Have I made an error with my Wife & Sons UK VISA application

[7by7]

Tha shamefull thing IMO is that there are thousands of illegals in the UK, getting benefits, housing etc

Don't believe everything your read in papers like the Daily Mail.

Legal immigrants are barred from receiving most public funds, including housing, until they have ILR; so how can people who are in the UK illegally claim and receive anything?

The answer is they can't and they don't; unless they manage to do so fraudulently; which is, of course, a crime.

If anyone reading this knows of someone claiming benefits fraudulently, you can report them anonymously via the Report a benefit thief online form.

[bobrussell]

Some of the 'experts' have become knowledgeable because they had to! Years of dealing with the immigration system has provided experience and by helping others through the system allows the benefits from sites like this to continue.

Many can glean enough information here to allow successful applications without having to resort to expensive and sometimes dubious agents.

[laislica]

Tha shamefull thing IMO is that there are thousands of illegals in the UK, getting benefits, housing etc

Don't believe everything your read in papers like the Daily Mail.

Legal immigrants are barred from receiving most public funds, including housing, until they have ILR; so how can people who are in the UK illegally claim and receive anything?

The answer is they can't and they don't; unless they manage to do so fraudulently; which is, of course, a crime.

If anyone reading this knows of someone claiming benefits fraudulently, you can report them anonymously via the Report a benefit thief online form.

In the late 90´s I bought a house in the east end of London from a man from Turkey.

He took the money and went back to his home country.

I still got his mail.

From social services he always had two letters.

One addressed to forename/surname and the other to surname/forename.

He was up to every trick in the book and all clear fraud.

The immigrants have a network even better than we do with this forum LOL

They help each other on a face to face basis to extract the maxinum.

Benefit fraud for both legal´s and illegal´s is and always has been, a thriving business - if you know how to do it!

We can only communicate via this forum or others like it and we easily and often misunderstand each other.

Getting a Thai wife a holiday visa is also easy - if you know how to do it!

In the meantime, many thanks for all your great info and to others

(I´d like to mention Ubonjoe, Mario, yourself and many more but I won´t for fear of missing someone out).

[frances]

Basically being in the 'agent' business for more than 25 years, the posters above stating no corruption at VFS/Embassy are quite right. If one makes a mistake on the online form, there are many 'Save and Quit' options before submission. If you make a mistake, which comes back to haunt later, then the online application site has given you a fair chance of completing your form correctly. The onus is on the form-filler, be it an agent or a personal application, to complete same with all documents in hand. This is not unusual, and not unfair, for any country's immigration policy.

While many people online demonise agents, professional agents will ensure that your forms are correct and your documents complete. The visa decision is ultimately at the discretion of UKBA and decided on the basis of quite stringent UK Immigration Rules which are a matter of public record and, therefore, available for all to read and appeal/reapply accordingly.

There is no secret means to secure a UK visa in any category. It requires knowledge of UK Immigration Rules for the pertinent application category and mindfulness to the documentation submitted. It is not about paying an agent or an official to secure a visa. The latter is impossible, despite what an agent may tell you, and the former highly probable if the agent is experienced.

This seems quite logical to me, but there is undue fuss about UKBA and agents these days as the rules are just more exacting. The UKBA has a viable function; agents have a job to do when an applicant does not feel confident to submit an application without consultation...and Caveat emptor for those securing the services of such agents.. I am an agent and this is not an advert ..do your homework and get references for the agent you use.

[laislica]

Basically being in the 'agent' business for more than 25 years, the posters above stating no corruption at VFS/Embassy are quite right. If one makes a mistake on the online form, there are many 'Save and Quit' options before submission. If you make a mistake, which comes back to haunt later, then the online application site has given you a fair chance of completing your form correctly. The onus is on the form-filler, be it an agent or a personal application, to complete same with all documents in hand. This is not unusual, and not unfair, for any country's immigration policy.

While many people online demonise agents, professional agents will ensure that your forms are correct and your documents complete. The visa decision is ultimately at the discretion of UKBA and decided on the basis of quite stringent UK Immigration Rules which are a matter of public record and, therefore, available for all to read and appeal/reapply accordingly.

There is no secret means to secure a UK visa in any category. It requires knowledge of UK Immigration Rules for the pertinent application category and mindfulness to the documentation submitted. It is not about paying an agent or an official to secure a visa. The latter is impossible, despite what an agent may tell you, and the former highly probable if the agent is experienced.

This seems quite logical to me, but there is undue fuss about UKBA and agents these days as the rules are just more exacting. The UKBA has a viable function; agents have a job to do when an applicant does not feel confident to submit an application without consultation...and Caveat emptor for those securing the services of such agents.. I am an agent and this is not an advert ..do your homework and get references for the agent you use.

Yes, sounds about right.

An agent does the job repeatedly and quickly recognises traps and possible problems and their solutions.

I have suggested before (not on this thread though) that the use of a good agent, whilst it may cost more, is a good way not to be disappointed.

The buyer gets the experience of the agent.

It´s a shame that the system is so difficult that honest answers are not accepted and the answers have to be "slanted" in some way that the BC officers find acceptable.

I an a person who has made only one application and failed - no experience, but, for sure I will do better if there is ever a "next time" LOL