Yes Iv been giving this some thought over the past few days, bearing in mind My wife,s refusal for a Settlement visa. 1. Is it to assess and gauge if an application is genuine ?. 2. Is it to refuse for any reason identifiable reason ?. 3. Or is it to simply say Yes/No visa granted on evidence submitted ?. We all put a lot of time, effort, and not small amount of money into these applications, and within the application we have to put our partners, and our own Home Address, email address, and Phone number, I can understand the reasoning behind the Home address, but why ask for the email & phone number if they never use them ?. In our own application a simple letter, email, or phone call would have cleared up any issue with regards further documentation needed. Now we have to go through the Appeal, and possible re-application process all over again, we have decided that we will Appeal the decision as that will cost not a great amount of money.. however should that fail then we are going to have to give serious consideration to re-applying bearing in mind it will again cost a serious amount of money, and there is every likelihood that it would be refused yet again.. that would be our 3rd application of either settlement or visit visa.. I simply am not prepared to put my wife through the agonising process of having to read another rejection of a genuine application.. as she said to me, her hands were shaking when she received her passport back.. This is peoples lives the ECO,s are messing around with, and i really dont think they really realise the consequences of what there decision means to many people that go through this somewhat agonising process. I myself have survived Cancer on 2 occasions, it would mean a big risk for me to have to go & live out in the Philippines, In fact my Wifes first re-action to the visa refusal was not for herself, but for my health if i have to go and live out there.. Onwards and upwards the decision has been made now to appeal, not with any great expectations, but to at least make an attempt to obtain justice for our genuine attempt to be together as Husband & Wife..
So sorry to hear your devastating news... You mention "... every likelihood that it would be refused yet again...". Is there nothing you can do to improve the chances of a successful application, whatever the reasons given for the refusal(s)? Tourist/visitor Visas are notoriously difficult to secure, but if you fulfil the requirements for a Settlement Visa it should be relatively straightforward, if long-winded!
https://www.gov.uk/topic/immigration-operational-guidance/entry-clearance-guidance Or more specifically https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...rt-8-and-appendix-fm-of-the-immigration-rules
@Heathen sorry to here this, we had same thing for my girlfriends visit visa last week , it is annoying they don't put abit of effort in to clarify things they not sure of. to be fair they did actually ring the school where she is teaching at and spoke to the principal ,but then one of the refusal reasons was they not sure she has a job to return to, but surely they would ask this ? another reason was they are not sure I'm a genuine sponsor, well I didn't receive any phone calls and never have on 4 occasions on applying vist visas. you would think they would check. we supplied them my bank statements, my mortgage statements, my payslip, utility bills ,letter from my employer and passport copy. to me seems like they just find any excuse to refuse it. we have reapplied and her appointment is Friday, we had to go for 5 day priority as we need the decision quickly so she can come here during the school holidays april/may.
i think your wasting your time with an appeal. some of the reasons for the refusal were because of ommissions on your part. if you go for a fresh application...just make sure your financial requirement is faultless--and you have proper lawful accommodation for BOTH of you. it really is that simple--in your case.
When you say proper accommodation what’s that mean? I mean we’ve decided to stay at grandads now...council have said they can write up a letter and my grandad is fine with this arrangement. But not sure about @Heathen situation? Do they literally nit pick at every detail?
bigmac i appreciate you are trying to help, Im a lodger in a house that is not overcrowded, I have a letter from my landlord, im on the electoral role register, There is a letter from the council saying its a 3 bedroom property so its not overcrowded, the council wont give me a Council Tax bill (Iv asked), there really is little else i can do. You suggest that i find somewhere else "Lawful" to live I didnt realise i was living unlawfully , On my salary/pension that would leave very little to live on, and remember the NO recourse to Public Funds for my wife. I very much doubt that we will re-apply again, so its worth the cost to appeal.. Im not going to get into what i did or didnt do, its been documented elsewere and emotions are still raw, i really dont think that my application was handled with fairness, but then im biased so i would say that wouldnt i.
I'll share what I was told by a government employee who has colleagues in the visa department. They are incentivised to reject applications on technicalities even though they know they will be allowed on appeal. This means that there is no reason for them to clear up any issues, just reject. The long and short is that they have performance measures that include rejections. So sorry to hear your news
@Heathen i'm only trying to help you avoid another expensive mistake. when you say you have a letter from your landlord--who do you mean ? the landlord in this case--is the council. you will need written permission from them for both you--and your wife--to lawfully occupy the house. My understanding is the council have refused to give you such a written agreement. am i right ? cc @Daveyw1988
Its a Council owned property, The Council are fully aware that i am living there they were the first people that i notified when i moved in, They wont give me a Council Tax bill (even though i asked) because i am not the Tennant. They didnt refuse in so many words, they said that they cant give me a letter (Data protection). This is the guideline relevant to my circumstances; Living with a Family Member or Friend 1. If the applicant and UK Partner are planning to reside with a family member or friend, then need to have a letterfrom the family member. Accordingly, the letter provides the confirmation of the basis on which the applicant and his/her UK partner may reside on the property. 2.Such an arrangement is tenable, as long as, it does not violate the requirement of adequate accommodation and a part of the accommodation is for the exclusive use of the applicant and his/her UK Partner, such as a bedroom, maybe along with a living room. 3. In addition to the letter from a family member or friend, the applicant will also need to provide proof of ownership of the property in the name of the person issuing the accommodation letter. I submitted a letter from the friend. I/We obviously have exclusive use of a bedroom. I explained that. The Owner/Tennant has proof of Tennancy from the Council, also it states that its a 3 bedroom property, i submitted that with the application. In addition they have my monthly rental payments on my bank statements. When i say landlord the Council Tennant (My friend) is the Tennant, the Tennant is sub letting to me, so directly the Tennant is my Landlord.
@Heathen as I understand it your refusal letter didn't mention your accomadation so I am not sure why it is being discussed. Any focus should be on issues that gave the ECO grounds to refuse the application.
Some authorities offer what they call flexible tenancy agreement and this allows the tenant to sublet. I think it is to help those who live in too bigger house for their current needs ie family grown up but the parents don't want to move. Clearly rent paid would be adjusted Bedroom tax is the phrase I was looking for!
well lets hope what has been discussed above satisfies UKVI on the accommodation issue: if you do decide to try again. so--really the only other areas to cover is your divorce decree absolute--thats easy your state pension. you most likely had a letter last week to confirm the next 12 months any regular part time jobs..letter from employer--wage slips-- proof of savings if you need to top up any earnings shortfall. remember the first £16,000 of savings is a threshold--you need above that. and--of course--bank statements to prove for the period covered.
