Vfs Track Your Application

[larry70dj]

Hi All.

My TGF made an application for VV at VFS for British Embassy.

She has land, job and savings etc.

After only 2 days the message in the visa tracking page is

"The passport has been received from British Embassy, please collect the passport from the UK Visa Application Center where it was submitted."

No interview. First ever application, done by Visa firm.

I know this has been covered before by El Roberto, but has anyone ever got this message and been refused the visa without an interview?

She cannot get to VFS for a few days and the suspense is killing us.

What a stupid system.

Can anyone help. I am frantic.

[the scouser]

We know as much as you do. It is possible that the visa has been refused without interview, but if you are otherwise confident that the application was properly submitted and your girlfriend does not have any adverse history, she's probably got the visa.

Scouse.

[Casanundra]

We know as much as you do. It is possible that the visa has been refused without interview, but if you are otherwise confident that the application was properly submitted and your girlfriend does not have any adverse history, she's probably got the visa.

Scouse.

If it comes back so quick without having had an interview then the chances are she has got the visa.

The new VFS office in Bangkok appear to be very efficient of late and all of the applications that have gone through that I am aware of and have come back within 2 days have received their full visa without any hitches or questions being asked.

It's the ones that take longer or require an interview that you need to be wary of. I wouldn't sweat about it and would start plumping up the pillows because it sounds like she is on her way very soon to come and see you. Enjoy!

Edited December 14, 2006 by Casanundra

[markr]

Dont get too excited just yet!!

Good luck though!

[larry70dj]

Lads, thanks for your advice.

Unfortunatly the visa was refused witout interview.

No proof of contact, no reason for return.

She has land register document 70,000 baht and job.

We have lived together for 14 months, I have Thai B Visa in my passport, with entry/exit visas.

I have Thai work permit/company. Have produced phone bills and mountains of photos.

Have genuine reason for my return to UK, mother tenminally ill, supported by letters from GP.

I own a house in UK, with land registry. I have over £10,000 in bank account.

She has no previous, brand new passport.

Refused without interview

I'm suicidal

[markr]

Mate, very sorry to hear your news, it seems they are coming up with some real corkers recently, I mean where do they get this crap from!

My gf and I are currently re-applying because of some complete rubbish they refused her on last month, I'm probably not the best person to comment in this situation but i do know what your going through, scouse, GU22 and atlastaname are the best guys for advice, I wish you the best of luck next time

Mark

[markr]

You could start a new thread and post the whole refusal letter if you feel like it, you may get responses from people that have been through similar situations offering advice, I'm sure your head is spinning at the moment but try and stay focused on what you want, this sort of thing unfortuntely happens all the time! the embassy are a law unto themselves it seems!

Keep your chin up!

Mark

[markr]

You used company to arrange your application, what do they say about it?

[scooty]

I can only say that i am absolutely gutted for you.what a disgrace not allowing your lady to come to UK to visit your terminally ill mother. i can only wish you better luck next time .

scooty

[GU22]

Unfortunatly the visa was refused witout interview.

No proof of contact, no reason for return.

She has land register document 70,000 baht and job.

We have lived together for 14 months, I have Thai B Visa in my passport, with entry/exit visas.

I have Thai work permit/company. Have produced phone bills and mountains of photos.

You say you produced phone bills and photos, good. But, did you also produce evidence that she owned land, her bank statements/book to show how much money she has, a letter from her employer confirming her job and that it would be kept open for her return, proof that you live together?

What you have to do is look at the precise reasons given on the refusal notice and find a way of dealing with them. If you want advise on how to do this then we need to see what the refusal notice actually says.

Have genuine reason for my return to UK, mother terminally ill, supported by letters from GP.

I am sorry about your mother, but whilst this is obviously a genuine reason for you to visit, unless you have shown that your girlfriend is your long term partner it doesn't make it so for her.

First ever application, done by Visa firm.

You're not the first person to have what should be a straightforward application cocked up by a visa firm, and unfortunately you wont be the last. I hope you didn't pay them too much.

[larry70dj]

Cheers for the replies.

Yes, produced land certificate,which I was witness to her receiving on the day she got it.

Curiusly, the refusal letter states that this document was not produced.

Either the Embassy or the visa company scewed up on this document. TGF is 100% sure it was there.

Produced her bank statments, 70,000 gradulaly builing up over our relationship.

The letter from her employer was dismissed in the refusal letter as a fake. Why did they not phone her employer to determine her employment status (why take this information in the application form)

With regards to the visa firm. I did not want to make an application with this or any firm, but submit it on its own merrits. When TGF got to VFS, she was told more likely to sucseed with a visa firm and was put onto a firm by an employee of VFS.

Refusal Letter in Full

You have applied for Entry Clearence to the UK as a visitor. However, I am not satisfied you meet the requirements of paragraph 41of the Imigration Rules and in particular that

You are genuinly seeking entry into the UK as a visitor for a limited period

You intend to leave the UK at the end of the period of your visit

You do not intend to take employment in the UK

Becuse

The underlying intention of your application is to visit your British sponsor, in the UK for a period of 3 months. There is an onus on you, under UK Imigration law, to demonstarate the genuiness of your intentions, but you have failed to do so. Although offers of support from a sponsor in the UK are, of course, taken into account, they do not outweigh the responsibility of the applicant to satisfy the ECO as to their own intentions.

