Couple refused UK marriage visas for being too young
November 10 2009 by Liam Clifford
Changes in the laws governing marriage visas means young couple have had to move to Chile.
A British
bride and her Chilean husband are being forced to live in Chile because he has
been refused a UK marriage visa on the grounds that he is too
young.
Amber Aguilar, who is just 18 years old, married Chilean
19-year-old Diego Endres Aquilar Quila just five days after the UK immigration
department changed the law regulating UK visas for foreign nationals who marry
UK citizens.
The change in policy means that couples now have to be 21 to
gain a UK marriage visa for a spouse. Diego was living in the UK on a student
visa, which expired soon after they were married, forcing him to return to his
native Chile. Amber was then faced with the choice of keeping her work in the UK
or moving to Chile to be with her husband.
The couple now live in
cramped conditions in Chile, where there is no welfare system and little
work.
The change in UK spousal visa laws is intended to protect women from
forced marriages, but has resulted in a number of genuine young couples being
forced to live apart or abroad.
The couple are now taking their case to
the High Court, claiming that they are victims of age discrimination.
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