Uk Spouse Visa! I Miss My Wife!

[steven123]

Hi, I just want to thank everyone who is taking their time reading my post. I need some advice here!

I want to apply for a UK spouse visa to join my wife in the UK.

Background

I met my wife (then girlfriend) in the UK when I was a working holiday maker. Obviously we fell in love and we moved in together for 10 months before I went back to my home country. I still had 3 months left on my working holiday visa but since I wanted to spend the rest of my life together with my wife, I decided to go home and apply for a UK student visa to study and further our future prospects. The ECO took ages with my application and I was granted a course extension from my college which allowed me to start my course 1 week after the latest course start date as I was still waiting for my student visa result to come out. The ECO asked for proof of my course extension and my college sent them an email. But unfortunately, the email they sent gave different information (start date) from what I told the ECO.

So the ECO rejected me under paragraph 320 7 (A), saying I provided false information.

Anyways, time passed and we got married in my home country. I am now applying for a spouse visa finally to be able to reunite with my wife in the UK. I have already obtained evidence from the college to confirm that I didn’t provide false information and it was their mistake that they sent the wrong email. But the problem is:

During my first job in the UK as a working holiday maker, I worked for my employee1 twice a week for several months. My boss told me that as I was working part time (8 days a month) it should count days individually rather than months worked. When I left the job (after 5 months), he didn’t give me my P60 or P45 as I wasn’t familiar with the employment rules in the UK so I didn’t think anything of it. When I moved in with my wife I worked full-time for a much bigger company (employee2) for 10 months, I was given P45 when I left.

After my student visa got refused and we married, I rang the HM revenue department in the UK asking for my tax record as proof of my previous employment in the UK to show the ECO that we were capable of supporting ourselves without any public funds. Then I found out that during the time when I worked in my first job (8 days per month for my employee1), it counted as a full month instead of 8 days like my employee1 told me. So, officially now I have overworked as a working holiday visa holder only allows to work full 12 months and I am worried I breached the immigration rules.

Questions

1) I am going to confess to the ECO that I overworked but since I didn’t declare this to them when I applied for my student visa, would they or are they allowed to refuse my visa under 320 (11) rule saying that I withheld information if I now apply for spouse visa? The ECO did ask for my previous UK employment record on my student visa application but I only submitted my P45 from emloyee2 as I didn’t have my P45 from employee1 until recently. Obviously, I wasn’t aware of that I have overworked until I rang the HM department and also until I rang my employee 1 for my original P45 and P60.

2) Is all this considered as aggravating circumstances?

3) What are my chances of getting the spouse visa? We have all the other necessary documents to fulfill the requirements for applying spouse visa.

Any advise will be appreciate!! Thanks for reading this again!

[7by7]

All I can suggest is that you are totally up front with the ECO, explaining the circumstances exactly as you have done here and including any documents you have to support your account.

From reading the guidance to ECOs on Para 320(11) I feel that a refusal in your case would be very harsh; but it is not my decision to make. If the worst does happen and you are refused, you would have the right of an appeal.

[steven123]

7 by7, Yes your right,

Being upfront is what I need to do in my application I think. Do you think that I will need payslips of my employer no1? Or is a P45/tax record enough to show them that I was working at that company and that I overworked?

I'm hoping that they wouldnt reject me under the 320 (11) or 320 (7A) rules, but because I had breach my visa by overworking, and that I havent told them about it, they might just reject me under that. But we'll see. Ill try and research more into those rules to see whether its possible that they could do that. At the same same do you know anyone has been through the same situation as me??

By the way, I am Malaysian but i cant hep to post this forum as this is one of the best forum about immigration that I came across.

Thanks

[7by7]

As you will be applying for settlement as a spouse you cannot be refused under 320(7), but you could be refused under 320(11). As I said before, I personally feel that in your circumstances any such refusal would be harsh, but other than that I cannot comment on the likelihood or otherwise of such a refusal.

I would supply any and all documents you have that support your application, especially those that show you acted in good faith and that any breach of your previous visa was unintentional.