It is stated in a letter enclosed in your application, that you and the sponsor have known each other for 16 months and you have resided with him in Pattaya for over one year. However you have failed to provide any satisfactory evidence to substantiate these claims or demonstrate that you are in a genuine ongoing relationship over a reasonable period of time. As such, I am not satisfied that you have known your sponsor as long as you claimwhich casts doubts on your intentionsas a genuine visitor to the UK.

You are a single person and without ties. You claim to own land in Thailand, yet have failed to produce any evidence of this claim. You state you have been employed at a photo express company since Oct 2006 earning a modest salary of 4500 baht per month. Yet your employment letter is of poor quality and could easily have been produced on a home computer and in the absence of any other evidence, I am not satisfied you are employed as claimed. Moreover, I am not satisfied that such employment alone would encourage your presence in your country, or you are socially and economicly well settled here. Accordingly, I am not satisfied you intend to leave the UK at the end of the period of your visit stated by you.

I therefore refuse your application.

Other than phone bills and photos, there is no evidence we lived together. The rental aggreement was in my name. However we lived happliy together for 16 months untill I returned to UK.

Yes she has a shit job, but she has only started work at the photo shop since I returned to UK. I phone her every day on landline at work and I am satisfied she is working there. I can read and speak Thai, so I feel it would be pretty hard for a girl to completly dupe me if she was, for example working in a bar.

I have emailed my MP about this refusal and an still feeling pretty low.I intend to take the decision to appeal, even though the letter states I have very little reason for appeal by law. I am refusing food and have not eaten for 2 days now.

I am strong.

[Gumballl]

Larry70dj -

From the evidence that was provided, it would appear to me too that your GF does NOT have a compelling reason to return to LOS after a 3-month period in the UK.

Whether she returns to LOS or not, the land she owns will still be hers. Thus that alone is not a compelling reason to return. As for the job, it does not pay much, thus it also does not seem like a compelling reason to return.

Now, if she were a doctor, lawyer, school teacher... somebody with professional standing, then perhaps that would convince the Embassy.

Anyhow, I hate to play devil's advocate, but you must accept that your GF is a high-risk candidate for being granted a visa.

[the scouser]

Larry,

You can only appeal on either race discrimination or human rights grounds and, to be honest, you're going to struggle to substantiate such a claim. One other option is to seek a judicial review of the decision but that will cost a lot of money with no guarantee that you will be awarded costs. Alternatively, you can either approach your MP, or submit written representations to UK Visas, or apply again. If the latter, you will need to reinforce the point that you have no evidence of contact precisely for the reason that you were living together; i.e. we did not send each other e-mails or letters, we talked. I don't see what possible demonstration of this I could possible submit unless, of course, you wish me to tape-record our conversations.

This isn't the first instance that I've come across of the visa section in Bangkok ignoring supporting documentation which doesn't suit their preconceived ideas. You may choose to have your account published in either the Nation or the Bangkok Post (or both).

Scouse.

[Artfullmover]

I wish you all the best of luck and I mean that but here is a bit of food for thought.

Do you think its possible to have letters of employment arranged for a fee from various agencys and companys? Is it possible that the Immigration Department have seen numerious letters of employment from places such as Photo shops submitted from applicants in places like Pattaya. Does one of these letter raise a RED FLAG. Im not implying that the one submitted by your partner is not the real thing only suggesting others may not be. Just maybe they have a few on file and are on the lookout for ones very simular to the one that was submitted. I say this because the ratio of girls there far outway available jobs of real employment and I have heard talk of others getting false letters of employment arranged.

I have a mistrust on how some Visa agencys go about their business and some of the advice they give.

[markr]

The fact they stated the property/land deeds were missing is very strange, this happened to my gf and I, even though i told them after the refusal that it was present they refused to aknowledge the fact and we had to re-apply.

I understand you feel bad mate but not eating will only get you one thing..... sick

keep your chin up.

Mark

Edited December 15, 2006 by markreed

[GU22]

With regards to the visa firm. I did not want to make an application with this or any firm, but submit it on its own merrits. When TGF got to VFS, she was told more likely to sucseed with a visa firm and was put onto a firm by an employee of VFS.

If this is true you should immediately report this to the VAC and to the embassy, naming the person if possible.

However, what is more likely is that your girlfriend fell victim to a scam. In this, well dressed Thais hang around outside the VAC and collar their victims, taking them into a different office to 'check' their application. They claim to find some fault, which they offer to fix for a fee.

I have also often read that people who make the mistake of using agents have often found that the agent has mislaid or simply forgotten to include important documentary evidence.

