.

Lets hope he gets out safe and sound.....and god forbid he should ever want to return to a country that gave him his education!

The UK did not just "give" my fiance his education. My fiance had to work for it, he had to endure much discrimination being a Pakistani citizen in the UK, not to mention the fact that the UKHO is responsible for a large chunk of the delay in our process because my fiance was following the rules by re-applying for his student visa extension, and the UKHO admitted it was their fault in letting his application sit there for so long when it was approved long ago. I do not appreciate your comments and this is my thread, so if you don't have anything helpful to add, please refrain from posting here. Your sarcastic comments show that you know nothing of our visa journey so far, but rather you are too quick to judge. The UK did not just give my fiance his education, I don't need to explain that any further. And even if by some miracle the UK granted my fiance the favor of an education there, that does NOT mean that his loyalties should lie there. And this especially does not mean that I have to read your sarcastic comments in MY thread.

This is not YOUR thread, this is a public forum.