A Pakistani asylum seeker who served prison time for using a sham marriage with a 16-year-old schoolgirl to gain British citizenship has now remarried the same woman in a fresh attempt to re-enter the United Kingdom.
Nasir Khalil, 48, was jailed nine years ago after luring a Slovakian teenager to Britain for an Islamic wedding ceremony just four days after she turned 16. The convicted immigration fraudster has now applied to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for a family visa, arguing his relationship with his former victim is now “legitimate”.
The case has reignited fierce debate over Britain’s immigration system after a 13-year legal battle saw immigration judges acknowledge Khalil’s claim to be in a stable relationship with the woman, now in her late twenties, despite her being 20 years his junior and described as a “child victim” of his original crime.
Khalil first arrived in Britain in 2002 on a short-term visa to visit family in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. However, he remained in the country illegally after his authorised stay expired, overstaying his welcome by more than a decade.
The pair were first married in November 2013 through a Nikah ceremony after the Slovakian girl had been granted indefinite leave to remain in Britain. Khalil, who claimed to have divorced his Pakistani wife before entering the sham marriage, fathered children with the teenager both before and after serving his prison sentence.
At his 2016 trial, a jury determined that Khalil had been part of an organised “mail order” gang that illegally purchased women living in the European Union for fraudulent marriages. The corrupt network enabled Pakistani men to exploit EU freedom of movement rules by claiming their new spouses gave them a legal right to remain in Britain.
The trial judge concluded that the Slovakian teenager had received “little or no instruction” before her forced conversion to Islam. Furthermore, the wedding ceremony itself was conducted in a language she did not understand, raising serious questions about consent and coercion.
“The jury found the appellant engaged in the religious ceremony solely to secure status in this country and consequently the sponsor was deceived when entering into the marriage,” the sentencing judge stated. The girl was just 15 years old when she first met Khalil, arriving in Britain days after her 16th birthday.
Khalil served 15 months behind bars for immigration fraud before launching a protracted legal campaign to avoid deportation. In 2016, he initially attempted to evade removal by claiming he feared persecution from the Taliban in Pakistan. His appeals dragged on for two years, exploiting various legal mechanisms before he was finally deported to his homeland in 2019.
By the time of his deportation, the Slovakian girl had turned 23 and was raising their children in Britain with indefinite leave to remain.
A year after his removal, Khalil attempted to exploit EU laws to return to the UK but was blocked by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel. She ruled that his “character and conduct” were not “conducive to the public good” because he had deliberately tried to “undermine and circumvent” British immigration laws.
His legal representatives had argued he was entitled to a residence card as the spouse of an European Economic Area national exercising EU treaty rights. However, judges rejected these claims, forcing him to pursue alternative routes back into the country.
In 2020, after being granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, Khalil’s wife travelled to Pakistan where the couple remarried in what his lawyers now describe as a “legitimate” ceremony. This second marriage forms the basis of his current application for a family visa.
The latest immigration tribunal ruling acknowledged that his wife “was a victim” of Khalil’s “criminal offending”. The judgment stated: “She met the appellant when she was 15 and they were married by an Islamic religious ceremony shortly after she turned 16.”
Despite recognising her as a child victim of his fraud, immigration judges have accepted Khalil’s assertion that he is now in a “durable, loving and stable relationship” with the woman who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
BS Solicitors, the firm representing Khalil in his latest bid, confirmed to The Telegraph that an application for a family visa based upon his recent marriage is currently being considered by the Home Office. The case now sits on the desk of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who must decide whether to permit the convicted fraudster’s return.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about exploitation within Britain’s immigration system and raises troubling questions about vulnerable young women being used as pawns in complex visa fraud schemes.
Critics argue that allowing Khalil to return would set a dangerous precedent, effectively rewarding an convicted immigration criminal who deliberately exploited a teenage girl for personal gain. Others point to the complexities of the situation, noting that the couple now share children and that preventing his return could separate a family.
The woman’s continued support for Khalil’s application has puzzled observers, though experts in coercive control and grooming note that victims of such manipulation often struggle to recognise or escape abusive situations, particularly when children are involved and relationships began during adolescence.
Immigration law specialists warn that the case exposes potential loopholes in family reunion visa rules that could be exploited by those with criminal convictions. The fact that Khalil’s legal team believes he has grounds for re-entry, despite his conviction and deportation, suggests weaknesses in the system’s ability to permanently exclude serious immigration offenders.
The Home Office has declined to comment on the ongoing application, citing confidentiality around individual cases. However, the decision will be closely watched by immigration campaigners on all sides of the debate.
For Shabana Mahmood, the case presents an early test of her approach to immigration enforcement. The newly appointed Home Secretary has pledged to take a tough stance on those who abuse Britain’s immigration system whilst also considering humanitarian factors in complex family situations.
The outcome of Khalil’s application could have far-reaching implications for how Britain handles cases involving convicted immigration fraudsters who subsequently establish genuine family ties with their victims. Whatever the decision, it is certain to provoke controversy and scrutiny of the country’s immigration policies.
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