Appealing For Uk Settlement Visa

[skeets]

hi all,

im hoping you can hope me as not having much luck trying to contact the visa application centre (closed again i think)

so to cut a long story short my husbands visa was declined on wednesday. we applied for a settlement visa and we were going to live with my parents and i was going to go to university full time. weve been together for 8 years, married for 4 and have two kids.

they declined us on the following:

they do not believe we could support ourselves without using public funds. (as a student i would get a student loan and am not entitled to public funds anyway?)

we had a letter from a recruitment company stating they would give us both work as soon as we were in the country. this was not enough so what more do i need from them?

they didnt belive my parents could support us, my parents have a large 4 bedroomed house which belongs to them, the mortgage is paid up and they have lots of savings which we showed.

so mostly its due to money, we personally dont have any money money ourselves. but my parents showed assets of over 100 thousand pounds.

we can appeal but what exactly does this involve and how much will it cost?

do you think i would stand a better chance if i deferred my university course for a year and said that we would work and save for a year first?

is there anyone i can contact who is near Chonburi and can look over all our documents and really help us without it costing too much, the visa application centre said i could go and see them and they could help us but ive heard bad reviews about them.

thanks for your help guys and looking forward to hearing all your words of wisdom.

skeets

[jasonr3255]

Hi skeets sorry to hear of your news, I have beeen refused settlement before for my wife, I know it is very frustrating as you are a genuine case for sure. My advice would be to look carefully at the reason the ECO has declined your application, and if it is mainly in one area I would be inclined to re- submit the application explaining that you feel you have failed to produce enough evidence in this area, but are now including new substansive evidence to re assure the ECO. I would personally do it this way rather than appeal, it will take up to a year to get a result if you appeal. You can always appeal if you are turned down again. It is financially an expensive way around but you have to decide what comes first...? Look at the refusal and reconstruct your application around this, it worked for me... Try not to use an agent if you can, expensive and with "no" guarantee, though some people like the fact they are letting someone else take care, ok if you can afford it I say.

Dont get down next step re-submit

Good luck

[Phil_ne_uk]

Exactly what did the refusal notice say?

It’s difficult to advise without knowing this vital info.

[7by7]

Not sure what you mean by

the visa application centre said i could go and see them and they could help us but ive heard bad reviews about them.

The VAC is merely a collection point for applications; they do not, and cannot, offer any advice to applicants. Are you sure it was the VAC who told you this and not the dodgy visa 'agent' operating from Regents House?

Your husband needs to submit the appeal within the deadline, and include any extra documents which may help.

The appeal process is free. However, if it does go to a tribunal then it is advisable to obtain qualified, professional help.

For a brief description of the appeal process, see this post.

[Thongkorn]

To be Honest how would you support 2 children and a Husband while you are at University. The UK Government are looking at changing the Student loans, Students will have to pay a higher Interest rate and pay back quicker, Maybe that has some thing to do with your application refusal, Hope you get sorted.

[skeets]

Hi Guys.

thanks for the comments so far.

i havnt had the refusal documents sent to me yet, a lady called Pinky from the VAC rang me on wednesday and said the visa had been declined and told me why over the phone. she said she would send eveything back to me but obviously didnt manage to do it before the office was closed again.

can anyone tell me what documents i need from a prospective employer to prove that we have work when we get to the UK? i had a letter from a recruitment agency stating that they would give us both work as soon as we arrived but this wasnt enough.

i think im going to re-submit as per Jasons advise and include thousands more documents

also can anyone tell me when the VAC will re open? 55555 (sorry joke in bad taste, obviously its affecting hundreds of us but if i dont laugh ill cry!)

Cheers Skeets.

[7by7]

a lady called Pinky from the VAC rang me on wednesday and said the visa had been declined and told me why over the phone.

Alarm bells are ringing!

Passports are returned to the VAC in sealed envelopes. The VAC do not know the result! All they will, and can, tell you is that the passport is ready for collection.

Something seems very fishy to me. Are you 100% sure that your husband submitted his application directly to the VAC and was not waylaid by the dodgy agent in Regents House?

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Not sure what you mean by

the visa application centre said i could go and see them and they could help us but ive heard bad reviews about them.

The VAC is merely a collection point for applications; they do not, and cannot, offer any advice to applicants. Are you sure it was the VAC who told you this and not the dodgy visa 'agent' operating from Regents House?

Your husband needs to submit the appeal within the deadline, and include any extra documents which may help.

The appeal process is free. However, if it does go to a tribunal then it is advisable to obtain qualified, professional help.

For a brief description of the appeal process, see this post.

They may try to give advice but they have no authority to do so they are just an application processing centre.

If you require advice ensure anyone you use is registered with the OISC.

[skeets]

Hi

I was there too and we definately went to Regent house and into the VAC where he had to give his biometric data. when we applied for a visit visa last year they also rang and told us we could have the outcome over the phone? This is also the first time ive ever heard of this. i still havnt received any documents back so will have to wait.