Social visit visa refusals, which this is, cannot be appealed. All you can do is reapply. This time prepare the evidence yourself, don't use an agent. Get a neat, proper letter from her employer (Artfullmover makes a very valid point) and supply some evidence that you actually were living together at the same address for the time stated; letters addressed to each of you, the Tabien Baan etc.

If you and she intend this relationship to be long term and lead to you marrying and/or living permamently together this refusal, whilst upsetting, is not a disaster. Many couples have had a visit visa refused and later gone on to make successful applications, both visit and settlement, myself included. As Mark says, it's not worth making yourself ill over this.

Edited December 15, 2006 by GU22

[larry70dj]

GU22, this post is priceless for me.

Having spoke to her again, this scam is exaxtly what happened.

When she called me, I was under the impression she was speaking to VFS staff, in fact she wasn't. She got scammed, or rather we both did.

She never told me she met this lady outside.

She's gonna go and get her passport back, with documents, I hope they let her have them.

This visa application has put a serious strain on our relationship, which is nearly 2 years old now. I feel this is exactly what the Embassy want. Make you go through problems to see how the pair of us cope.

We both dont want to throw away all the good times we had living together with no problems for 15 months. It all feels like distant dreams now.

[GU22]

She's gonna go and get her passport back, with documents, I hope they let her have them.

These should have been returned to her by the VAC/Embassy with the refusal notice. If they were not and are still being held by the VAC or the embassy then they will, of course. return them to her.

However, if she made the mistake of handing them over to the 'agency' then they may refuse to return them, saying that she still owes them money or some other excuse. This is illegal, and if it happens she should immediately report it to the nearest police station.

This visa application has put a serious strain on our relationship, which is nearly 2 years old now. I feel this is exactly what the Embassy want. Make you go through problems to see how the pair of us cope.

Not really, what the embassy, or rather the Entry Clearance Officer, wants is for applicants to show that, on the balance of probabilities, applicants meet the criteria for the visa they are applying for. However, the onus is on the applicant to provide the necessary evidence and it appears that due to poor advice from this 'agent' your girlfriend failed to do this.

We both dont want to throw away all the good times we had living together with no problems for 15 months. It all feels like distant dreams now.

Why throw away the good times? Surely your relationship is strong enough to overcome this temporary difficulty?

[Deanuk]

Hi Larry

Im really sorry to hear your story!!

This is exactly what happened to my wife and i when we turned up at VFS when applying for our settlement visa.

These guys hang around outside preying on unsuspecting people who are GREEN to the visa system.

Best thing you can do mate is re-apply but do it yourself.

Funny thing was... Tuesday this week i arrived at VFS with documents inhand (suited and booted) and as we pulled up outside there were there like vultures waiting for there next meal. When i got out of the taxi i caught 1 of the guys eye and he recognised me straight away...He was off on his toes...ran into the office not to be seen again, even though after submitting our NEW application we hung around outside for a good hour (i was spoiling for an argument) But none of them showed there faces!!

Keep your chin up mate just dont get fooled again!!

[larry70dj]

Lads, thanks for all your replies to this topic.

I wanted to canvas opinion on a matter arising from this visa application.

Before I knew that the visa company had screwed up the application (documents were not submitted), I emailed a local newspaper with the story as I saw it, ie. British Embassy not beliving we were coulple and beliving insufficient return. A journo phoned me this week and I explained the story had changed somewhat and we were going to make a fresh application.

The newpaper printed the story yesterday, focusing on my "hunger strike" and said I was making an appeal to the decision. I was pleased in a way, the story focused on the facts of the matter and they didn't spin it in a "sad bastard can't get a girlfriend, so he goes to Thailand bla bla bla" fashion, which I thought they would.

I did ponder whether the important documents were left out by my GF delibratly, so she would not get the visa as she wanted to end the relationship move on etc. However, the whole story does tie up and I would be very supprised if this was the case.

I would like to ask the more experenced posters whether this is a positive matter, ie bringing the harshness of the decision to the public domain and should I include the article in the new application as background? Or should I avoid it, so as not to make the Embassy "loose face" and be ultra critical.? Your advise would be helpfull.

ps have emailed my MP twice and called and left a message for him, but no reply. Maybe he thinks I'm a sad bastard who can't get ........bla .... bla

[the scouser]

I wouldn't worry about it: I'm sure the embassy in Bangkok is used to plenty of crticism in the press, especially the Post and the Nation.

When you say a local paper, I presume you mean local to you in the UK? If that's the case, see if any of the U.K. nationals take it up. The beauty is that you can release as much or as little information as you want, but the embassy isn't allowed to publicly comment on any aspect of your girlfriend's application.

Scouse.

[GU22]

As you now accept that the application failed because the so-called agent screwed it up, why are you telling a story to your local paper which puts all the blame on the embassy? Surely you would do better to publicise the activities of these so-called agents? This may help prevent others from falling into the hands of these crooks.

This application failed because the so-called agency didn't submit all the documentation, and the Immigration Rules place the onus on the applicant to ensure all the necessary evidence is submitted. The visa section acted correctly, based upon the information they had; your argument is with the crooks who ripped you off.