Wife's settlement visa refusal appeal

[Marco71]

Dear all, some advice if possible.

My wife's settlement visa was refused and we've appealed 'On the papers'. I have received the NOTICE OF PENDING APPEAL.

Basically, we've been married for 8 years and have 3 kids. We obtained a UK settlement visa in 2008 and initially lived in London but when I was offered a job in HK enabling me to work remotely in Bangkok, we moved here.

In a rush to get the application going, I stupidly submitted knowing that a few items were potentially short but have since provided them with the appeal bundle which will already be with the ECO/ECM for the 'On the papers' re-consideration.

One item related to pay slips as the HK business had ceased but I managed to get these from the previous accountants and reconciled them with a full 4 year bank statement roll already provided, so that should be covered.

The other was for my wife's English language. She speaks, reads, writes fluently and was interviewed without translator in 2008 at the Embassy but that wasn't enough, we now know. Immediately after the refusal notice from the ECO, she took her A1 at British Council and passed with flying colours as we knew she would.

My question is that if the appeal can only be considered from the date of application, will the fact that the A1 pass was taken shortly after the ECO decision effect the ECM re-consideration? The fact is she has always been fluent in English, conducted her first visa interview in English unaided so she has not changed since visa app date but the A1 cert is post the application date which makes me nervous given the nature of some of the ECO/ECM reasoning.

Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks

[bobrussell]

I think you have to wait and see. It is the applicants responsibility to ensure the application is complete. Adding missing documents, especially critical ones, after refusal is not really an appeal.

The ECO should show a degree of flexibility and should contact the applicant for clarification and minor missing or incomplete documentation.

I believe that for the size of the fee, some assistance should be included in the cost but this is not how UKVI view things!

To some degree you are at the mercy of the staff member processing the reconsideration. Alternatives are full appeal (but you did not send the right documents) or reapply (not very palatable considering the cost).

[Tony M]

I don't think anyone will doubt what you are saying, but it might be a good idea to post the refusal notice (after removing all personal details) so that we can see exactly what the ECO said.

The appeal and ECM review system are slightly complicated. You have appealed, and the appeal will be heard in the UK at some time in the future. In the meantime there should be an ECM review. Until recently that was done in the UKVI Visa Section where the decision was made. Now that review takes place in the UK, and the ECM reviewing the decision will make his own decision on the documents he can see. In reality, there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, as it is exactly what the ECO would have done. There is no set time limit in which the ECM review must be carried out, so it could be weeks or months. I did have a long "discussion" with UKVI at one time about when an ECM review should take place, but we differed over the interpretation of the guidance to ECO's and ECM's. The guidance said ( and still does, I think) - "On receipt of an appeal, the ECM must review the ECO decision taking into account the grounds of appeal and any additional supporting documentation." I argued that this meant the review should be carried out when the appeal is received, not months later. UKVI didn't agree, of course, and still carry out the reviews as and when they want. Hopefully the system is better now that it is done in the UK, because on many occasions the ECM review was not actually carried out, due to "pressure of work".

As bobrussell says, the requirements are specified, and if you don't comply then the ECO has no option but to refuse. He may be able to use discretion where one piece of evidence is missing, but it seems that you didn't supply two lots of evidence - your wage slips and your wife's English test pass. You might get a reasonable ECM who will accept the "late" evidence, but he can really only accept evidence that was in existence at the time of the application. Whereas your wage slips did exist, the English test pass didn't. However, you must decide if you want to wait for the result of the appeal ( maybe 7 - 12 months) or re-apply with all of the specified documentation.

[theoldgit]

Two nonsensical posts removed.

[Marco71]

Hi Tony M, thanks for your comment, however, I have now been advised both from HM Courts and Tribunals and from a response to the GWF email UKVI site that the ECM to review the 'On the papers' appeal / refusal is based in Bangkok. Either way, will they contact me if they decided to uphold their refusal. I need to know as if the decision hangs for much longer, I will be forced to relocate with 2 of our three children to the UK to start my new job there and to school the 2 kids, leaving my wife and our youngest baby in Thailand awaiting tribunal hearing in the UK, Thanks

[Tony M]

Hi Tony M, thanks for your comment, however, I have now been advised both from HM Courts and Tribunals and from a response to the GWF email UKVI site that the ECM to review the 'On the papers' appeal / refusal is based in Bangkok. Either way, will they contact me if they decided to uphold their refusal. I need to know as if the decision hangs for much longer, I will be forced to relocate with 2 of our three children to the UK to start my new job there and to school the 2 kids, leaving my wife and our youngest baby in Thailand awaiting tribunal hearing in the UK, Thanks

I know that the correspondence says that an ECM in Bangkok will review the decision, but that is not the case. All appeal work is done in the UK now. The Home Office is slow to update its information and guidance to the public.

I cannot confirm if you will receive an update on the review or not. I have seen cases where a copy of the review has been sent to the applicant (or representative), and cases where it hasn't been sent. Now that the reviews are done in the UK, I would hope that the procedures are better.