Student Visa Refused

[farmerfred]

Hello,

Yesterday my girlfriend JJ went for her interview at the embassy and it did not go very well for her. There was a female thaiinterpreter in there which seemed to help add to the confusion and I honestly believe would have been better without. One of the downfalls was being asked about what certificate shew would receive at the end of her 1 year English course which she answered as IELTS and then when asked who gave the certificate she mis-interpreted this and said that the school owner would be issuing it, not that IELTS is a worldwide recognised standard of English.

JJ hadnt provided any evidence of english schools in thailand to compare the price differences, which I had asked her to do. Little bit irritating, or anything to suggest she has the aptitude to study foreign languages. JJ told them that she planned on returning to thai to study a masters in English.

It went on to talk about the personal, economic, social circumstances not satisfying that she will leave the UK at the end of her studies, which are pretty much the same as when she visited a year ago on a tourist visa.

I know we cocked up the evidence side of the application, think we were complacent after the visit visa was so easily attained.

We are now wondering what step to take now- do we appeal and if so to the immigration tribunal in loughborough, UK or the embassy, or do we just re-apply and make sure we get all the evidence down? Also, what impact can a student visa refusal on the grounds that they think we are trying to circumvent the UK immigration rules so that we can be together?

Thanks for any help on this.

Fred

[the scouser]

Fred,

You should file the appeal form either via the embassy or directly to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) in Loughborough. If you send the form to the embassy, they simply forward it to the AIT anyway. Whichever route you use, make sure you keep a copy and a record of its posting in case of non-receipt.

It will take between 6-8 months for the appeal to be heard, but there is nothing stopping your girlfriend making further applications in the interim. However, should she do this, she must either rectify the reasons for refusal or challenge them in legal terms. The difficulty is that now your girlfriend has pinned her student colours to the mast, she will find it problematic to get another visit visa as the visa officer is unlikely to accept that she is a genuine visitor. It was always a gamble, but had she been content with simply continuing to visit the UK, she probably wouldn't have had any difficulty obtaining further visit visas.

Scouse.

[farmerfred]

Thanks Scouse for the advice. Will file the appeal at the embassy. In the appeal am including price lists of english courses in thailand which are more expensive than in UK. Also, in reply to the question the ECO asked about who gave the certificate at the end of the course, which JJ replied as being the school director, will include details from IELTS with details of exactly what it is. Went to the British Council yesterday and asked the lady we spoke to there the same question posed at the interview of "who gives the certificate at the end of the course?" and she gave the answer the head of the school. So even the British Council would have been caught up by that one. JJ is also getting details of the Master degree she wants to attend on return to thailand after the year studying english in uk. Also got a bunch of info from british council and from the Director here in thailand, saying how study in the UK is beneficial.

Would enrolling on a course of English here be sensible? she doesnt want to spend her money before studying (if possible) in UK. Once the Appeal is all in, will be applying again, with all the info this time. Just going to struggle with her reason for to return and her social, economic business.

JJ didnt want to return as a visitor but honestly wanted to come here for a year, study the course of English through and learn more about the culture and country before returning and doing a masters.

Beginning to wonder if its time to employ the services of an immigration specialist as feeling like im in to deep!

fred

[the scouser]

Fred,

Your girlfriend should also contact the embassy and request a copy of the interview notes as these will be useful to have if either re-applying or preparing an appeal.

If you want a representative to take on the case, then by all means drop me a PM with your phone number or, alternatively, use any firm which is either a member of the Law Society or OISC-registered.

Scouse.

[farmerfred]

thanks Scouse,

will be going to pick up the notes today. I am in Bangkok at the moment and will just get all the supporting documents/writing done for the appeal. Perhaps then would be good to run what we have past you. PM you in the next few days,

Fred