Fight for the sole custody

[scorpiondad]

Hi all,

Situation:
I have petitioned for divorce on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour.
Ex suffers from extreme mental illness, but never admitted it or agreed to seek help. Our marriage lasted 2 years, and was a complete nightmare.
She is foreign, and loses the right to stay in the UK once the relationship breaks down. I have also written to the Home Office, asking to cancel her spouse visa - I was required by law to do this, but it came in very handy! She was given a notice to pack her things and go back to her home country (god bless Cameron who does his best to cook the immigration figures before the EU referendum!).

We have two sons aged 4 months and 1 year 8 months (no passports), she is a stay-at-home mother. We are still living at the same address.

She has received the petition and has immediately applied for a leave to remove, to be cross petitioned for a sole residence order by my solicitor next week. I offer her weekly contact via Skype, 2 weeks in the summer, pay for 2 trips in a year to the UK (it is unlikely that she will obtain a visa for that, so a safe bet), and a week around the New Year, also to send photos monthly.
I worked full time so far but the employer is very understanding and prepared to give me flex hours and I can also take paternity leave.

So my question is:
Is there any chance the court grants her a leave to remove on the very first hearing? Can an interim LTR order be granted? It looks unlikely to me, as it would mean to move children back and forth? Her country is a Hague convention country, but very unsafe at the moment.

Past the first hearing I am not worried, she will be either gone or illegal. Even if she finds a solicitor to be represented remotely, and the case proceeds to a final hearing in two or three years, I understand that even with the pro-mother bias the court won't entertain an idea of uprooting children from the school and extended family and sending them to a mother they don't even remember.

Thank you!

[Norfolk n Good]

Initially I think you'd be better off consulting with someone that knows about immigration etc.

No doubt she will have the right of appeal, and these things take time.

Regarding your children,

What is the status of the children? Are they uk citizens, and are you named on the Birth certificates?

[scorpiondad]

(03-27-2016, 04:35 PM)Norfolk n Good Wrote: Initially I think you'd be better off consulting with someone that knows about immigration etc.

No doubt she will have the right of appeal, and these things take time.

Regarding your children,

What is the status of the children? Are they uk citizens, and are you named on the Birth certificates?

We were married when they were born (so yes, I am named), and they do not have passports yet (so no formal proof of citizenship).
I have already consulted an immigration solicitor (not a face-to-face consultation, but through a paid online expert service). She does not have a right of appeal (as her visa is conditional on being in relationship with me, which is no longer the case, so there is nothing to appeal here), and cannot switch to any other visa type. There is a loophole re how she can stay, but she needs my full cooperation for that (providing payslips history to show she was never a burden on the taxpayer) and I do not think the family judge can force me to comply, even if she asks.
A lifelong Labour supporter, I swear I am voting Tory next time, they have unknowingly saved my life and my children.

[Norfolk n Good]

As your children are UK citizens this might make a difference in terms of her being given permission to stay. Either way, she could still be in the country for some time to come. Even if she exhausts the British courts to their fullest extent, as we are part of the EU she could ultimately appeal to them under the human rights legislation.

Whatever your personal feelings regarding your ex, she is still the mother of your children and as long as she isn't a danger to them they deserve to have a decent relationship with both of you. If this matter reaches the family courts they will decide what's in the best interests of the children, which may be substantially different from what you think, and your desires.

As for the authority of the courts and what they can order you to do.....you'd be surprised how far their authority can go.

[Separated Dads]

As Norfolk says, you have to be careful here in assuming the courts will grant you the right to be the primary carer of your children and if you are thinking that everything is cut-and-dried where the courts are concerned, then you may proved wrong. Also, as you have a British born child it may mean she will be given the right to stay in the country under the Human Rights Act, and/or until the courts decide upon what happens to your children (if you cannot agree between you). On another note; your ex wife may suffer from mental health issues (not her fault) and you may have had a nightmare of a marriage, but your ex wife is a human being and a person that I'm sure loves your children as much as you. Working together to ensure your children have a good relationship with both parents and also have the least amount of disruption in their lives is a healthier thought pattern, than wishing her out of the picture. If your ex was granted LTR, then surely this would be in the best interests of both of you and your children? Working out who is the primary carer and who is the NRP, could then start from there.

[MarkR]

(04-01-2016, 09:24 AM)Separated Dads Wrote: As Norfolk says, you have to be careful here in assuming the courts will grant you the right to be the primary carer of your children and if you are thinking that everything is cut-and-dried where the courts are concerned, then you may proved wrong. Also, as you have a British born child it may mean she will be given the right to stay in the country under the Human Rights Act, and/or until the courts decide upon what happens to your children (if you cannot agree between you). On another note; your ex wife may suffer from mental health issues (not her fault) and you may have had a nightmare of a marriage, but your ex wife is a human being and a person that I'm sure loves your children as much as you. Working together to ensure your children have a good relationship with both parents and also have the least amount of disruption in their lives is a healthier thought pattern, than wishing her out of the picture. If your ex was granted LTR, then surely this would be in the best interests of both of you and your children? Working out who is the primary carer and who is the NRP, could then start from there.

I agree, just cause her first visa being revoked, she can now demonstrate a significant channge, and assuming she is of good character then the chances of her being deported is very little.

Mediation might be a good idea at this stage, to get arrangments sorted out. If you have concerns that she might leave the UK with the child and not return (It might be she gets leave if your case goes to court to take them out of the UK for a holiday, in time she has the child), then you could make an application under prohibited steps to stop this