UK Settlement Visa

[jeddo]

help im new to all this and joined just recently my wife has had her settlement visa refused the reasons were1you state you met your sponsor in sept 2009 at which time your relationship started.he states that you were in contact from the early months of 2009, having been introduced by freinds a fact which you fail to mention. 2you state you met just twice.you have provided little evidence of contact,other than some undated photographs and some emailsdating to november 2009, which are breif and superficial in nature. given the distance culturally between you and your husband it would be reasonable in a genuine relationship for an open discussion to take place about your lives,history and backgrounds prior to applying for settlement.ther is no further evidence to support your claim to a subsisting relationship and i am not satisfied that you intend to live permanently with your spouse and the marriage or civil partnership is subsisting.paragraph 281(iii)of hc395 therefore i refuse this application.

i applied for visa using solicitor recommended by freind that used them before for same thing,what i dont understand is that i supplied 10 months of phone records itemised for nearly every day when i havent been to thailnd .the lack of emails was explained by my wife could not speak english when we met so using the phone to help her talk and learn english also because she works late and i also work away and 12 hour nights it was easier..

i have supplied all relevant info to solicitor but it seems that it has not been used or seen when questioned about this via email the answer was please send letter and more evidence to me as soon as possible for appeal my wife and i are both genuine people and very much in love our son top who is 9 is broken hearted along with family in thailand and england he is also on visa as we dont want to be living separatley but as a family in our home in wales can someone please offer advice as to how i can sort out thi appeal and wether it is worth doing im so down i cant seem to get my head in gear thanks jeddo

[Guest]

I'm guessing that this breathless script is not about a Thai visa, then a visa for where?

[jeddo]

I'm guessing that this breathless script is not about a Thai visa, then a visa for where?

sorry visa to join me in england

[thaiphoon]

Moving to Visas and migration to other countries.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

I would need to see the GV51 if you require professional help feel free to contact me.

Was your solicitor Thai ?

Why is he/she not dealing with the appeal ?

Has the ECO not taken note of the phone bills etc or was they in fact included with the application ?

As I never prepared your application I have no idea what was inserted etc, but you may appeal and include any further evidence of close contact etc.

[steve187]

I think the poster makes it clear in his text that he is in England or going by his personal details in fact wales, and his wife is applying for a settlement visa to UK.

Pauln in my experience of having a settlement visa for my Thai wife refused, for lack of supporting evidence regarding the length of the relationship. we just waited a few months and then reapplied, but this time covering all the points raised in the refusal, I also covered them in my sponsors letter, ie, mention the phone calls and enclose copies of bills etc.

Appeals are taking about 6+ months as far as i know, a friend of mine appealed against a refusal to allow his Thai wife's son to join them in England, the appeal took over 6 months and was refused, they are heard in the Uk, and take a lot of work. In my case the second application was successful, and was many months quicker, than waiting for an appeal with an unknown result. Just include with the application as much supporting evidence as possible, copies of phone bills, letters and envelopes ( send letters/cards every week) , photos with dates and locations, etc. and remember when you finally get to the UK, to keep evidence of your relationship together for future applications.

My wife now has UK citizenship so the hard work does pay off.

all the best with the process.

steve

Edited May 9, 2010 by steve187

[7by7]

Whether to appeal (where possible) or wait and apply again is, of course, a personal choice only the applicant and sponsor can make between them.

However, I think that it is worth submitting an appeal; if the rules allow.

The first stage of an appeal is that the Entry Clearance Office will reconsider the refusal. If they feel the refusal was wrong then they will overturn it and issue the visa. This does happen; especially if the original refusal was due to lack of evidence and that evidence has now been supplied. More so if, as in the OP's case, it appears that evidence submitted with the original application has not been properly considered.

If they consider the original refusal to be correct, then the case will be sent to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

For a settlement appeal, they must have done one or the other within 16 weeks of the appeal being lodged (8 weeks for non-settlement appeals).

One can lodge an appeal directly with the FTTIAC, but doing so will cause delay. In most cases, an appeal lodged at post will be heard three weeks earlier than appeals lodged with the FTTIAC. This is because the Entry Clearance Office can begin work on reconsideration and preparation of documents as soon as they receive the appeal. They do not have to wait until the FTTIAC notifies them. The clock doesn't start until the ECO receives the appeal papers.

At this stage, the appeal will have cost the appellant nothing; although if it does go to a hearing then professional advice and representation, whilst not mandatory, is, in my opinion, essential.

So, my advice to anyone in this position is to first lodge the appeal with the embassy. Then wait until they have decided whether to overturn the refusal or send the appeal to the FTTIAC. If the latter, then it may be worth submitting a new application, the minimum time for a settlement appeal to be heard is 24 weeks after the appeal was lodged; but it often takes longer. A new application will probably be decided more quickly. If this new application is successful, then you simply withdraw the appeal; and vice versa.

You can, of course, submit a new application at the same time as the appeal. However, if the original decision was overturned at the embassy you would have wasted the money spent on the second application's fee.

Whether appealing, submitting a new application or both each and every point of the refusal must be adequately addressed. Otherwise it will only be refused again.

Having the right to appeal does not mean that the appeal will be successful; some (most?) refusals are correct.

See the FTTIAC website for more on appeals.

[paully]

^ That's excellent advice as usual from you, 7b7.

It is a little disappointing to read this:

i have supplied all relevant info to solicitor but it seems that it has not been used or seen when questioned about this via email the answer was please send letter and more evidence to me as soon as possible for appeal

Naturally, I don't know your solicitor or what he or she actually did in terms of work, but one would have hoped that all relevant information and documentation would have been included with the original application. But you need to concentrate on the appeal first.