Skeets

[jasonr3255]

Hi

I was there too and we definately went to Regent house and into the VAC where he had to give his biometric data. when we applied for a visit visa last year they also rang and told us we could have the outcome over the phone? This is also the first time ive ever heard of this. i still havnt received any documents back so will have to wait.

Skeets

Have to agree with 7by7 something is a miss here, VAC is only a processing centre for sure, and they have no authority to relay the outcome of an application, unless the British Embassy have changed the process in the last few days,and there is no info on either website suggesting otherwise.

mmmmmm very strange...!

[CharlieB]

To be Honest how would you support 2 children and a Husband while you are at University. The UK Government are looking at changing the Student loans, Students will have to pay a higher Interest rate and pay back quicker, Maybe that has some thing to do with your application refusal, Hope you get sorted.

I was wondering this as well. My old uni now charges students about £3400 a year in fees. That's £10k in fees for a 3 year degree before you even take into account any living expenses of 2 adults and 2 children. £100k may sound a lot, but that's how much a lot of working families would earn and spend over 3 years without one of the parents studying full time at university.

[Thongkorn]

Al I got from the Visa centre , was a Tex message saying your application has been processed and is ready for collection, that was for a Settlement visa , also Our Docs where in a sealed envelope and had to be signed for by one of the passport holders. I have not heard of anybody getting there results over the phone,

[7by7]

They may try to give advice but they have no authority to do so they are just an application processing centre.

If you require advice ensure anyone you use is registered with the OISC.

Indeed. This is what the embassy has to say on the matter

VFS and its staff cannot give you advice on how to complete your application, or what type of visa you should apply for. If you need help with your application or advice about the UK's immigration rules and requirements, you should seek advice from a qualified immigration adviser. In the UK these are immigration advisers regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner or legally qualified professionals regulated by designated professional bodies......

VFS and its staff play no part in the outcome of your visa application. They cannot influence it in any way. If any member of staff employed by VFS say they can influence your application, you should tell the British Embassy immediately.

If someone is offering you advice on this and they work at the VAC then you should inform the embassy immediately. You should also demand your husbands passport and the refusal notice be returned to him immediately. If he is going to appeal, he only has 28 days from the date of the refusal in which to do so.

[skeets]

Hi All,

well i spoke to the husband yesterday and he said it wasnt actually the VAC that rang! because we have our documents sent back to us by post and we dont go to collect them the VAC send them to somewhere else before theyre sent to us, i think this is the embassy but not really sure.

The government pay my uni fees and i get a student loan of about 4500 pounds a year, obviously this all has to be paid back when im earning over 15,000 pounds a year. We are going to live with my parents who have a big 4 bedroom house and only them in it. we will not have to pay rent so the 800 pounds mimimum that my husband earns a month will be for food and other things that we need, i can work either part time or just during the school holidays which is about 17 weeks a year.

i have 2 young daughters and while i would love to stay living in thailand i would like them both to have an english education so the idea is that we live in the uk as long as it takes me to become qualified as a primary teacher and then come back here and get a job in an international school. easy hey!

[7by7]

well i spoke to the husband yesterday and he said it wasnt actually the VAC that rang! because we have our documents sent back to us by post and we dont go to collect them the VAC send them to somewhere else before theyre sent to us, i think this is the embassy but not really sure.

From the VAC site

Step 9 - Collect the decision on your visa application

VFS will inform you when your documents are ready for collection. You can collect the decision on your visa application along with your original documents from the visa application centre. You will need the original visa submission receipt to collect your documents. A nominated person can also collect your documents on your behalf. Your nominated person will need to provide an authorised letter signed by you and proper proof of their identity. If you prefer you can have your documents returned to you by courier service.

Once the decision is made the applicant's passport and documents are returned from the embassy to the VAC to await collection by the applicant. For someone else to collect the package your husband must have given them written authorisation. For the VAC to forward the package on, your husband must have given them instructions to do so, and paid the relevant fee.

Surely he knows if he did either of these and whom he authorised to collect the package or to whom it be sent!

[skeets]

I paid and i asked for it to be sent to me. Still havnt receieved it yet though and still someone rang me.

Skeets

[bobrussell]

As has been stated in several posts the Embassy do not usually inform people of results by phone. They will often phone to get more information (usually if they are considering granting an application). They have to show reasonable grounds for a refusal and I was under the impression that an interview was the norm if there were doubts especially where married couples are involved. This is to reduce the hassle and expense of the appeals procedure (which, if you read other posts, they seem to have a habit of losing!!!)

I do wonder however if there may be some temporary changes resulting from the unrest in Bangkok and the closure of the Embassy. It does seem bizarre that someone with this type of history (marriage, children etc) should be declined without interview.

I know lots of people on this forum have little confidence in getting MP's involved, we did find ours extremely helpful when my wife and daughter fell foul of very enthusiastic Border Agency staff at Heathrow. He was ready to raise the matter in the House of Commons on the Friday and the Border Agency changed their minds on the Wednesday evening!!!

Your parents should discuss this with their MP - it cannot do any harm.

Once you get the official refusal notice post it (without personal information) and the more knowledgeable members such as 7by7 should be able to give you good advice.

Good luck!